'I Had To Beat It': Greeley Farmer Beats Alfalfa Mowing World Record
By Jamie Leary
GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4)- A Greeley farmer with a competitive streak took his love for mowing straight to the Guinness Book of World Records.
"I don't like to lose, so I had to beat it!" said Tate Mesbergen.
Mesbergen, 24, was in Germany for the world's biggest agricultural trade fair when he saw it; a Polish company had broken the record for most acres of alfalfa mowed with a triple mower in eight hours.
"It's really one of my specialties so I knew I could beat it… so that's how we got started," said Tate.
The rules were simple: one man, one triple mower and eight hours. Tate needed to mow more than 243 acres of alfalfa to beat the Polish record.
"I feel like I rolled my eyes at first, like 'Yeah okay whatever' and then I was like, 'No, actually he said it so he will do it,'" said Carly Mesbergen, Tate's wife.
The Mesenbergen family farm specializes in alfalfa, but it didn't have the acres needed for competition. Tate had to call on help from neighboring alfalfa farmers Ken and Jamie Starman, Dave Uhrich and Faggerberg Farms. He also contacted his favorite tractor company Claas.
Claas helped with the planning and even hired a surveyor to make sure the competition was fair.
For eight hours, Tate mowed. He even took a 15 minute drive in the mower to get to his neighbor's farm.
"I was pretty surprised because we broke the record with three hours left to go," said Tate.
Tate ended the day with 348.67 acres of alfalfa mowed. More than 100 acres over the previous record.
As his wife blew the closing horn, friends and family celebrated by showering him in champagne. He says Claas sent the Polish company a letter informing them of Tate's victory.
"They'll probably want to beat it again so… bring it on!" said Tate, ready to defend his title.
It will take the Guinness Book of World Records several weeks to validate Tate's accomplishments. Claas says it is confident the record has been shattered.
Jamie Leary joined the CBS4 team in 2015 and currently works as a reporter for CBS4 News at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. She couldn't imagine a better place to live and work and will stop at nothing to find the next great story. Jamie loves learning about and hearing from her fellow community members, so connect with her on Facebook or Twitter @JamieALeary.