Jada Bulgin

Hoffman Harvesting was established in 1972, when my father, Perry Hoffman branched off from his father’s (Milton “Pete” Hoffman) harvesting business to start his own harvesting business. In the beginning the business had two 6600 John Deere combines, two trucks and a 1½ ton truck that was used as a service trailer.

In 1974, my mother, Candice, joined my father’s hand in marriage and the business.

My parent’s hard work and dedication to the success of the operation is portrayed in their business today. The business currently operates 4 John Deere combines which are supported by several auto shift Kenworth trucks which are newly upgraded for this year’s harvest, a Kinze graincart and enough trailers and staff to move our entire operation in one trip (while this last point might not seem like a big deal, it is a pretty new and incredible feat for our operation!).

My sister, Tara, and I were raised on the harvest and have always had a role in the family business. While other kids were chatting about the upcoming swimming lessons, softballs games, and other hometown activities they were looking forward to for the summer, we were looking forward to embarking on the 1,000 mile harvest and reuniting with harvest friends. Our family has always lived and worked in close quarters which I feel is linked to the success of our family run business.

I have always enjoyed the life of the harvester and always took my role seriously. My “role” gradually gained importance. I remember how important I felt when I was assigned my first role: getting silverware ready for the field and making Kool-Aid for the crew.  When I first learned to run combine, I didn’t think any role could get more important. Little did I know that my role would take on a completely different dimension than I ever imagined.

In 2006, I married Leon Bulgin and rejoined the family business after a two year respite from the harvest world. It was fun to be back on the team full time as an adult. In 2010, my husband Leon and I began the process of taking over the daily operations of the business so my parents could begin their quest for being semi-retired from the harvesting business. This harvest we will continue to expand our roles in the business as my parents do not plan to join the harvest this summer. However, fourth generation harvester Kaidence Lyn, our 1 year old daughter, will be joining us.

I look forward to her having the same fond memories I had growing up on harvest whether it is teaching her how to cook, taking her to the pool so she can make her own harvest friends or watching her take a ride in the machinery. Join us as we continue to grow into our most important role yet in 2011 on the All Aboard Harvest. I appreciate our sponsors for allowing me the pleasure of continuing to share our story and my parents for trusting us to be able to carry on their legacy.