sailor53
Anywhere, USA
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Joined: 06/28/2004
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We finished our 2 week commitment working this year's sugar beet harvest. I was the only one of us that worked it. Barb stayed at the bare bones campground while I worked. She was stranded as I needed the truck to get to work and back. I drove a tractor trailer carrying the beets from the fields to one of the pilers.
We arrived on Sep 30th and I was available for work the next day. The farmer I worked for wanted us there two days sooner, but we were 1500 miles away at the time. He called the day he wanted me to start, but we were still in Maryland. He said that the co-op approved an early start of the harvest because of the expected rain that was about to start.
As I said earlier, I was ready to start work on the 1st, but the forecasted rain arrived as promised. I didn't start until a week passed. We both were developing cabin fever waiting for the call for me to start work.
The call to work finally arrived and I completed a brief training session. I then worked mostly 12 hour shifts (12am to 12pm) driving the beets to the pilers. The loading was completed by driving the rig parallel to the lifter (harvester) as a conveyor loaded the beets in the trailer to the tune of about 50,000 lbs per load. When the fields were too wet, a large tractor would tow the rig through the field as the mud didn't provide enough traction for the truck alone. There were days were the shift was abreviated because of weather and/or field conditions.
All in all, I worked about 69 hours in seven days. The pay was good, all things considered, but the days were long. In the seven days I delivered about 2.5 million pounds of beets myself with 8 other trucks doing the same during two 12 hour shifts. We left before the harvest was completed because of another commitment elsewhere. All of this was for just one farmer. There were many other farmers harvesting and the line of trucks at the pilers seemed to never end. This will give you an idea of the magnitude of the harvest.
If we decide to attempt this again, we will be sure to allow enough time to complete the harvest. He even wanted me to stay and work his soy bean and corn harvest which started immediately after the sugar beet harvest. I figure I could have made in the neighborhood of $5000 in about a month's work. Not too bad.
DW Barbara for 12 yrs
08 Ford F350 Lariat, PSD 6.4L, Ext Cab, 4X4, Line-X, DrawTite Signature 18K hitch, RDS 40 gal. Tank/Tool Box Combo, Garmin 7200 GPS
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rv2go
Fulltime between Knoxville, TN and the coast.
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Sounds interesting. I have read several articles about the harvest. Even thought of doing it myself someday. Just can't seem to be in the area at the right time.
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AYRTIME
Innerkip Ontario Canada
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Joined: 04/09/2004
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As a retired extension agent here in SW Ontario I found your report most interesting. In what state and local were you harvesting?
I cringe when I hear of mud and harvest and equipment being dragged...lots of soil compaction going on there. Yes farmers put in long days. You have to "get 'er done when the crop is ready and going is good.
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BigRigRVing
formerly CA
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Location is red river valley, eastern ND and wastern MN from about fargo to north to Canada.
Great time and good money to be made, in a short period of time
Gary & Cheryl and our chocolate lab named Caddy
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Klueck
Georgia
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What skills did they require. Do you have a CDL? It sounds like a good way to make some money. DH used to work in the sugar beet fields for his grandparents when he was a child. He used to weed rows of them. They probably don't weed the same way now. He hates sugar beets to this day :}
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swatherman
Ontario Canada
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Joined: 03/12/2007
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Very interesting. As a retired Canadian farmer, would I be allowed to work the feild machinery in the USA without a green card?
MJM
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radardog
delaware
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Knowing your husband despises Sugar Beets because of the Slave labor he provided for his Grand Parents you still suggest to drag him over there to work the fields. LOL
The fan always wins
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EPeterman
DeWitt.Ia
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Joined: 05/18/2004
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I just completed my second season of beet harvest. I was working at Drayton, ND 30 miles south of the Candian border. It is the site of one of Crystal Sugar's plants. There are 8 pilers on this location, costing a million dollars a piece. They are custom built by the Dakota machine company. They weigh aprox 140 ton are all electrical in power and will pile up to 375 tons per hour. My job was on the ground,taking samples and marking weigh tickets with the piler number. This was the coldest Oct in 90 years in Dakota area. The down side, was the camping in a city campground with only a shower and restroom area. Most of the site were filled with road construction and Pipeline personel. There was a grocery in town and the closest Wallmart was 50 miles South at Grand Forks. I worked days this year, which is 8am till 8PM. The bad part was the 20 mile comute as the campground I stayed at last year was full, therefore the comute. Last year I worked night shift. I will add I was treated very well on the job with enface on safety as you are working around heavy trucks and tired drivers in muddy conditions. there is some shoveling of spilled beets and mud to be scraped out from under foot. The skidsteers take of the most of the mud and beets. Will I go back again, I am considering and it is not the worst job I ever did and the money is good, and you can leave anytime you want to quit. A web site for more info is google "American Crystal Sugar". You meet and work with a variety of people from various walks of life which makes it interesting to me. Certianly not for everyone but I enjoy it. My take on it.
ezedp@gmtel.net
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