American Harvest

Meet brothers Lance and Shawn Johnson, owners of a custom farming and harvesting operation in Minnesota.

Lance has to get aggressive as flooding has steadily taken away from his crops. He hopes that the money spent now will create larger yields in the future. The farmers in the area get help from on unlikely form of sprayer.

Harsh weather hits Minnesota in the form of frigid temperatures and accumulating snow. Shawn’s deliveries to Texas are put at risk as the weather doesn’t look like it will change.

When it comes to farming, a day is not over until it is done. With a downed tractor, and the threat of rain, Lance is forced to run long hours to make up for lost time.

With the harvest departure looming, Shawn tries to fill staffing gaps. With staff numbers down, the custom harvesting operation is halted to a crawl with threat of bad weather always hovering in the back of their mind.

The harvest crew has finally made it down to Texas.The open, rolling plains may look quiet, but a closer inspection shows the danger that really hides beneath the wheat… Mesquite, from years of uncontrolled cattle grazing, has caused detrimental affects to the land and the machinery. The team must handle downed harvesters and dangerous wildlife if they hope to get this job done on time. Ty and Tanner take a break from school and attend Shell Rotella’s SuperRigs event to have fun and check out some of the most decked-out big rigs in the nation.

Shell Rotella presents “SuperRigs” - a celebration of truckers and their efforts to keep American running! The twins spend some of their off time learning what it takes to be successful from Tractor Pull Champ, Larry Koester, and learn what BBQ is all about!

The weather is subsiding and the Johnsons finally have the opportunity to knockout some of their jobs. There are crews in Oklahoma, Texas, Minnesota, and Kansas; all working continuously to make up for lost time. A year round battle with weed control continues.

The wheat is becoming ready faster than the crew can cut. This is forcing multiple teams to be spread over multiple states. In Grand Island, Nebraska, Case IH celebrates 100 years of excellence.

The wheat harvesting is coming to an end and the crew has some downtime to blow off some steam. One crew member succumbs to a heat-related illness and is taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Fall harvest begins in Minnesota. The early lifts of sugar beets begin.

Results are in from the test plots, Minnesota harvesting continues on Johnson farms.

Fall harvest in Minnesota comes to a close for the Johnson’s and area farmers.