New Era

Late September and October is sugar beet harvest season. Beets have been grown in the Big Horn Basin since the early 1900's. Originally they were dug by hand and hauled to town by horse and wagon. Eventually single row tractor drawn diggers were developed. Which turned into three row, six row, and even 12 row diggers pulled by John Deere steeds. Well, today around the Basin you'll now see self-propelled diggers.

This bad boy is operated by my buddy and classmate, John Bush. Johnny has been running equipment since he was in the second grade. A few years back, he told me that this self propelled digger was the biggest piece of equipment that he has ever run! 

Holmer diggers are made in Germany. Not only do they dig and store the beets in one unit, but they also defoliate the tops as they go along. 

John was running a digger just south of Worland for Madden Farms. 

Sugar beet harvest has just begun around the area and it looks to be an exceptional crop. 

Here's a digger in action. They have two of them going in the field at once.

Depending on where the digger is at in the field, they'll run these carts around and offload the beets while the digger keeps digging. 

Then run them to the trucks and haul the beets to the factory. 

Most guys are using semis with live bottom trailers, these days. 

Once loaded, they head for town just as empty trucks are coming back for more. 

Good stuff. This is definitely a new era in sugar beet harvesting around the Big Horn Basin. Worland has always been known for its progressive strides in the agriculture world, but this is a substantial leap! Not everyone is on board, though. Self propelled diggers don't fit every situation. But for those farmers that want to get in a field and get out as soon as they can, they seem to fit the bill. Good work, Johnny and crew. You keep a boy's passion of playing in the dirt, alive!