Agricultural News
Custom Harvesters Provide Affordable, Effecient Service When Farmers Need It The Most
Mon, 28 Dec 2020 13:28:35 CST
It’s difficult to find a good combine operator in a normal year but when the pandemic hit the small labor pool evaporated, said Raph Jolliffe, Stratton, Colo., and president, U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc.
Jolliffe was recently interviewed by Radio Oklahoma Agriculture Network Associate Farm Director and Editor KC Sheperd.
Labor shortages and qualified labor are our biggest issues every year, but it really hurt us this year, he said.
We interviewed several guys but as soon as Covid-19 hit none of them showed up, Jolliffe said.
Finding qualified labor is an even bigger issue for individual farmers which makes the services provided by a custom harvester even more valuable, Jolliffe said.
The Colorado forage harvester said his organization consists of all types of harvesters, from grain to forage.
We’ve got grain harvesters that cut wheat from Texas to the Canadian border, he said.
A lot of guys turn around (after wheat harvest) and harvest corn, grain sorghum, millet and all the typical cereal grains, he said.
We also have a lot of forage harvesters that chop alfalfa, barley, rye, wheat and corn, he said.
We’ve also seen more cotton harvesters join our group as well, he added.
Custom harvesters provide a service to farmers. Making it more efficient for them.
One farmer with a large tractor and seeder can cover a lot of acres by himself, Jolliffee said.
But when it comes to harvest, he has only a short time to get it all harvested.
So that’s where the custom harvester really shines, Jolliffe said.
Most of us are friends and we know a lot of guys that can help out when needed, he said.
When a farmer calls our office it’s only a matter of a few hours before a custom harvester can be located to help, Jolliffe said.
We’re independent contractors who all have our own equipment, he said.
You can learn more about U.S. Custom Harvesters by clicking here.
Click on the listen bar below to hear more of KC’s interview with Rafe Jollie
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