Unless a few dozen people drop out, a world record will be set in Winkler, Man., this Saturday.
The world record for the most combines harvesting a field simultaneously, now stands at 244. As of today, a group called Harvest for Kids had recruited enough farmers and enough combines to smash that record.
“We’re looking really good. We have, this morning, 272 combines signed up,” said Dave Thiessen, Harvest for Kids national director. “We still have room for another 40 to 50 combines, max. Then that field would be right full.”
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The record attempt will happen on a winter wheat field just south of Winkler.
Harvest for Kids is an initiative of Children’s Camp International, an evangelical organization based in Winkler. It works with local churches, in countries like India, Cambodia, Kenya and Mexico, to send kids to camp.
“It’s very much like a day camp. The kids will come for day, go home at night, and come back again,” Thiessen said from Winkler, where he was dealing with last minute details for the record attempt.
The day camps are a venue for recreation, fun and games, but also for sharing the benefits of a relationship with Christ. The camps are in the poorer regions of the world, so the cost is minimal.
“Five bucks (in a donation) will basically send a kid to camp for one week and provide him with weekly follow up, for one year,” Thiessen said.
Children’s Camp International uses the world record attempt, for most combines harvesting a field to promote the organization and its charity work in the developing world.
It has organized the Harvest for Kids world record attempt three times previously on the Prairies – near Dalmeny, Sask., in 2012 and in Winkler in 2010 and 2006.
The Dalmeny event holds the Guinness World Record at 244 combines on a single field, harvesting simultaneously, for five minutes.
This year’s attempt at the record is attracting attention from around the world.
“We have 20 countries, with approximately 30 to 40 agricultural groups, that will be live streaming this (event),” Thiessen said.
He expects 20,000 people will attend the Winkler event, which begins at 10 a.m. Aug. 4 and includes a $5 lunch. The record attempt will start at 2 p.m.
If a farmer wants to participate, more combines are still welcome to join.
For more information about Children’s Camp International, what it does and the Harvest for Kids project, visit ccicamps.com/initiatives/harvest-for-kids/. The website includes a link to a live stream, where the event can be watched on YouTube or Facebook.
robert.arnason@producer.com
