Grain - How are they making money ?

@Cottonmouth85 have you ever seen a WIA VOLVO pulling a hopper train?

 

I have hauled grain for 5 years there are good times and bad.....but I can sum it up in one word HARVEST almost 48% of my annual income is during the various harvest times depending on how good the crops are. More and more I am finding I have to travel to make ends meet No I do not have new equipment and could not dream of owning new equipment but I make a living ( sometimes) lol.

 

And don't forget Donny he's in that 1 percent and wants to be president. god help us.

 

bump

 

I have worked for a farm supply company before in operations and drove to help through busy seasons. During that time I got to know lots of farmers in the Mid-south delta region by working with them. Most of the guys I knew that were running the nice rigs and hoppers were guys that didn't even run their truck year round. All of them were farmers that were in competition with each other trying to out do one another by having the nicest rig. Those guys don't pay for those trucks by hauling grain. The farm pays for the trucks and the drivers are usually help that doesn't make very much by drivers standards. That is also part of their reasoning behind buying the nice trucks is because they can find cheap labor who is willing to drive the truck just to get a thrill out of it. I know several grain elevator owners also who run nice trucks to attract drivers who will drive for nothing just to say he drives a tricked out Pete. Again, the grain company is paying for the truck with profits from buying and selling grain and not having to rely on cost per mile basis like a trucking company or O/O would. With grain prices the way they are right now I know many shiny Petes that are up for sale and plenty of farmers around here going broke or bankrupt.

 

Those I see making a good dollar are the growers them self. They do their own harvest and a bit for other growers. Haul fertilizers and what ever another needs for growers. They don't limit the work to hoppers only, flat bed, rock or what ever suits their interest. a few thousand acres makes a decent sum.

I've wondered myself how a single truck and maybe their own trailer can make a profit. watching

 

I was just wondering this today as I sat inline at Tate & Lyle when a real nice Pete pulled up next to me. Sometimes you may be waiting for 3 hours to get out of there so your lucky to get 2 or maybe 3 loads, we have an hour drive time so it could take 5 hours for a turn, I work for a farming operation that runs about 6 trucks daily, we stay pretty busy hauling our grain, but we will also haul for elevators if we have time, I'm just glad I get paid by the hour.

 

I seen hoppers haul DAP from Tulsa, Oklahoma to cattle feed lots in New Mexico. And Pot Ash from Carlsbad, New Mexico

 

Hopper Bottom ~ Not just for corn anymore