A "Custom Welcome" to Montana for the custom cutters. Custom cutter "Tall" Todd & his crew were in the process of moving north (they should be in the Conrad area today) from Forsyth on Friday when he "roaded" 3 machines instead of hauling them in order to save a couple of hundred miles of going with a wide load. Pull over Todd! The DOT stopped Todd & asked for his registration papers for the combines. They told him that he needed a flagman/pilot car for each of the 3 machines which were about 100 yards apart. The DOT slapped him with an $1100 fine! Todd questioned the officer in charge, asking if he was only moving to the next field to cut, what the rules were & the DOT man told him that he needed a pilot car for each machine & stated that these rules have been in place forever! Each machine is equipped with working beacons, as was the lone pilot vehicle, which also had a wide-load banner on it. "Ticked-off" Todd claims that he saw lots of machines moving; no pilot car, no beacon, no wide load signs, etc. Back at Forsyth, Todd & his crew cut irrigated barley for one farmer that averaged 141 bushels. Another farmer had irrigated barley at 139 bushels per acre & irrigated spring wheat at 94 bushels! Not too bad after harvesting virtually nothing all the way up from Texas, via Colorado, & the "experts" saying there is a bumper crop. Todd reports that north-of-the-our border, Yakking-Yak Hennigar, an Alberta grain producer had 5 inches of rain in the last week, with damage ranging anywhere from 10 to 80%. Producer Hennigar is trying to swath canola, but spends more time pulling swathers out of the mud!! Todd says that our farmers here in the Golden Triangle are anxious to get the crops in, but they have to dry down a little. Meanwhile, Todd is trying to "cool down" a little himself... $1100!!!

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