10-4 Magazine / October 2025 31 I asked Kyle what he would say to someone looking at getting into crop farming. He explained that farming and trucking go hand-in-hand, and you have to have both. It is hard work with no set hours and the “hard” isn’t any different, whether you were born into it or you bought into it. There is a lot of satisfaction in working the land, and even though there is struggle, a person has to have passion for what they are doing to keep them going through the bad times. For some, working with family can prove difficult, but as for Kyle and Mike, Kyle said it is pretty great getting to work with his dad. Of course there are moments where, between them, they are trying to get too many things done, but at the end of it all, he couldn’t imagine working without his dad. He couldn’t say how much exactly, but they talk extensively on the phone every day, no matter if they are working in the same field, or miles apart. Today, the family has a combined 5,000 acres that they work and harvest while still hauling with their own trucks. Kyle and Aleasha have two children, a daughter Harper (7) and a son Jace (5). Aleasha works as a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer at St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City. Kyle and Mike, of course, work hard in the fields and maintaining the equipment, and Carol works as an Occupational Therapist at an assisted living facility, as well as doing all the bookkeeping for the farm. They are not only a farming and trucking family, but they are an antique tractor pulling family, as well. It all started when they used to attend the pulls every year in Ulysses, KS, which sparked the desire for pulling themselves (Kyle started out with a John Deere 3020). Kyle started an event at the Finney County Fair which has no trophies or money, just for fun. He’ll help at the pulls in Ulysses and in turn they help with his. Between Kyle and Mike, they pull with a few Internationals and a Farmall M, and Aleasha runs the John Deere. Five-year-old Jace already has his own truck – the pictured blue 1979 GMC Five Star General with a 290 Cummins and a 10-speed transmission. This truck was purchased when Jace was about three months old and Kyle convinced Aleasha that Jace needed the truck. This old truck will be a lifetime farm truck. The other pictured truck is a 1981 International Eagle Transtar 4300 that won Kyle and Mike the Best Jakes trophy at the 2025 Sunflower Classic Benefit Truck Show. Together, the two men have a collection of antique tractors, including a 1968 International 856 that Kyle’s grandfather bought brand-new, which Kyle actually found and bought back. Other types of equipment they collect are old muscle cars, old square body trucks, and a variety of different commercial trucks (for either farm use or just for fun). Special thanks from Kyle to his wife Aleasha for all of her love, support, and being just an amazing woman. He has never won the lottery, but having her as his wife, it sure feels like he has. Thank you to his parents for teaching him everything, helping him get started, and raising him to be a respectable adult. Lastly, thanks to his kids who he adores, for loving him and giving him phone calls at the end of each day before bed, which is the highlight of his days. They don’t get to see him near enough during the busy season, which he tries to make up for in the winter months. He hopes to work alongside them one day. Thank you to Kyle, Aleasha, Mike, and Carol for your conversations and time. They and many other families I’ve met are the reasons why I’ve grown so fond of Kansas. You meet people as strangers but leave as friends. There is a type of hospitality that makes you feel welcome and that is a lasting impression that won’t be forgotten. Farming and trucking are strong industries in the state of Kansas, and across most of America. Thanks to Trevin Walck for another quality suggestion for not only a truck, but more importantly, the people. As always, to all the drivers out there doing the deal, truck safe. n
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