Montana

Kylee DeBock / DeBock Harvesting

After a week of moving from Kansas to Montana, we arrived in Hardin on July 17th. 

We unloaded our equipment and went straight to the “Bench” to check the wheat.  We drove all around and decided it just wasn’t ready yet. 

So, we went back to the campers and had dinner – just in time to watch it start raining.  Dillon’s Uncle John lives in Columbus, Montana so we decided to go visit with him and his wife, Judie.  We spent most of the afternoon and early evening there before returning back to Hardin. 

Riggin has been working full time on our crew since he was seven.  All that hard work paid off and he was able to made a BIG purchase.  He bought a 2019 Dodge four-door pickup from our Montana farmer. When we found out the pickup was for sale, Riggin was pretty excited and talked it over with us.  We took it for a test drive and Riggin’s smile was so big I knew he wanted it. 

On July 20th, we moved all of the equipment to the Bench and were able to cut two trucloads and a grain cart full before stopping for the night.  The next day was going really well until about 3:30 in the afternoon. That’s when Riggin’s header caught fire!

The boys were at the field by themselves because Dillon and I were at the elevator dumping our loaded trucks. At this time, we did not have anyone running the grain cart.  So, while the trucks were gone and the combine got full, the kids would just come over to the edge of the field and dump on the cart. This is where Riggin’s combine caught fire. 

Because he was already at the edge of the field when the fire started, he drove over to the summer fallow field and unhooked the header.  The kids did try to put the fire out but once rubber and plastic catch on fire there is really no stopping it. The header was a complete loss. 

We were so proud of the kids knowing they had to get the combine unhooked so that it didn’t make a bad situation worse!  

That evening, our helper, Dennis, showed up.  He has been coming from South Dakota for 4 or 5 years to help us with Montana and North Dakota since the kids go back to school.  He was gracious enough to leave the next morning and head to Kansas to pick up another header for us from Yost Farm Supply in St. Francis.  He was back the following afternoon and we were able to get the combine going again.  

We had some special visitors come for a visit. My mom and sister flew in on Saturday, July 25th.  They got here just in time to go with Renae and Chelsea to the PRCA rodeo.  We didn’t go to the rodeo since we were cutting but a timely rain shower shut us down. We now were able to head in for the concert, which is our farmers’ daughter’s band, Exit 53!  We always enjoy listening to Landa sing!

I had mornings free to take mom and Kassi on a few little trips.  The first morning we ate at the Custer Battlefield Trading Post & Cafe and went through the gift shop. We had planned to go over to the Little Bighorn Battlefield, but the boys started cutting so I had to get back in my truck. 

The next morning, I had planned on taking them to the Yellowtail Dam, but it was closed to visitors. So, instead, I drove them to Bighorn Lake. The scenery is breathtaking! We saw wild horses, cows, antelope and a BLACK BEAR!! 

That afternoon, mom and Kassi did some shopping at Landa’s store and enjoyed some of her ice cream before returning to the field to ride in the combines with the boys!

This was my sister’s first time to Montana and my mom hadn’t been to visit us since 2012.  We had a lot of great conversations over the two days they were “trapped” in my truck with me. 

I took them back to the airport the morning of the 28th. By that afternoon, they were home and we were fighting our second fire! 

We haven’t had a fire in over five years and we have NEVER lost any equipment. To have two fires in less than a week is just crazy. 

This time it was Colston’s header. We didn’t lose the header this time but we did burn up about 10 acres of the wheat field.  Our farmer has a disc parked at the field for us for this very reason.  This time there were five of us in the field and everyone was able to help. 

We got the fire put out on the header while the farmer’s truck driver, Pat, got in the disc immediately to disc a border around the fire.  The kids brought the combine over to the summer fallow field and unhooked it quickly and started blowing it off with the air compressor. They also hit it with our water suppression system which is on the grain cart. 

That fire got big…fast! It looks a lot worse in the photos and videos that I took but, luckily, it stayed small.  We lost very little compared to some of our harvest friends; three different crews lost headers and combines that same week.  

After ten days of cutting on the Bench, we finished and moved down to the Valley. I think everyone was ready to come down this year.   While cutting in the valley, we had some extra time one morning so I took Colston’s senior pictures. I took some in the Malt Barley field and some in a BEAUTIFUL wheat field!  They turned out really good considering I took them on my phone!

We got equipment loaded up on August 1st and headed to a new job in Bloomfield, Montana. Bloomfield is on the way home so that worked out well. 

Before we left Hardin, we headed to the Bighorn Lake with the Uffelman Family and enjoyed a fantastic day on the water.  It is always such a treat to get to do that! Our boys work so hard all summer and this is the highlight of the summer. 

We were able to cut the Bloomfield job in just four days. After that job was complete, we loaded up and headed HOME, HOME!

God Bless,

Kylee DeBock

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.  Proverbs 16:9