I've found myself browsing the combine forum the last couple of days. I've noticed this section of the forum before but for some reason it struck me that maybe other farmers would appreciate hearing a farmers opinion of a couple of good crews.
I'll start with Beckley's because they have cut for us nearly as long as I can remember. Beckley's have all the usual stuff. John Deere combines (7 S670's), grain carts, and a substantial fleet of trucks. All of their combines have 2630's and they'll provide yield data for you although in my experience, having multiple machines in the same field makes mining yield data a bit more complex. All of their grain carts have scales. They have 612C's, JD drapers and a couple of stripper headers as well.
So lots of people have that stuff. What makes them so great? Well, Beckley's have a couple of things going for them that are really the mark of excellence:
1. They have integrity. The real kind, the kind that can't be bought. They are not going to intentionally short change you, and if they find that they accidentally did, even if you don't catch it, they're going to make it right.
2. They take personal responsibility for your crop. I'm sure if you've farmed long at all, you've experienced a situation where you see your window of opportunity closing due to weather and it encourages you to push that much harder. Beckley's do that even though the crop is not theirs. I have never seen anyone work harder than them for more days in a row. Even when it gets to that point though, they do not take shortcuts. You aren't going to see excessive grain behind the machine because they were going too fast. They just work and work and work until the job is done.
3. They are experts. You aren't going to have to go out there and make sure they closed their clean grain elevator cleanouts after a rain. You aren't going to have to make sure the sample is clean enough to avoid dockage. You aren't going to have to go check for loss behind the machine. In other words, you don't have to be a babysitter.
So if you're looking for a good crew to handle a medium to large sized job, especially if you're up north and in need of wheat harvest (I overheard them saying they were looking for acres up there), Beckley's would be a good crew for you. I can't recommend them highly enough.
Alright, now for Heil Harvesting. They are a totally different operation than Beckley's in terms of equipment. I've actually only dealt with Brad and only this year so I can't speak for the entire operation but they run serviceable but older equipment. When Brad was cutting for us he was using a 2388 and some trucks and he brought another harvester with him to help out.
This is where the differences end. Just like the equipment isn't really what defines the Beckley's, it also does not define Brad. Like I said, I don't have a lot of experience with him, but I will say he did a very good job for a brand new customer with very little supervision. We went around and showed him the fields and rode a round or two with him to say hi and then we got back to drilling wheat. He worked his tail off and had a great attitude even though it was a little bit slow going because it was down milo. He went above and beyond in trying to make sure he was doing it how we would want it done. It was just a really good experience all the way around. He also knew going into it that it was very unlikely it would turn into a repeat job and he still did his very best.
Katopish Harvesting is like the Beckley's for equipment except they're a little smaller with three machines. They have harvested our wheat for us for probably 10 years or more. Scott (the guy who manages the crew) is most easily set apart by how conscientious he is. It really bothers him to show up in your yard if his combines are even dusty. We like our wheat cut high and we really like for him to cut straight back and forth over terraces rather than terrace by terrace and it drives him crazy to do it because the lateral tilt can't quite hack it so there may be some uneven looking residue or something. It literally embarrasses him even though it's exactly what we're asking for. He also has the integrity and professionalism that Beckley's do.
So there you have it. These guys all have a little different niche that they serve and that sets them apart. What they all have have in common is that the guys in charge are top notch. If you're looking for a crew, I would give serious consideration to one of these.
I'll start with Beckley's because they have cut for us nearly as long as I can remember. Beckley's have all the usual stuff. John Deere combines (7 S670's), grain carts, and a substantial fleet of trucks. All of their combines have 2630's and they'll provide yield data for you although in my experience, having multiple machines in the same field makes mining yield data a bit more complex. All of their grain carts have scales. They have 612C's, JD drapers and a couple of stripper headers as well.
So lots of people have that stuff. What makes them so great? Well, Beckley's have a couple of things going for them that are really the mark of excellence:
1. They have integrity. The real kind, the kind that can't be bought. They are not going to intentionally short change you, and if they find that they accidentally did, even if you don't catch it, they're going to make it right.
2. They take personal responsibility for your crop. I'm sure if you've farmed long at all, you've experienced a situation where you see your window of opportunity closing due to weather and it encourages you to push that much harder. Beckley's do that even though the crop is not theirs. I have never seen anyone work harder than them for more days in a row. Even when it gets to that point though, they do not take shortcuts. You aren't going to see excessive grain behind the machine because they were going too fast. They just work and work and work until the job is done.
3. They are experts. You aren't going to have to go out there and make sure they closed their clean grain elevator cleanouts after a rain. You aren't going to have to make sure the sample is clean enough to avoid dockage. You aren't going to have to go check for loss behind the machine. In other words, you don't have to be a babysitter.
So if you're looking for a good crew to handle a medium to large sized job, especially if you're up north and in need of wheat harvest (I overheard them saying they were looking for acres up there), Beckley's would be a good crew for you. I can't recommend them highly enough.
Alright, now for Heil Harvesting. They are a totally different operation than Beckley's in terms of equipment. I've actually only dealt with Brad and only this year so I can't speak for the entire operation but they run serviceable but older equipment. When Brad was cutting for us he was using a 2388 and some trucks and he brought another harvester with him to help out.
This is where the differences end. Just like the equipment isn't really what defines the Beckley's, it also does not define Brad. Like I said, I don't have a lot of experience with him, but I will say he did a very good job for a brand new customer with very little supervision. We went around and showed him the fields and rode a round or two with him to say hi and then we got back to drilling wheat. He worked his tail off and had a great attitude even though it was a little bit slow going because it was down milo. He went above and beyond in trying to make sure he was doing it how we would want it done. It was just a really good experience all the way around. He also knew going into it that it was very unlikely it would turn into a repeat job and he still did his very best.
Katopish Harvesting is like the Beckley's for equipment except they're a little smaller with three machines. They have harvested our wheat for us for probably 10 years or more. Scott (the guy who manages the crew) is most easily set apart by how conscientious he is. It really bothers him to show up in your yard if his combines are even dusty. We like our wheat cut high and we really like for him to cut straight back and forth over terraces rather than terrace by terrace and it drives him crazy to do it because the lateral tilt can't quite hack it so there may be some uneven looking residue or something. It literally embarrasses him even though it's exactly what we're asking for. He also has the integrity and professionalism that Beckley's do.
So there you have it. These guys all have a little different niche that they serve and that sets them apart. What they all have have in common is that the guys in charge are top notch. If you're looking for a crew, I would give serious consideration to one of these.
