Information and Experiences of a Harvest Abroad

I did 3 years in QZ and 3 in the USA. I drove an excavator also in the big cities but enjoyed the harvests more.
One cotton harvest with a crew out of Queensland with a foreman who was addicted to hookers and every chance he got were in town in a titty bar. One time he rang the local radio station and told em that there was a nude cotton crew coming through town and the streets were filled with spectators when we rolled through with 5 cotton pickers and follow up crew and all of us butt naked.
Another night in Tamworth i got arrested for indecent exposure after i lost a bet and was dared to run down the street outside the motel naked holding hands with a guy from new zealand.
I did 2 tomato harvest seasons after that in Victoria and filled in free time with excavator driving jobs.

Next up was Kansas USA where i ran a john deere combine in a 4 combine crew. This guy was also addicted to titty bars and i remember on one occasion in Regina Canada my whole months wages taken out of my wallet by a chinese girl in a massage parlour after i fell into a drunken coma for 2 hours before she even touched me. I worked with him for 3 seasons where we would split 2 and 2 and team up on big jobs.
Great experiences overall but not a career choice. Some crews lock you up, in my case i almost had to lock the boss up as he'd go for parts on a wet day and call up a few hours later from a bar to get our asses in there. Poor guy died since from kidney failure.

Anyway, i'm glad I did it, it;s not for everyone but it'll turn a boy into a man pretty fast. Not a place for mammas boys or girlfriends at home.
 
I worked with a couple of aboriginal drivers in Australia they were good drivers but they loved to drink and I mean loved it, having breakfast one morning at 6am and one of the lads already had 2 king browns of New sank (a litre and a half of beer) great experience and definitely better than hanging around cities doing crappy jobs in bars or restaurants. When I did it there was loads of work I’m sure it’s the same now.
 
I’ve never been (nor intend to travel) to Australia, my research is limited to many years of Neighbours & Home & Away and I always thought the Ozzy women looked nice.

It could be argued that I wasn’t seeing a true picture of the country so maybe they’re better looking in reality.
I know this is an old thread but i had a perception all Aussies were insufferable cvnts on the back of being closed watching home and away and neighbours at home when younger, refreshingly turned out to be sound folks the majority of them, new Zealanders on the other hand i found miserable Sh1tes with no sense of humour. That was 2012 i did a month touring about.
 
Have placement with college in January , we can start any time from January to April , had thought we would get to New Zealand but after being in contact with a few the last few days it seems they are still no further on in letting outsiders in. Now we are thinking of a silage/maize harvest in America with the likes of Robinson farms but don't think they start until April. Has anyone on here any ideas of where to go for that time of year january/february ideally? 4 21 year old lads all from dairy farms all interested in machinery too. Would go NZ for calving cows but calving doesnt start there until July. So mainly looking at machinery side of things now. Havent been in contact with anyone in Australia , maybe we could get out there for harvest?
 
As my father once said to a friend of his when he asked him to go work the buildings in England "if you want to work away, work away at home" 😀
 
Have placement with college in January , we can start any time from January to April , had thought we would get to New Zealand but after being in contact with a few the last few days it seems they are still no further on in letting outsiders in. Now we are thinking of a silage/maize harvest in America with the likes of Robinson farms but don't think they start until April. Has anyone on here any ideas of where to go for that time of year january/february ideally? 4 21 year old lads all from dairy farms all interested in machinery too. Would go NZ for calving cows but calving doesnt start there until July. So mainly looking at machinery side of things now. Havent been in contact with anyone in Australia , maybe we could get out there for harvest?
Cotton harvest starts March/April in Australia, they are already combining the wheat in New South Wales now. Loads of work in cotton farms from mid December head out around Christmas can’t see you having any difficulty finding work. I was based 50k north of Moree NSW proper farming country.

Edit
Just googled a few jobs for you in north NSW/ South Queensland
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125 essential worker visas granted I’m over here in quarantine myself at the moment
Who are you going to? I would have went again this year for one last hurrah but I wouldn't quarantine. I know a lad just out of quarantine over there since last week
 
Who are you going to? I would have went again this year for one last hurrah but I wouldn't quarantine. I know a lad just out of quarantine over there since last week
A man down the bottom of the north island Grant Barber is his name, yeah I was unsure of the quarantine myself but it’ll probably be my last hurrah now this time
 
Cotton harvest starts March/April in Australia, they are already combining the wheat in New South Wales now. Loads of work in cotton farms from mid December head out around Christmas can’t see you having any difficulty finding work. I was based 50k north of Moree NSW proper farming country.

Edit
Just googled a few jobs for you in north NSW/ South Queensland
View attachment 98940
That sounds interesting Definately something different.. how did you find it when you went out or what jobs would you have been doing? Thanks
 
That sounds interesting Definately something different.. how did you find it when you went out or what jobs would you have been doing? Thanks
I suppose I was lucky enough and got into a family farm, really nice people and treated there staff as part of the family, I cultivated cotton with a 8 metre cultivator, cotton is a row crop has to be cultivated to help to keep weeds down, it needs lots and lots of nitrogen which is applied by spraying by tractor/self propelled with 24 metre booms, we grew some GM round up ready cotton so we could also spray round up directly on the plant, and also various insecticides the farm had a full time agronomist which took care of what spray and when it was needed. They had a spray plane as well. Cotton needs lots and lots and lots of water I think we used to irrigate every 10 days basically flood the field from a levy for 24 hours and then let the water back the head ditch to a dam. Ur watering the cotton root not the cotton leaf which is more efficient use of the water. The field would be under a foot of water between the rows. Pretty cool. So I used to irrigate as well usually at nite starting pollys opening valves checking levels easy work, learned the first nite to put my cigarettes under my hat, when I had to swim a levy to shut a valve with my fags in my shorts pocket. We grew about 10,000 acres of cotton in 500-1000 acres fields. There was 3000 acres of wheat as well and I drove a chaser bin during the wheat harvest but the money was in cotton. I missed the cotton harvest but it’s baled into big round bales of cotton with a self propelled picker baler, I worked 100 hrs a week 7 days most weeks so u lived for the cotton. been a small farm by Australia standards you did a bit of everything and learned a lot. Servicing ur own tractor machines etc. And it’s hot the hottest day I seen was 48. That’s a longer reply than I was intending but you get the idea.
 
Cotton harvest starts March/April in Australia, they are already combining the wheat in New South Wales now. Loads of work in cotton farms from mid December head out around Christmas can’t see you having any difficulty finding work. I was based 50k north of Moree NSW proper farming country.

Edit
Just googled a few jobs for you in north NSW/ South Queensland
View attachment 98940
Were you working for darsha? Backspear property. Halfway between gundi and more.
 
Were you working for darsha? Backspear property. Halfway between gundi and more.

I was working for Rob and Pauline Johnstone their property was 50km north west of Moree, head west out Gwydir highway then north out the watercourse road. They owned 3 properties Millewa Belmont and st Elmo, put them into google earth and you’ll see their properties my house was in st Elmo. They had a 4th property closer to Moree but I was never at it.
 
Dont know what to think of that lad was onto him back in october about work abroad and it seemed all he was was a lad in an office in dublin , he didnt know what was going on or couldnt answer straight questions told me in october that silage crews wouldnt be hiring until march/april even though i knew thats when their season begins out there, id like to hear someone who haa gobe through him before if theres anyone on here that has?
Trying to get out to america for silage in mid march anyone else here the same?
 
I was working for Rob and Pauline Johnstone their property was 50km north west of Moree, head west out Gwydir highway then north out the watercourse road. They owned 3 properties Millewa Belmont and st Elmo, put them into google earth and you’ll see their properties my house was in st Elmo. They had a 4th property closer to Moree but I was never at it.
Is Ken Stump still farming near Moree?
 
Any young chaps or chappesses out there looking for a summer job look no further than page 2 on the 4 xtra hard web site. A firm in Uzbekistan are after 20+ operators for the upcoming cereal harvest, 25000Ha so I'd suggest your find plenty to do... Combined rivers, balerops chasers etc, accommodation etc 20 USD AN HOUR, IF ONLY I WERE 20 years younger
 
Any young chaps or chappesses out there looking for a summer job look no further than page 2 on the 4 xtra hard web site. A firm in Uzbekistan are after 20+ operators for the upcoming cereal harvest, 25000Ha so I'd suggest your find plenty to do... Combined rivers, balerops chasers etc, accommodation etc 20 USD AN HOUR, IF ONLY I WERE 20 years younger
Lots of opportunities abroad atm Sowing beginning in Australia atm any amount of jobs available on sowers and sprayers 30-35$ an hour 12hour shifts and some of the places are working 24hours on 2 shifts would be a savage experience and making money and your 100km away from Perth which seems a bit nicer than the middle of Asia, Silage beginning in America atm too contractors mad for irish lads, one contracting crew looking for 50 irish lads to go over pay not as good but better craic at silage with a crew maybe , all jaguar 980s in the fleet along with triple mowers on fendt 926s, im sorting visa atm with another lad should be out there mid april , something different anyway
 
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