Women Only Custom Combine Harvest Crews

Women Only Custom Combine Harvest Crews AG WORLD Ag World 13-1-20 B.F. McCray, a Kansas custom wheat harvester, has hired "women only" crews to work his custom combining equipment for the past 8 years. McCray, a veteran of 46 custom combining seasons, hired six women last year - three to drive combines, and three to drive trucks. On a good day, the six women can cut more than 350 acres of wheat. They usually take turns driving the Deere 7720's and the 2 l/2-ton trucks. They routinely level the loads and handle the tarps. "We need operators, not drivers. The girls don't hot rod the trucks or strip the gears like some boys do," says McCray. "They're a lot more particular about how they take care of my machinery. They keep the combines and cabs clean and they al-ways grease the trucks. They're also more careful. Only one woman driver has had an accident in the past eight years and it was a minor one." McCray thinks Women today have a more positive attitude and are more willing to learn than men. "The women I've hired are always willing to work, and they listen to what I say. They can handle the strain of the harvest as well as the men and they're very responsible." Most of the women McCray hires are college students and most of them have farm backgrounds. "Women with farm backgrounds are more familiar with the equipment and more mechanically minded," notes McCray. Christine Croft, a University of Kansas senior in her third year on the harvest, says there's nothing a woman can't do on the wheat harvest except possibly some heavy lifting. She says women can drive a combine as Well as a man, adding that when she drives her 1 1/2-ton load of wheat into an elevator she does receive a lot of attention from young, male drivers. "I've never once had to untarp a truck by myself." Each of the women helps maintain ma-chines and watches for problems. However, McCray's son, Butch, travels with the crew and handles most of the mechanical work.

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