¶ … exciting times of year for farmers is the harvest. The reason why, is because this is an opportunity for them to be able to reap windfall profits from taking their crops to the market. The key to realizing the greatest returns is to be the first group of farmers to bring their products to the mills. At the same time, they are racing against the weather and the possibility that a percentage of the crop could spoil or over ripen. In the case of wheat farmers, these challenges increase exponentially. This is from the possibility that rain showers and extreme heat could damage the crop. To make matter worse, these individuals will have to deal with the possibility of falling prices. This is in the face of other farmers who are taking their crops to market at the same time. Over the short-term, this can flood local grain markets with large supplies (leading to temporary declines in prices). Given the fact that there is a limited window of opportunity for farmers, means that it is imperative to be one of the first to send their crops to the markets. Otherwise, there is a possibility that they could lose substantial amounts of money (which could have an adverse impact on their profit margins). This story is about the harvest and the challenges these farmers will go through.

On a warm June afternoon, Steve Widener (a wheat farmer) was struggling to prepare for the harvest that was coming around at the beginning of July. What was happening is he had expanded the size...

The basic idea was to use this as a way to be able to increase his profit margins dramatically, so that he could purchase cattle. Over the long-term, the higher prices in these areas will provide him with enough income to live comfortably.
As the harvest date moved closer, is when Steve began to encounter a number of problems most notably: a labor shortage and the possibility of custom cutters arriving early. To make matter worse, Steve had purchased a $250 thousand combine and needed to cover as many acres as possible. After, receiving a favorable weather forecast Steve decided to begin cutting early. This was to beat the custom cutters to the local farms and to ensure that crop is not destroyed by changes in the weather patterns. The custom cutters are groups of individuals that go from Texas to Southern Canada (cutting the wheat crop for farmers). The problem when they come to an area (during the harvest) is they will help to flood the local grain markets (which causes prices to drop). Steve wanted to be able to account for this by starting his harvest early. This would give him sufficient time to sell the grain in the target ranges that he was looking for. (Nance)

The labor shortage that he was experiencing meant that he would have to drive the combine himself. At approximately 3:30 in the morning is when he started out. During the process of driving out to the field is when he remembered hearing from…