World threshing record set in Austin

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This article was published 02/08/2016 (3481 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

AUSTIN — To set a new world record for the most threshing machines operating simultaneously, almost 150 crews — each consisting of a thresher, tractor, and the men and women needed to operate such equipment —migrated to Austin on Sunday.

The event, called Harvesting Hope, started as an idea two-and-a-half years ago when the Manitoba Agricultural Museum approached the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. In 2015, the record was set with 111 machines in St. Albert, Ont., and those in Austin figured they could not only meet St. Albert, but raise them one too.

Raise them, Austin did.

With the final count at 148 threshing machines, powered by steam or stationary engines and gas tractors, Harvesting Hope even exceeded the expectations of organizers.

Orignally the group only set a goal of 125 machines, said co-chair Elliot Sims. The Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede averages 10,000 people through their gates over the four days, but organizers estimated there as 6,000 on the grounds Sunday alone, and upwards of 16,000 throughout the event.

“We couldn’t be happier with the response of entire agriculture machinery community coming together to use our passion for these vintage machines to support such a great cause,” Sims said.

The donation came from half of the group’s partnered sales and 25 per cent of the gate admissions. Because of the high attendance, a donation total wouldn’t be known until today, but Foodgrains Bank communications officer Amanda Thorsteinsson said it was a tremendous act of generosity.

“To see something of this scale and this creative and (which) takes that much work is really incredible.” 

Harvesting Hope has been working on the event since deciding to go ahead with the attempt more than two years ago. While the board is five-people strong, they had a volunteer force of roughly 1,400 this weekend.

To qualify, all of the machines had to run for 15 minutes simultaneously, which 139 teams were successful in doing. Sims said that volunteers had made 45,000 sheaves in the last week from 85 acres of wheat. With 4,000 cylinder inches of capacity, the co-operative effort of all 146 threshers meant between 16,000 and 17,000 bushels could be separated per hour, equivalent to 12 rail cars of grain.

“There’s some people coming specifically as support of the Foodgrains Bank, there’s others that are coming because they’ve never seen this many threshing machines before, so it’s sort of a mixture,” Sims said. “People are coming for all different reasons, but it’s all for a good cause.”

Kate Storey said she had been looking forward to the event for more than a year.

The Storeys, who farm near Grandview, own two vintage threshing machines and keep them in working condition.

On Sunday, Storey was acting as the straw boss of an all-female crew running a Oliver Red River Special 22×36 machine.

“I’m up top, I’m watching everything,” she explained, adding that she’d be instructing the other women how fast to “huck the sheaves.” 

The band of five women was Storey’s idea, but they all agreed that it was an opportunity to exemplify the significant role women have played in farm operations, most notably since the Second World War.

“When she said it was going to be an all women’s team, it was like: yes!” laughed Cherie Storozinski.

The group even wore matching white-and-red-spotted bandannas like they would have in the 1940s factories.

Harvesting Hope will become an official record within the month when the Guinness Book of World Records finalizes its submission.