Mule Power Harvests 100 BU Wheat Crop

Mule power harvests 100 BU wheat crop AG WORLD Ag World 16-6-20 Thousands of people who flocked to the Don Thomas ranch near Waltsburg, Wash., during wheat harvest got to see a sight that might never again be repeated - a 27-mule hitch pulling a 60-year-old Deere 36B combine harvesting a 100-bu. per acre wheat crop. It was a joint project with farmers from all over Washington and Oregon bringing their mules. "There probably isn't a farmer in the country who has 27 broke mules of his own he could put together," says Doug Hutchins, Auburn, Wash., who attended the event and sent FARM SHOW these photos. Hutchins was fascinated by the mule-powered harvest because as a youngster he participated in grain harvests with 40 mule hitches pulling ground-driven combines. "It took a lot of coordination to keep that many mules in line while running through the hilly Palouse area of East Central Washington," he says. The Deere combine in the photo is fitted with a 16 1/2 ft. header and is powered by an 85-hp. Hercules engine. Hutchins says it did an excellent job cutting and cleaning the wheat. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Doug Hutchins, 2701 Fir St. S.E., Auburn, Wash. 98002 (ph 206 833-6473).

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