KING Country locals Aaron Jones and Lilly Reed are working the 200 mile harvest in the American Midwest. PHOTO'S SUPPLIED
THEY’RE not in Kansas anymore. And they’re originally from Aotearoa, not Oz – though close enough, right?
But for King Country farm contracting wizards Lilly Reed and partner Aaron Jones, the US – with its “yellow brick road” of canola cropping – has been full of surprises.
They said there weren’t really diners like in the movies, and you had to start thinking in bushels and miles – but the biggest surprise was the popularity of lamb balls – but no lamb chops.
“Lamb balls aren’t commonly seen at the supermarket, they are considered an American delicacy. We have been to two community events called a lambs fry, where they coat lamb balls and catfish in bread crumbs and fry them in a big pot of hot oil.”
They had only once seen “a few pieces of mutton” on the shelves. So where was the rest of the animal?
The couple – he was from Mōkau, she from Te Kūiti – have been blasting a tornado of Kiwi hard yakka through the American Midwest.
King Country Farmer caught up with them on a rare day off, as granted by the rain gods.
“The job that we’re doing is called the 2000-mile harvest,” Lilly said.
“You follow the wheat belt, which goes up the centre of America. [When we arrived] we were based in Kansas and we were there for one month, servicing all of the trucks and tractors and combines and getting everything ready. In early May, everything was loaded up onto trucks.”
There were also huge campers for the staff and managers to live in, and one that was used for catering.
British, Australian and local US-based workers were also on the journey. Many had been returning each year for a long time, Lilly said.
They would traverse a route along the centre of the United States.
“We travelled from Kansas to Texas in a day, and we’ve been here in Texas for a month now. We should be finishing in Texas in the next couple of days and then we will go to Oklahoma and then back to Kansas. And then South Dakota, North Dakota and then back to Kansas.”
In the autumn, they will travel south to harvest corn which is sold directly to local feedlots.
The couple’s overseas tour came about purely from their sense of adventure.
“Aaron and I both drive tractors back in New Zealand, and we decided that we wanted to go overseas and work. We got on to the idea of coming to America”
They approached former employers Nathan and Sarah Wilson from Ōtorohanga, who had themselves worked in the US in the early 2000s.
The couple provided Aaron and Lilly with a US contact for a company called JKD Harvesting.
Next they took care of the paperwork themselves including visas: for administrative reasons, these were J1 student visas through Ohio State University.
When everything was ready, the couple flew over in April.
“Everything has been different. It’s been quite a culture shock,” Lilly said.
One strange thing was the way US farmers’ fields were spread out across different places– the equivalent of farmers having one paddock in Piopio and another in Rangitoto, Lilly said.
Luckily, each “field” was up to 400 acres, so it still took all day just to do one, split into teams: two or three combine drivers with one grain cart driver per team, and two trucks.
The combines are the latest John Deere S770 and the tractors are the latest 8340R.
The grain is carted to local elevators where it is stored until sold, it is mostly used to make food.
Accents have proved a challenge too, not so much for Lilly but for the Texans.
“There’s a few old farmers that I’ve met, and they don’t even know what I’m saying.”
Most, however, have managed to understand her Kiwi accent.
The food was very different to New Zealand’s.
“One of the things that we’ve struggled with the most is the food.
“There’s lots of sugar – even the bread is sweet,” Lilly said, while Aaron described it as “yuck.”
While the convoy of contractors did have access to catered food, local options were surprisingly thin on the ground if they wanted to eat out.
“There’s nothing like the Fat Pigeon [Piopio] or the Wool Press Cafe [Te Kūiti] or something like that.
“There’s no really cafe things … there’s no bakeries.
“So, you need to go and get fast food or sit down at a steakhouse.”
The steak houses were a mixed bag, they said, some good, some not so much.
Aaron’s comment was that he’d hoped to check out diners “like in the movies” but hadn’t really seen any.
“I asked one of the American guys we are working with, and he goes, ‘oh no, there’s not really much like that.”
A highlight was visiting the Fort Worth Stockyards where they saw Texas Longhorn cattle for sale.
There is a really good balance of work and play time.
“When the crops are ready we will work and if there is a wet day or the wheat is not quite ready we are encouraged to go sight-seeing which is really good.”
They also went to a world championship pro-bull riding event, a passion of theirs.
The environment they passed through was very different to the King Country – no fences (because the main use of the land was cropping).
Where land was enclosed, it was with rail or barbed wire fences rather than five-wire and batten as in New Zealand.
Pastoral farming remained extensive, especially in Texas, where herds were set stocked for long periods. There were also many outdoor feedlots.
And as well as driving on the wrong side of the road, Lilly and Aaron have had to get their heads around imperial measurements.
“Fahrenheit and inches and yards and feet and miles and everything,” Lilly said.
The Americans also liked to refer to compass directions, which was difficult for Kiwis working on flat land, without familiar reference points.
“We get disoriented sometimes,” she said.
“[We are] learning a different way of farming and how they do things over here. And meeting a whole bunch of people.
“So far, we’re really enjoying it. It’s a really cool experience.
“We have a lot of funny conversations comparing the use of different terms from all of our countries.
“Overall everyone that we have met so far has been very kind and welcoming and open to learning about how things are different in New Zealand.”
The couple will return home in December – with Redbands standing in for ruby slippers.
“If anyone else wants to do what we’re doing, [they should] look through the Ohio State University programme.
Lilly and Aaron have been working with a company owned by well-known US contracting identity Jim Deibert and his wife, DeeAnn who liaise with Ohio State University to deliver the programme.
The contracting firm said the work they offered provides “an unforgettable summer and a chance to visit awesome places while stretching the boundaries with new life experiences,” for anyone interested in joining them.
