Challenges of the Custom Harvesting Industry

This is Tim Hammerich of the Ag Information Network with your Farm of the Future Report.

Many farmers across the country rely on the services of custom harvesters for a wide variety of crops. These are companies that show up with the right personnel and equipment to get the job done in a timely, safe, and efficient manner. Mark Anderson of US Custom Harvesters says they’d like to get the same protections that many farmers have in the event of unexpected crop loss.

Anderson… “One of the other things we're working on is we'd like to get some language into the farm bill to kind of provide an insurance safety net for the harvester in the event of a total crop loss. You know, if the farmer gets hailed out or you know, has a total loss, there's an insurance program for him. But for the custom harvester who has all that equipment invested, they lose that job. And you know, there's really no insurance net for them. They still have the payment, they still have the crew, you know. And it's not like they can just go find another job to replace that. So we're working on a solution to that issue. It's a big problem.”

Anderson added that total losses of crops result in no income whatsoever for these businesses. Other issues custom harvesters are facing are labor shortages, equipment costs, and an aging generation of customer harvesting company owners.