Wheat People

Family

Dakota Caldwell, Chapman, 1998.

"The whole family comes together . . . from grandpas to younger kids, to do their share."
--Louanne Short, Assaria, 1998.

Every family member has a role in bringing in the harvest, and it's especially important that the entire unit functions like a well-oiled machine.

Aside from operating combines, people are needed to drive grain trucks, locate parts for broken equipment, prepare and deliver meals, and (if the wheat is stored on the farm) keep track of the harvested grain as it's dumped into bins.

Grandsons of the Dreiers in the grain cart.

Jason Frey (5) and Derek Young (13), grandsons of Enola and Nelson Dreier, help operate the grain cart, Hesston, 1998.

Extended family also comes into play. Aunts, uncles, and cousins living in other states return to the farm to help. Town friends drop to get the latest word on harvest. Professional harvest crews become like family to the farmers they visit year after year.

"No matter what your age, it's pretty exciting."
Robert Miller, Wellington, 1998.

Unlike most other occupations, farming depends on children as an integral part of the work community. Farmers count on their children for valuable assistance, and small-town teenagers are hired for summer jobs.

Kansas farm children have always operated machinery at a young age, usually beginning at 12 or 13. Being part of the farming community instills values and attitudes that last a lifetime.

"They've just been like family." Jesse Craft, Brewster, 1998
	Custom cutters are professional harvesters who contract with farmers to cut wheat. Their harvest community is on an interstate scale. Many crews head south in late spring and then move north with the ripening wheat, some traveling from Texas to Canada.
Above: Combines lined up in a Harper County field, 1998. Most professionals own new machinery because it sees heavy use during the season, and because customers prefer successful-looking outfits.
"My daughter still corresponds with some of the friends we made on the custom route." Ross Larcom, Penokee, 1998. Although hours are long, custom cutters make friends along their routes. Because harvesting agreements are nearly always verbal, cutters and their customers must stay in contact throughout the year. By the time harvest rolls around, both parties look forward to renewing old friendships.
	Above: Long lines at local elevators bring harvest to a standstill while cutters wait for trucks to return. Canadian Kim Moreau catches up on reading at the Leebrick farm, Atwood.

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