Harvest USA Report

HUSA Jun 11 2026 - Sarah Nicholson

Sarah Nicholson, part of Damron Farms and Harvesting, shares her journey of returning to the custom wheat harvesting tradition after a 12-year hiatus. Her father, Jack Damron, established the family business in Sayre, Oklahoma over four decades ago, running it for 38 years. Though they hadn't been on the wheat harvest run for over a decade, the urge to revive this tradition led Sarah and her brother to acquire a combine trailer and venture back into harvesting, securing a 1,000-acre job in Colorado. They find satisfaction and financial viability with a simple setup—two combines, a grain cart, and a minimal crew, often including family members.
Impact and Collaboration in Harvesting
The revival of the harvesting tradition holds personal significance, extending to younger family members who join the effort and grow through the experience. Sarah shares how the harvesting runs instill work ethic and initiative in her children, reflecting on the transformative nature of the hands-on work. Despite challenges such as balancing the main farming occupation with custom harvesting and external uncertainties like climate conditions, the family is motivated by nostalgia and a love for the lifestyle. Collaboration among family members and the shared goal of efficient operation with limited overhead underscores their continued passion for harvesting.
Media Engagement and Community Outreach
Sarah Nicholson's engagement with platforms like Facebook to promote their services emphasizes the importance of community outreach and adaptation to modern communication channels in rural businesses. Hale Broadcasting's Harvest USA report supports such enterprises by providing a platform for voices in the harvesting industry, highlighting the importance of representation for women and small-scale operators. This initiative aims to bring positive visibility to diverse perspectives within the agricultural sector, acknowledging the role of family dynamics and passion in sustaining traditional practices.
 
 

HUSA Jun 10 2026 - Glen Jones

Glen Jones from Greenfield, Iowa, discusses his experiences with wheat harvesting in Oklahoma. Many farms are experiencing severe reduction in yields, with some areas receiving as low as four bushels per acre. Glen's farmer had a slightly better yield of 18 bushels per acre, but overall, more than 50% of the wheat in the area is expected to be abandoned. Despite low yields, the wheat maintains a good test weight of approximately 59 pounds, though protein content remains low, typically in the 10% range, with a few exceptions of higher protein on later farms.
There's a stark contrast in weather experiences, as Glen notes that while Oklahoma experiences drought, areas in central Saskatchewan are battling excessive mud. This has impacted planting and harvesting schedules, complicating farmers' ability to manage their crops effectively. Southern Kansas, where Glen is moving next, has received recent rain, offering some hope for a more average crop yield, though this has delayed milo planting.
Glen also comments on reduced operations in local trailer parks, indicating a downturn in harvesting activity in the area. Many crews have reduced their equipment and personnel, reflecting a broader reduction in wheat harvest operations. Glen mentions he's set to return home to Iowa after completing work in Kansas, preparing for a trip to visit his daughter in Alaska. He underscores the economic challenges, noting that despite reduced wear on equipment due to less work, financial obligations remain unchanged.
This text captures the hardships faced by farmers due to adverse weather conditions and the consequential adjustments in their operational decisions.

HUSA Jun 9 2026 - Glen Jones

Glen Jones from Greenfield, Iowa, discusses his experiences with wheat harvesting in Oklahoma. Many farms are experiencing severe reduction in yields, with some areas receiving as low as four bushels per acre. Glen's farmer had a slightly better yield of 18 bushels per acre, but overall, more than 50% of the wheat in the area is expected to be abandoned. Despite low yields, the wheat maintains a good test weight of approximately 59 pounds, though protein content remains low, typically in the 10% range, with a few exceptions of higher protein on later farms.
There's a stark contrast in weather experiences, as Glen notes that while Oklahoma experiences drought, areas in central Saskatchewan are battling excessive mud. This has impacted planting and harvesting schedules, complicating farmers' ability to manage their crops effectively. Southern Kansas, where Glen is moving next, has received recent rain, offering some hope for a more average crop yield, though this has delayed milo planting.
Glen also comments on reduced operations in local trailer parks, indicating a downturn in harvesting activity in the area. Many crews have reduced their equipment and personnel, reflecting a broader reduction in wheat harvest operations. Glen mentions he's set to return home to Iowa after completing work in Kansas, preparing for a trip to visit his daughter in Alaska. He underscores the economic challenges, noting that despite reduced wear on equipment due to less work, financial obligations remain unchanged.
This text captures the hardships faced by farmers due to adverse weather conditions and the consequential adjustments in their operational decisions.

HUSA Jun 8 2026 - Untimely Rains

Let's take a look at where some harvest crews are working today.
 
Everyone needed rain before, and now we're getting it. While we're trying to work. Same thing for Barr Harvesting. "Finished up in Kingfisher, Oklahoma and got moved up to Enid, and then got rain last night and more to come. Now we wait." 
 
Sanders Harvesting and Trucking has a wheat report for us. 
 
They've cut a few days in their home area in Texas and then started getting some much needed rain. Farmers have been hammered down planting dry land corn. Yields on the wheat not very good.
 
"Cut some dry land around six to eight bushels with test weights 53 to 57. And some irrigated circles made about 25 bushel and some 15 bushel and test weights were 59.4. Most of it was cut for seed wheat. Showers again last night and this morning, so maybe again next week we can get the right weather and get the rest of what we have to cut out. Just thankful for something to cut here at home," Slick wrote. "Thank you Lord for the moisture."
 
And we just had Mike Bashutski on the program the other day and they are moving. And it isn't just about loading the equipment and hitting the road. It takes window tarps, chains, boomers, beacons, wide load signs and permits. Most importantly, it takes planning. We constantly monitor our routes for construction and restrictions, rerouting whenever necessary. It might add a few minutes to the trip, but preventing an accident is always worth the detour. The construction crews are just trying to get the job done and go home to their families, like us. That's from Bashutski Harvesting LTD. 
 
We're all just trying to get work done out there to feed the world.

HUSA Jun 5 2026 - Dandelions

Let's continue that conversation between our co-host David Woodruff and Mike Bashutski, custom harvester from Saskatchewan, that works in the U.S. quite often. Let's listen in. 
 
"Now this spring, believe it or not, dandelions! I was talking to a few people and like I looked at my garden and when the snow melted off here, that wasn't that long ago. They were green, I just thought, you know, from the winter. They just kept on growing and like some of the fields here, just the other day, it was like finally the heads popped out. So in the night before, there you could see a bit of green, you know, that was left before the pre-burn. Yeah, then all of a sudden in the morning, it looked like somebody spray-painted the fields yellow because there's dandelions everywhere. So do you suppose that they're like winter wheat or fall rye? They've been growing all winter? Yeah, the way the winter come this year and it covered up with so much snow that I believe like lots of these because there's weeds like we got in the, you know, garden that the other day I worked it up and they were already seeded out and I was like that's not even a week, that's a stone melted away and these other little, I'm not exactly quite sure the proper name of them, but they were seeded out already and I was like holy smokes."
 
So you had a warm winter over there, same as we did, no?
 
"Well, kind of yes and no. Our February was warmer, but we did endure a lot of minus 40 days, like it was cold, but the snow was come down, it didn't get blown around. Lots of guys that were doing a pushing any snow found out that they could still roll the grass up very easily. It wasn't, it didn't freeze into the ground very, very little."
 
Custom Harvester Mike Buschewski from Saskatchewan, Canada with our co-host David Woodruff.

HUSA Jun 4 2026 - Mike Bashutski

Drought vs Stuck in the Mud
 
Weather Challenges for Farmers: Farmers in Saskatchewan and parts of the U.S. are grappling with challenging weather conditions. A farmer from Saskatchewan recounts delayed planting due to wet conditions and contrasts this with some farmers in the U.S. experiencing drought. The weather has created difficult conditions, turning fields into mud and causing planting equipment to leave deep ruts that harden and complicate future work. This situation is contrasted with past dry seasons, emphasizing how variable and challenging farming conditions can be.
 
Listen in to this interview with co-host David Woodruff with Custom Harvester Mike Bashutski.

HUSA Jun 3 2026 - Oklahoma Wheat Report

HUSA Jun 2 2026 - Shawn Thacker

The talk lately has been the drought and co-host David Woodruff has Shawn Thacker on the line talking about the precipitation they received recently.
 
So we're talking to Shawn Thacker, Burdette, Alberta. How much rain did you get at home? 
 
"Over the weekend here we're pushing about 2.2 inches now and it's still raining pretty good. I'm just in the office and it's basically sheets of rain coming across through the yard."
 
How are crops looking there at home?
 
"The dryland was still doing pretty good yet but it was giving me the rain within days. We haven't had a whole bunch of precipitation this spring yet."
 
So now this takes you out of the danger zone?
 
"Yeah, this will carry us for quite a while. Hopefully."
 
Have you heard anything from down in Texas?
 
"Just what I've seen online. I've talked to a few of my harvester friends and a lot of acres were destroyed out or zeroed out by crop insurance and a lot of them didn't start until a little bit further north into Kansas. And some are just leaving to go down to start in northern Kansas which will be coming on fairly quick from my understanding. Quite early."
 
Where do you normally go?
 
"We'll start in central Montana."
 
You've got a little bit of time then.
 
"Yes we do."
 
A couple of weeks ago we were at Great Falls and things were looking nice and green but then we got up to Conrad and whoa man it was all dried out and the Welkers are dying from nothing. Then last weekend when we were down it trickled on us most of the way back and then it really dumped. So it looks like at least for this area.
 
"Yeah it definitely was needed this precipitation that we got."
 
Shawn Thacker with our co-host David Woodruff on the Harvest USA Report.