Old Threshers Day in Yuma: a harvest run on steam

Most farm shows park their old machines in a row and let you read a plaque. Yuma does the opposite. The weekend following Labor Day, the Old Threshers grounds and the adjoining county fairgrounds come alive with antique steam engines and tractors that actually run, pulling belts, sawing lumber, and feeding grain into a threshing machine the way crews did a century ago. The organizers say all of the old equipment — horse-drawn, oxen, steam, and early gas tractors — is used as it was meant to be used.

The centerpiece is the wheat threshing itself, run twice daily starting around 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, with a 1936 Case threshing machine and an 1894 sawmill among the rigs in motion. The show has grown from a small neighborly demonstration into a three-day event that draws over 5,000 people and more than 130 exhibitors from many states. Admission is free, parking is free, and there are free shuttles, plus kids’ games and a petting zoo.

If you want the rest of Yuma County’s farm-and-ranch calendar, the Yuma County Fair and its rodeo round out the season, having built a regional reputation for the fair since 1915. For this year’s exact dates and the daily demonstration schedule, check the official show site at yumaoldthreshers.org.