October 13, 2011
My grandparents started custom cutting when my mom was 8, and she has been going ever since. When my parents got married and decided to do wheat harvest, my dad became a partner in the business called Reno and Hamilton Harvesting. It is now run by Rick Reno (my uncle), Jeff (my dad), and Dallas Hamilton (my older brother). Hillary and I have been going since we were one. We start in Alva, Oklahoma and travel north when the wheat ripens. We go to the same farmers year after year. The reason that they hire crews to cut wheat for them is they don’t own combines because they like to get the wheat out quick. If you do it yourself it takes a long time and would be expensive to own enough combines. We take 3 combines with 40 foot headers; you can cut a lot more wheat with them. We also take a tractor, auger cart, and four semis. An entire wheat crop can be completely wiped out by a hailstorm, so that is why they like to get it out so fast.
This is where we go: Alva, Oklahoma, Ellsworth, Kansas, Colby, Kansas, Big Springs, Nebraska, Chadron, Nebraska, and Mott North, Dakota. A lot of people around southern Iowa have never heard of custom cutters, but when you get in the wheat states it is very common. We all stay in trailer parks. At one park we stay at there are about 15 harvest crews. Where my parents grew up in Missouri there were seven crews in that town that would go on wheat harvest. Some of them still do. We can cut about 3,000 acres a week when there is good weather and all the combines are running. I used to always look forward to summer and still do so I could go to the field with my dad and brothers.
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