Welcome to Olsen Custom Farms

Olsen Custom Farms

2010 OCF DIARY News

Good morning. I talked to Scott for a bit this morning and he said there's a 50% chance of rain again today! They haven't cut since last Friday! The forecast up there looks like sunny and windy tomorrow and Saturday looks okay as well and then a chance of storms again on Sunday. » read more

Recent Photographs

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Weather Forecast

What People Say:

Comments from the fall of 2009 harvest season:

“Chad, we appreciate doing business with OCF. Everything came as expected and there were no suprises." B Schwartz

“In being one of OCF's long time customers, quality of service and product are second to none. It makes my harvest go so much better." C. Koenig

“Excellent machine and support staff. Really appreciated to have people like OCF to manage and invest in these combines and move them different areas of the United States so I don't have a quarter of a million dollars sitting in a shed for 10 months per year. A huge plus for cash flow. Thank you very much." K Wyfells

"I have never been treated so good as I did by the OCF crew. Thank you and I hope to see you this summer." M. Younger

"The crew sent to our farm in 2009 were 100% first class. They are all clean young men. The crew was always concerned with the harvest of the crop." J. Haskins

"We got rolling about noon. Hauled to the bin and the elevator. Some crews you have to babysit. Not this one. They filled the bins just like I would have. They ran our equipment at the bin site with respect. We combined until midnight that night and they stuck with us the whole time. Hope to have you back this year." C. Stevens

Progressive Farmer Magazine

From Oklahoma into Saskatchewan and back home to Hendricks, Minn., the custom harvesting crews of Olsen Custom Farms cut about 120,000 acres each year. Nearly 180,000 additional acres are harvested with combines that the business rents to farmers who prefer to run their own machines.

With U.S. labor shortages, recruiting operators and staff willing to shuttle a fleet of 30 combines and related equipment across North America from May to November is no small feat. Typically, most of the employees who sign on for the custom harvesting crews’ nomadic existence come from South Africa.

“If we could find people with experience from around our area who would work for nine months out of the year, we wouldn’t need to seek foreign help,” says Travis Olsen, the company’s financial manager.

“Understandably, most people are looking for 12-month employment, so the foreign help really makes the harvest season work for us.”

Olsen brushed up on his own labor management skills as a 2008 DTN scholarship recipient for The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers (TEPAP). The course is administered by Texas A&M and teaches mid-career producers a wide range of advanced agribusiness skills, including human resources management. Read More

Olsen Custom Farms, LLC Mission

Go ahead. It's something we say over the radio many times per day after a certain question is asked. Every time it's said and heard, let it be a constant reminder that we strongly believe that nothing is impossible. When those two words are heard, let it remind us that we will learn from past mistakes and still go ahead and live by the golden rule. We will think big thoughts but still relish small pleasures.

When that short answer is heard over the radio let it be a reminder that we will bring service and respect to our customers like no other. We will be kinder than necessary. So, let me ask you this certain question, do you have a copy?

Welcome and thank you for visiting our website!

Olsen Custom Farms is located in southwestern Minnesota in the small community of Hendricks. My name is Chad and my wife, Pam and I are the owners of the custom harvesting operation. We have four daughters Josie, Claire, Ellie, and Nora and a son, Charlie. We employ approximately 30 people and between our custom harvesting and combine rental business we currently run 50 plus combines from Texas to Canada. We harvest wheat, milo, canola, corn and soybeans and haul the grain as needed.

Please take a moment to tour our website and do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions at all! We look forward to continuing our business relationships in 2010 and look forward to many new relationships and friendships.

Once again, thanks for stopping by our website. We hope that our site helps instill a level of comfort with you regarding our operations. Cheers to a great 2010.

Chad Olsen