Greetings from Nebraska. Several members from Chapter #12 displayed equipment at Husker Harvester Days in Grand Island, NE; September 11-13. In addition to the large display of new equipment; there is also a display of antique tractors and machinery. We held our meeting there on September 13. Our big event for the year was the 23rd National Auction. We hosted the auction on November 2 & 3 at the Saunders County Fairgrounds in Wahoo, NE. I would like to thank everyone that attended the auction. Please see the story in HH for more information on the auction. December 9th, we held our 4th quarter meeting at Wahoo, NE. Election of officers was held and all retained their position for 2019. An auction report was given. Harvest was tough going in many areas of the state this fall. Most areas experienced a very wet fall. Early snow was also received in many areas. As of early December, there are still crops in the fields in the southern portion of the state. Chapter #12 will be celebrating our 25th anniversary in 2019. I hope that everyone had an enjoyable holiday season. Greetings from Nebraska. Like a large portion of the country, we have experienced the wrath of Mother Nature this year. The middle of March, we had heavy rains. This, along with the frozen ground and all of the snow that melted, immediately with the rain and warm temperatures, caused flooding throughout a large portion of the state. Bridges and roads received heavy damage. Many farm places, and homes and businesses in towns, were severely flooded. There are people that haven’t been able to return to their homes yet. There is a sizable amount of farmland that was not able to be planted, due to the flood debris and the amount of sand that was washed onto the fields. Some fields along the rivers have lost acres due to the erosion. Some areas experienced heavy livestock deaths. The outpouring of support from the entire country has been unbelievable. Truckloads of supplies for humans and livestock have been generously donated. Volunteers have helped greatly with the clean-up efforts. Special thanks to all that have helped.
In April, we were at Fairbury, NE for our meeting and a plow-day. Plowing was canceled due to wet conditions. Kenneth Dodge had his tractors on display and some demonstrations were given. Our next meeting was held at Uehling, NE. After the meeting, we toured the old IH dealership building. There are many original items in the building and several tractors were on display—many of which were purchased new at the dealership. Our show will be September 6-8 in Pierce, NE (see information in the show section of Harvester Highlights). I hope many of you can join us. Best wishes to all for a good summer and tractor show/ride season.
–Doug Hrbek, President