The Diesel Addict: By Stephanie Haas There are two industries in America that seem to go hand-in-hand so well that you wouldn’t even think of one without the other. Farming and trucking come together more often than not with the variety of agricultural commodities and the trucks that haul them. In rural America, during harvest season, the farm equipment and the trucks seem to coexist with a need for each other. Kyle Deaver (30) of Garden City, KS wholeheartedly understands this regarding learning to drive truck out of necessity for their crop farming operation. Coming from a long line in crop farming as the fifth generation, there was never a doubt in Kyle’s mind that this is what he would be doing. Originally from the Hoyt, KS area (about five hours east of Garden City), Kyle’s grandparents came into the Garden City area in 1960 and began farming, which later came to include their son Mike (Kyle’s father). Driving, on the other hand, came into Kyle’s life around three or four years old, riding along with his dad, to the grain elevators. Eventually, driving a truck happened because it had to twice a year, during harvest season. His father Mike was the one who taught him how to drive, and between the three men (grandfather included), it was either they would pay someone else to haul for them or they would haul themselves, so they learned to drive. Kyle’s parents Mike and Carol got married in 1988, and in 1990, Mike and his father started Richards and Deaver Farms, which was named for Mike’s wife Carol’s maiden name and her father, Harvey Richards, along with the Deaver families, to keep the names going. Carol, who came from a farming background, went to college to get away from it, but life and love had other plans, because Mike wanted to farm. Hauling to the elevators took up plenty of time as they weren’t all over like they are today. Elevators were mostly alongside the rail until around the 1990s when trucks started running more and further. Finally, in 2013, a co-op (agricultural cooperative which helps farmers with marketing products, purchasing supplies, and to provide various services) was built in their area which helped lessen the travel time from field to elevator. The farm family grew a little more when Kyle married his wife Aleasha in 2015, who also came from a farming family. The pictured Kenworth is probably their most driven and most diversified truck. It is a 1985 W900B powered by a CAT 3406B, 13-speed transmission, 3.90 rears and a 240-inch wheelbase. The red and white color scheme definitely grabs your attention. The truck was purchased on July 9, 2019, from Nusser Oil out of Elkhart, KS, where it made regular trips from Kansas City and back. 30 10-4 Magazine / October 2025 FARMING & TRUCKING
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA1MjUy