Kylee DeBock – DeBock Harvesting
All good things must come to an end!
We started cutting on June 14th in Alva, Oklahoma and finished in Quinlan, Oklahoma on July 15th! Wow, an entire month spent harvesting in Oklahoma just seems crazy.
For the first time since we started harvesting in 2004, we were able to attend Fourth of July celebrations in Oklahoma. The town of Waynoka had a fun evening full of events on the 4th. The little boys and I attended (big boys were working) and enjoyed turtle races, a money dig, watermelon, corn hole, and fireworks. We had a really good time. Colston and I even won the corn hole tournament and received some really neat prizes! When we returned home, the big boys were just getting home, too, so the little boys entertained us with a fireworks show.
The Mooreland celebration (Dillon’s hometown) was on the 6th. Luckily for us, it rained the night before so we were all able to attend. It was another great day spent making memories with friends and family. There were hundreds of people in attendance. We enjoyed a very good pulled-pork lunch, volleyball, corn hole, swimming, and a fantastic fireworks display. God Bless the USA!
Dillon’s great grandparents homesteaded on a half section of land in Quinlan. When they passed away, it was handed down to Levi (Dillon’s Dad) and his three sisters. It was divided up into four 80’s. We purchased an 80 a few years ago from Dillon’s Aunt Karen and we lease the other three 80’s which is where we run our cattle.
Levi’s land has a small wheat field on it and we planted it for graze out. However, with all the rains, the wheat continued to grow and do well. We intended to hay it but, again, with all the rain, it was never laid down so it just kept maturing. When the rains finally let up, it was too late to swath it for hay so we decided we would go ahead and cut it!
We have been harvesting for sixteen years and this is the first time I have ever had wheat put in my name! On July 10th, Dillon and I cut our first wheat crop and even with the wheat being grazed and getting a little hail damage, we were pleased with the outcome. Our wheat crop was small but my excitement for that day, as I rode around in the combine with Dillon, helped me realize just how exciting it is for the farmers when we pull into their fields.
On July 13th, we took the morning off to go to a Tribine clinic in Alva. It was truly an amazing experience. We have only ever seen pictures of them and a few videos online but to see them in action in person was simply amazing. We even got to visit with the inventor, Ben Dillon. He came up with this idea in his shop in the 1990’s using old combines and grain cart parts. The Tribine just recently took off in 2015 when they got a team full of engineers and support staff to start producing them. As of right now, there are only six of these massive machines on the market. While we were at the clinic, I did several live videos of the machines in action. Go to my DeBock Harvesting page and check them out!!
Once we finished with our jobs in Oklahoma, we had a few days of cleaning. The mud was just horrible this year and everything was really needing some TLC! So every piece of equipment got a bath and a good detailing inside the cab!
We left for Sidney, Nebraska on Thursday, July 18th. Normally, we leave for Sidney from Tribune, Kansas so the trip is not too hard. This year, however, we were leaving from Quinlan so it made for quite a long trip. Luckily, we were able to get enough help to get everything in one load. We had seven rigs in our convoy – our service truck, three semis pulling wide loads, one semi with just a grain trailer, pickup and camper and my suburban and crew camper.
We made it a whole thirty miles before having to pull over and change an alternator in Levi’s truck but we had it swapped out in about 30 minutes. Then it was smooth sailing until Hagler, Nebraska where we blew out a header trailer tire. But when you travel with a service truck, stuff like that is a pretty easy fix. We were back on the road in about 15 minutes.
With it being such a long trip, we got to Sidney with enough daylight to unload equipment. We enjoyed a good dinner at Perkins and we turned in for the night around 10:00.
The sun was shining Friday morning and it was go time! Equipment was serviced and they headed to the field. We have only cut a few fields so far but it is averaging in the low 80’s and it is dry land! Today (Saturday the 20th), we are experiencing some pretty cool temperatures, in the mid 70’s and very cloudy. So, cutting for today is doubtful but, hopefully, it will be better tomorrow.
My parents are leaving Sunday to spend a week with us. I am really looking forward to seeing them. This will be our only visit until we return from harvest in the fall.
God Bless,
Kylee DeBock
“For there is nothing that God cannot do.” Luke 1:37
