Greetings from Minnesota!

After leaving Maine in May and spending the past five months exploring aimlessly, would you believe us if we told you we’re working?! Well, believe it or not, we’re here in Ada, Minnesota, working the sugar beet harvest!

We arrived in late September, completed orientation, and are now on a 10-15 day contract that runs until October 31 (or until we finish the harvest). Both of us are working the night shift, 8 pm to 8 am, and it’s Mattea’s first time doing 12-hour shifts and overnights.

We’re working on a piler machine, which is used to pile sugar beets after they’ve been harvested by farmers. The beets are loaded into trucks, brought to the piling site, and the piler machine creates massive stacks—roughly 20 feet tall and 40 feet wide—that will be stored until processing.

The harvest schedule depends heavily on temperature. If it gets too hot, everything shuts down until the internal temperature of the beets cools to about around 55°F to prevent rot. On the flip side, if it drops below freezing, the harvest pauses since piling frozen beets isn’t ideal.

The plus side is that each day after working 8 hours, the last 4 are time and a half. Saturday is all time and a half. Sunday is all double time. On days that the harvest is shut down due to temperatures, Mike and I each get 4 hours of stay pay. If we’re shut down Saturday/Sunday, stay pay is time and a half. 

The company pays for the campground we’re all in with free hookups, laundry, and showers. It’s the perfect short term gig to really bank some money.

There are about around four piling sites in the Ada area, and when the temperature allows, it’s non-stop work until the job is done. We’ll keep you posted as we move through this unique experience!

We try to post regularly on our Facebook page and once or twice a week on our YouTube channel, and try to stay consistent with Instagram. Feel free to check them out! 

– Mattea, Mike & Karma 🙂

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Cheers!

Mattea, Mike & Karma

Map tip: Click the dots to see where we have stayed.