In 2019, Bri Osborne took her father, Steve Stagge, up on his offer to come back and help with the family farm and his manure business.
Together, the father and daughter manage 1,000 acres of corn and soybeans alongside 7,000 head of hogs with help from their hired hand, Alfonso, and Bri’s husband, Dustin.
They also have an impressive collection of businesses that keep their plates full year round, including a dragline manure business and a spray drone service called Osborne Ag Services. Besides their two spray drones, the business is also diving into offering Grain Weevil robots inside grain bins as a service. Bri says farmer demand for their spray drone service has exploded the past two years, doubling the acres they cover.
Q: How do you manage your time running multiple businesses?
A: In the fall and spring, it’s all hands on deck between farming and drag lining. The spray drones were a perfect fit for our schedule, with that busy season spanning from July to the end of August. In the wintertime, we build custom drone trailers, haul grain and perform equipment maintenance. It’s more of a manage by season type of time management, but it keeps us busy throughout the year.
Q: What are some of the things on the farm you’re passionate about?
A: Like the average farmer, I love harvest time. My main role during harvest is in the grain cart and helping move trucks around. Spraying in the spring time and tending to the crops is also another passion I’ve pursued. My dad handles his own crop spraying and taught me the ropes. My husband was a commercial applicator for over 15 years, so that all plays into why we started our own spraying business. I also manage the marketing and bookwork for the farm. There’s always something new to learn when it comes to grain marketing, and it’s different every year.
Q: Who have been your main mentors so far?
A: My dad has been a huge mentor. I am a fourth-generation farmer. My great-grandpa started this farm growing corn and soybeans and raising hogs on dirt. My grandpa was very knowledgeable with the crops, and he taught my dad, and my dad taught me. My dad took the farm to the next level with the commercial hog operation and the drag line business, and my husband and I hope to continue to expand. Our crop consultant and input salesman, Pete, has been a huge help in teaching me the agronomy side.
Q: How important is technology to your farm?
A: I think technology is where ag is headed, which is another reason why we were excited to be getting into the drones and be a part of the Bin Assist Network with the grain weevils. There’s a lot of knowledge and components that go into farming, and technology has played a huge part in helping farmers see what product or farming practices can help their bottom dollar. We are technology-based with all we do on the farm and related businesses.
Q: What advice would you have for others who are just getting into farming?
A: I guess my first piece of advice would be to diversify to help bring value back to the farm. The grain market is ever changing, and it’s comforting to have another stream of income when the markets jump up and down. With our ag-related businesses, it has always been important to us to treat other fields as if they were our own. If you are timely and do the job right, the business will continue to grow and be successful. Also, be a sponge for knowledge. There’s something you can learn from everybody, everybody’s had different experiences.
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