Ohio

Machinery Pete Goes Deep on Retro Farm Equipment With Pick of the Week

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 18:47:31 GMT

Whether it’s an old John Deere combine that grandpa ran for decades or a shiny orange Allis-Chalmers tractor that’s been in the family for generations, vintage farm equipment is a big draw on the auction circuit. The appeal of classic machinery is equal parts nostalgia, old-school craftsmanship and practicality.

This week’s Pete’s “Pick of the Week” selection is a pair of notable classic iron deals:

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

At a Rich & Rich Auctioneers sale in North Carolina, a narrow-front Farmall 806 tractor sold for a remarkable $16,000. That’s almost $10,000 over the average auction price, although Pete does mention that two similar 806s (one a rare front-assist model) sold for over $24,000 in recent months.

At the same Tar Heel State auction, a 1988 International Harvester 4586 four-wheel drive tractor sold for $24,250, which Pete says is the second-highest auction price of all time.

And most people that have been to a farm equipment auction know there are all sorts of machinery types that land on the docket apart from your usual mix of tractors, combines and sprayers.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

At a Richie Bros Auction in Tennessee, a 1923 Ford Model T Snowmobile farm truck, which Pete called a “quirky unit” due to it having front skis and rear tracks, sold for $30,000.

And a pre-1920s (Pete wasn’t sure on the exact year) Buckeye 1081 Traction Ditcher sold for $10,500 in St. Charles, Mich., last Tuesday.

Oct. 1 Auction

Pete says the Kiko Auctions “Clean Late Model Equipment” sale in Ohio on Wednesday, Oct. 1, has a solid mix of heavy construction and farm equipment from Case IH, John Deere and New Holland available to bid on. You can check that sale out here.

Pete's Pick: 3 Used Loader Tractors Draw Big Bids, Plus A Heartwarming Classic John Deere Buy

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 22:55:59 GMT

The used farm equipment auction market continues to show robust demand and strong resale prices for good condition, used loader tractors .

That’s exactly why Greg “Machinery Pete” Peterson highlights three strong loader tractor transactions as his most recent Pete’s Pick of the Week.

At a Purple Wave online auction, a 2022 New Holland T5.110 tractor (885 engine hours) with a loader implement (pictured top of page) sold for $61,600. Pete says that is the highest auction price ever for that year/make/model, according to MachineryPete.com sales data. The machine was from Broken Bow, Okla.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

At a Younger Auction Company sale in Rockport, Mo., a 2014 Case IH Maxxum 125 tractor (2,135 hours) with a L756 loader sold for $72,500, which Pete says is the second-highest auction price ever for that model with a loader and more than 2,000 engine hours.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

And at another Purple Wave online auction, a 2021 John Deere 6155M tractor (860 hours) with a 640R loader implement sold for $135,300. Pete says that is the third-highest auction price of all time with a loader and more than 500 hours.

“Dollars are tight all across ag and, you know, not much new stuff is selling — and we understand why,” Pete says. “I think [we saw] more layoffs at the manufacturer level last week , unfortunately. So when this continues to stretch out, but you [still] need horsepower and equipment on the farm, what you tend to look for is the best condition used [machinery].”

Pete also shares this nice story out of Plain City, Ohio, where a young farmer named Wyatt bought his great grandfather, Don Hess’s, old John Deere 430 tractor at an auction for $900. It was also the young man’s birthday, so quite the 24 hours for that auction goer out in Ohio.

“It was just very cool, and it made a lot of people happy to see a young person interested in their great grandfather’s history and tractor, and keeping that in the family,” Pete says.

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Used Farm Equipment Swindle Alert: BBB Warns Virtual Vendor Vehicle Scams on the Rise

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 16:49:31 GMT

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning used equipment buyers nationwide about another sophisticated scam involving used farm equipment.

This particular grift, according to a press release from BBB, involved a fake online heavy equipment retailer impersonating a legitimate Missouri dealership, Cook Equipment & Trucking (Marble Hill, Mo.).

Buyers from across the U.S., some even from as far away as California and Arizona, reported losing a total of $223,000 after attempting to purchase heavy equipment and farm machinery through fraudulent websites and Facebook Marketplace ads.

Related: Essential Advice for Safely Buying Used Farm Machinery

Victims say they were “ghosted” after wiring money for equipment that never arrived. The BBB does not say whether the victims were able to dispute the fraudulent charges and claw back the proceeds from the scammers.

The reported fraudulent transactions include:

$45,000 for a skid steer loader from a buyer in Oak Hills, Calif.
$32,000 for an excavator from a buyer in Hancock, Mich.
$29,500 for a trailer from a buyer in Amanda, Ohio
$29,000 for a trailer from a buyer in Greenville, N.C.
$28,000 for a skid steer loader from a buyer in Eastman, Wis.
$31,000 for an excavator from a buyer in Des Moines, Iowa.
$29,000 for a skid steer from a buyer in Blue, Ariz.

BBB says the real Cook Equipment & Trucking, a small business operating since 2010, confirmed it has no website and is not affiliated with any online sales. The impersonators registered three fake websites, the most recent on July 14, and continue to run deceptive ads on social media.

“Those shopping for heavy equipment and farm machinery online should do their due diligence so they don’t fall victim to a virtual vehicle vendor scam,” says Michelle L. Corey, president and CEO, BBB St. Louis. “If an item is priced well below market value, that’s a red flag.”

To avoid getting swept up in an online virtual vehicle vendor scam the Better Business Bureau offers these tips:

Research the business at bbb.org or call 888-996-3887
Be skeptical of deals that seem too good to be true
Verify the website and contact the business directly
Read all terms and understand refund policies
Use a credit card for added protection
Report scams to BBB Scam Tracker, your state attorney general, the FTC, and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center , and notify the social media platform where the fraud was discovered

To learn more about how to avoid online fraud in the used equipment auction world, check out BBB’s 2024 study on virtual vehicle vendor scams.

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Love is in the Air: How a 13-Acre Corn Maze in Ohio Turned Into a Larger-Than-Life Marriage Proposal

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 15:00:26 GMT

This 13 acres is more than just an field in the middle of Ohio. It was the blank canvas for Tim Sullivan’s sweet plan.

“We used to actually mow our corn maze with a zero turn, and I was sitting on the zero turn actually mowing our front yard, and I said, ‘How am I going to do the corn maze this year? What are we going to do?’ I was also thinking about the same time that I really wanted to propose to my girlfriend, as well,” Sullivan says.

For the first time, Tim Sullivan’s family planted their corn maze with prescription technology.

(Tim Sullivan )

From there, Sullivan’s grand idea came to life. Using a prescription planter and an 8R tractor, he decided to create a corn maze to propose to his then girlfriend, Caroline.

“It turned out so good,” Sullivan says. “I was nervous in the beginning of it. I was worried if we had poor emergence, I was going to have to just rip it up and start over again. But the emergence came up perfectly, and the weed control has been good. And so literally everything worked out perfect.”

To bring his plan to life, Sullivan enlisted the help of a local farmer with a plane, because the only way for Caroline to see his masterpiece was from the air.

“I think it was a total surprise,” Sullivan says. “The funny part is, the first time we flew over the maze, she didn’t see it at all. So, the pilot and I looked at each other, and I said ‘We’ve got to go around again’, and we circled around again. She then saw it the second time.”

Sullivan’s proposal story has made national news, capturing the hearts of many. For Sullivan, the coverage has been more than he ever expected.

“I’ve told everybody that the biggest thing I was looking for at the end of the day was a ‘yes,’ and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with Caroline.”

Tim Sullivan with his now fiancé, Caroline.

(Tim Sullivan )

With a wedding date tentatively set for next May, Sullivan says this larger-than-life proposal wouldn’t have been possible without this family and friends.

“I can’t thank everybody enough who helped us between the crop consulting and the different farmers that have been involved. The farmer who let us use his airplane, who let use his tractor to help plant it,” Sullivan says.

The couple has their wedding tentatively scheduled for May 2026.

(Tim Sullivan )

From planning to planting, it was a grand plan that Sullivan crafted on his own. And his advice for others? If you’re thinking of proposing, dream big.

“My advice to every guy out there is when you feel that you got the one, shoot for the stars. Make the most intentional proposal that you can possibly make and have a lot of fun with it along the way,” Sullivan says. “I stressed myself out with the planning process, but it’s all paid off at the end of the day. And it’s been honestly one of the coolest experiences I could ever ask for.”

Pete's Pick: Almost 20-Year-Old Case IH Ohio Combine Nearly Breaks Record

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 17:38:33 GMT

Greg “Machinery Pete’” Peterson has noted the strong performance of well-conditioned, pre-DEF used combines on the farm equipment auction circuit this summer, and “Pete’s Pick of the Week” checks that box yet again.

At an auction on Friday in Oberlin, Ohio, a 2006 Case IH 2388 combine with 2,361 engine hours and no header included (pictured top of page) sold for $120,000. That’s the second-highest auction price for a used 2006 Case IH 2388 since 2013, according to MachineryPete.com auction data.

The all-time record price came in on a like-new model with only 98 operating hours that included a corn harvesting head on Feb. 2, 2007. That record-setting machine brought $155,000 at an auction in Henderson, Ky. Here’s a link to the historic data on used 2388s sold since 2007.

“[Just] more confirmation of maybe one of the biggest trends of 2025, which I would say is the increasing buyer demand on really good condition, pre-DEF combines,” Pete says. “Of course, in green country, you know, it’s been a tough year, tough two years, because the price of new is so doggone high. When times are tight like this, folks tend to look for the nicest used [machines]. And, of course, pre-DEF you can work on them yourself.”

Upcoming Auctions To Watch

Pete has a pair of auctions he wants interested buyers to check out this week, both taking place Thursday, Aug. 14.

First up is Rebel Auction Co.’s Monthly Construction & Farm Equipment Auction in Hazelhurst, Ga., kicking off at 9 a.m. EST. That sale will feature over 450 machines across 1,400 lots, Pete says. You can check that sale out here.

And BigIron Auction/Sullivan Auctioneers Premium Equipment Online Auction is also wrapping up on Thursday. Online bidding is open now and the bids will close Thursday at 11 a.m. CST. Head here to check out the auction docket and get registered to bid .

Here’s Pete’s Facebook post with some pictures of the machines that are available in that auction:

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Machinery Pete: John Deere Tractor Shows Farmers Value Pre-Def, Older Machines at Used Equipment Auctions

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 12:36:52 GMT

This week’s Pete’s Pick of the Week is a used green and yellow machine from a tractor class Pete says is “just red hot” now.

On Wednesday, July 16, a Big Iron Auctions online sale auctioned off a pre-def, mid-horsepower 2008 John Deere 7730 tractor (16,161 hours) for $150,250. The machine (pictured above) came from Henderson, Iowa, and it garnered the fourth-highest auction price ever on that make/year/model despite being nearly 20 years old.

“The real Machinery Pete stat I would leave you with is this model 7730 is pre-def, so it’s 15-plus years old now,” Pete says. “The nine highest auction prices ever (on pre-def machines) have all come in the last four years. It just shows the sharpening and increasing farmer demand for good condition, used pre-def tractors.”

Pete adds tractors in the sub-200 to 150 mid-horsepower segment are “the hottest thing going in the used market,” and he thinks that’s at least partly due to the versatile machines being driven up in value by livestock producers riding strong balance sheets with cash to spend.

Upcoming auction action to watch

For Pete, the end of July is an interesting time on the used farm equipment auction circuit. Dealers will typically begin moving more machines off the lot and onto the auction circuit to free up retail space and sell equipment farmers in their local service area have not shown interest in buying.

There are two sales to watch this week that fit that bill.

On Wednesday, Merit Auctions is holding an online auction that combines inventory from H&R Agri-Power, a Case-IH and New Holland dealer with stores in Kentucky and four other states, and Trueland Equipment, a John Deere dealer with stores in Indiana and Ohio. The sale kickoff is set for 10 a.m. CT online. You can check out the lineup of equipment here.

Here is a video preview for the Merit Auctions online sale Pete pulled together and shared on Facebook:

Also on Wednesday, McDougal Auctioneers is holding a no-reserve, preharvest sale in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan that kicks off at 11 a.m. CT. The docket for that sale features 39 used combines and a fleet of draper heads and other fall harvest goodies. Check out the full auction lineup for that sale here.

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Yellow Soybeans? Why Weather and Carbon Penalties Are Stressing Midwest Farmers

Mon, 21 Jul 2025 13:33:11 GMT

A Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) in Michigan says a confluence of weather conditions resulted in a roller coaster ride for soybeans over the first two months of the growing season.

The good news is the plants still have time to catch up and recover on the back-end (if timely rains are consistent), but the early season issue is still causing a lot of growers to hang their heads in utter disgust when they head out in the morning and see large areas of small, yellow soybean plants in fields.

How did this happen?
In southern Michigan, northern Indiana, and northwest Ohio, most soybean farmers opted to plant early. That means the beans were in by end of April. The region then had the coolest average night temperatures in May of the past 14 years, followed by the warmest average night temperatures in June of the past 14 years.

A roller coaster ride indeed.

Missy Bauer with B&M Crop Consulting says that two-month yo-yo spell left the region’s soybean farmers battling the “largest carbon penalty the area has seen in 14 years.”

What is the carbon penalty in farming?

(Darrell Smith)

The carbon penalty Bauer refers to is the process where microbes in the soil come alive as soil temps gradually warm and start breaking down last year’s crop residue. The nutrients are then naturally converted to plant-available nutrients through mineralization.

Bauer says the warm-up occurred so quickly it created a sort of massive explosion of microbial activity in the soil. While that sounds like a good thing, she says it actually resulted in some essential early-season nutrients getting “locked up” in the soil, thus unavailable for plant uptake.

“How many calls did we take this year from farmers saying, ‘My beans aren’t growing right, why?’” says Bauer who also serves as a Farm Journal field agronomist. “We’re seeing the biggest carbon penalty we’ve had in 14 years, and this is a hard carbon penalty. It locked up the beans, and that added stress.”

How can I overcome the carbon penalty?
If you have liquid fertilizer technology on your bean planter, Bauer thinks it might pay off this year by offsetting the carbon penalty and helping beans battle that early season stress.

July is currently trending above average for growing degree days (GDD) in the Lake Erie region, which will help shift vegetative growth a gear or two higher and set beans on a course for canopy close and pod fill.

“Basically, we’re back on track (with beans),” Bauer says. “Maybe we’re just a little bit behind last year, but we had better heat units in May last year, too. Now, we’ve made-up for that GDD deficit heat unit-wise, we’re not quite all the way there, we’re still a little behind, but we’re knocking on average.”

Spray drone treatment for nutrient deficiency in soybeans an option, too
Recently, Kameron Barrow, field operations manager, teamed up with B&M owner and CCA Bill Bauer to address some nutrient deficient yellow spots in the operation’s test plots near Coldwater, Mich.

After tissue sampling the affected plants and finding out the culprit was most likely a manganese deficiency, Bauer and Barrow called up a local spray drone service provider and hired it to spot spray a 5% manganese liquid fertilizer over the canopy of the yellow soybean plants. The drone applied a rate of half a pound per acre of manganese.

“We came in and sprayed on July 10 and on July 15 we scouted and immediately those yellow spots are gone, and that’s only after five days,” says Barrow, adding they also left a nearby section of yellow plants untreated as a check. “This just shows we have access to spray drones now, and we can use the technology to use things we’ve never used to better manage the crop.”

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From Skyfall to Stable Growth: Why Used Equipment Sales Are Poised for a Breakout Into 2026

Fri, 18 Jul 2025 15:00:33 GMT

Recent used farm equipment auction activity shows a market gaining momentum and stability with harvest and the fall auction busy season just over the horizon.

Machinery Pete witnessed that renewed energy and enthusiasm from farmer-buyers in person at Freddie Berger’s farm estate auction on July 14 in Mandan, N.D. The sale featured a huge fleet of used machinery — more than 10 Bobcat skid steers, 12 UTVs, a row of wheel loaders and feed trucks — and there were strong prices across the board.

Yet, it was a gently-used hauler truck (pictured below) that has stuck in Pete’s craw a few days later.

(Ulmer Auctions. )

“The one that got me was a 2023 Peterbilt 537 truck with a Sioux Automation 4600 box — only had about 2,300 miles on it, so it was going to be high — it came in at $181,475,” Pete says. “Pretty much across the board everything was strong: the hay equipment, loader tractors, all of it.”

Speaking of loader tractors, those machines have been red-hot on the auction circuit, Machinery Pete adds.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

At a sale in Rogers, Ohio, last week, a pair of low-hour John Deere 6M loader tractors also caught his attention. A 2023 6120M with 65 hours (pictured above) sold for $122,500, beating the previous auction record high for that model by $2,500.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

A 2023 6140M with 252 hours and no loader sold for $112,500. Machinery Pete says that’s the second-highest auction price all time for that year/model.

Taking stock of used machine supplies across the auction market, Casey Seymour is seeing “tractors trend line down, planters trend line down and sprayers trend line down.” At the same time he is also seeing “combines peak up; we kind of expect that because a lot of those machines are coming on for fall harvest. But for the most part it feels like inventory is contracting.”

One market force that has taken Seymour and Pete somewhat by surprise is the ongoing downturn in used high horsepower row crop tractor demand. Normally, the guys expect those machines to be moving steadily right now while utility tractor activity settles down, but that trend has flipped.

In the months ahead, Machinery Pete says a handful of ag lenders and industry insiders he’s met with are bracing for a large wave of farm estate auctions. It’s an unfortunate but direct result of the low profitability, high operating expense environment grain farmers have been mired in for two years now, he admits.

“I think that last quarter of the year, and especially in those last couple weeks in November, I really feel like we’re going to start seeing a lot of positive (auction) movement that will carry over into ’26,” Seymour says. “Now, that said, we’re going to need to see some movement on commodity prices.”

You can head over to YouTube to watch the full episode of Moving Iron. Go ahead and give it a “thumbs up” if you like the show and hit the “Subscribe” button with the bell next to it so you get every new episode as soon as it drops.

Pete's Pick: Pair of John Deere 6M Tractors, Mower Conditioner Take Top Billing

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 20:13:28 GMT

This week’s Machinery Pete “Pete’s Pick of the Week” comes from a farm estate auction sale that took place over the weekend in Rogers, Ohio.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

At the James D. Bowersock auction, which was helmed by Kiko Auctions, a 2023 John Deere 6120M tractor with a 600R loader attachment (65 hours) sold for $122,500, which is a new record-high auction price for that model.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

And a 2023 John Deere 6140M with 252 hours (no loader included) sold for $112,500. Pete says that is the second highest auction price of all time on a used 6140M tractor without a loader.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

That same sale also had a used John Deere 630 9’x9" discbine mower conditioner implement sell for $17,250.

If you’re interested in what else sold at that Ohio sale, you can check out the full report over at MachineryPete.com.

Although Pete had to record his AgriTalk segment (embedded above) from the road this week, he did have a second to offer up some quick advice on how farmers can make their used equipment stand out on a crowded auction docket. A personal touch is the key, Pete says.

“Our auction price data has shown over the years very clearly that when you personalize what you are selling — whether it’s private for sale by owner, at auction or through a dealer — it sells for more money,” Pete says. “It attracts more potential buyers.”

Big Online Sale Tuesday
Speaking of attracting more buyers, Merit Auctions is holding its first virtual consignment sale from its Bainbridge, Ga., equipment lot on Tuesday, July 15, starting at 10 am E.T.

Check out Pete’s Facebook post for more information.

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From College to Corn Fields: Second-Generation Ohio Farmer's Journey Starts Now

Fri, 13 Jun 2025 16:24:20 GMT

There are two schools of thought when it comes to onboarding rookies in professional sports: You toss them right into the deep end and see if they can swim, or you ease them in slowly, letting them watch and learn how to be a pro from the veterans in the locker room. Both approaches have their pros and cons, and there’s no firm consensus on which method results in consistent long-term success.

Ohio second-generation farmer Paige Pence will likely be brought along gently as she gains experience and learns the intricacies of the family cropping business. Pence’s parents, Brent and Christine, are in fine shape and still have that burning, fiery passion when it comes to farming the 4,500 acres they have pieced together over the first two decades of their only daughter’s life.

“I don’t think they are planning on retiring or handing this off to me anytime soon,” laughs Pence, 22, having just packed up her college dorm room and trekked home to the New Carlisle, Ohio, farmhouse she grew up in. She graduated this spring from Western Illinois University with a bachelor’s degree in ag science and a minor in animal science.

(2Ps Studios, Shayna Perez)

Meeting with the family, you can tell right from the jump Brent and Christine are thrilled to get their daughter back. They’ve been managing things as a partnership since young Brent secured his initial 123 acres of rented ground back in the early ‘90s. He did not come from a farming background, but Christine grew up on a dairy farm, so agriculture was not a completely foreign concept. Through sheer perseverance and with some help from friends, neighbors and family, they’ve built an impressive operation to one day pass down to their only child.

Up to the Challenge
That’s a fact that surely makes Brent’s handful of farming mentors from over the years as proud as peacocks.

“She’s going to get a whole new learning experience this summer,” Brent says. “We’re going to set her loose. After all the traveling that my wife and I have done for her livestock shows, we’re going to get a little bit back from her.”

The plan moving forward is to have Paige get her feet wet running the farm’s fleet of equipment and pitching in wherever she can leave her mark. She’ll be shouldering a healthy load of farm duties, with her parents guiding her along the way. She’s more than up to the task.

(2Ps Studios, Shayna Perez)

“During my senior year it started to hit me that I was ready to go home, because when you’re not here on the farm, you’re not able to be as present,” she says. “I was ready to come home and start making the changes that were going to help our family.”

The Pences have yet to sit down at the kitchen table and talk about those changes, like profit splits or how many acres Paige will eventually take over and manage on her own. But that doesn’t mean she’ll be tethered to their hips all summer, either. That conversation will come in due time, but for now it’s all about getting her up and running and feeling comfortable as the second generation on the farm.

“I definitely could see them giving me some fields to manage by myself, because I think they know I’m independent, and I’m always looking for ways to improve and learn,” Paige says. “So obviously, with a little bit of help, I could see them giving me more independence, and I’m on the side of doing that, too.”

(Matthew J. Grassi)

Carving Out a Niche
Aside from her day-to-day duties of helping plant, fertilize, spray and harvest the family’s crops, the recent college graduate hopes her parents will lean on her social media skills. She’s built a strong following online and she clearly has a knack for leveraging those connections and eyeballs to grow her custom graphic design side hustle. Now she can use that experience to help develop the farm’s digital presence, which has become crucial during this day and age.

No matter how she is “set loose on the farm,” in her father’s words, this has always been the plan.

“I have always grown up around farming, so I don’t see myself ever leaving,” Paige says. “There are always different things that need to be done, and aside from showing [livestock] over the last decade, I’ve always been around helping out. I don’t see myself moving anywhere else. I feel like everything I need is right here.”

(2Ps Studios, Shayna Perez)

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High Clearance, High Yields: How Brent Pence Bootstrapped Big Acres With Hagie Sprayers and John Deere Tech

Fri, 02 May 2025 14:11:41 GMT

In a bi-level red barn setback from a winding country road that weaves through the Central Ohio landscape, first generation farmer Brent Pence has built a corn and soy operation many never imagined would come to fruition.

“Everyone told us we wouldn’t make it, that we weren’t going to make this dream happen, and we’re still here,” says the easy-going farmer on a sun splashed, breezy spring morning.

Folks in town had doubts because they knew Pence didn’t grow up on a farm or hit the genetic lottery by inheriting thousands of acres. His father spent his career as a skilled machinist in New Carlisle, Ohio, a quaint rural enclave halfway between Dayton and Springfield. If that town sounds familiar, it might be because in 1933, the infamous cat burglar John Dillinger commissioned his first bank heist there — nabbing a cool $10,000 from the New Carlisle National branch on Main Street.

Meeting Pence for the first time, you can tell there is a fire fueling him beyond big scores and scale ticket dollar signs. After starting with 123 acres of rented ground from his longtime business mentor, Jerry McMahan, today he calls the shots across 4,500 acres of cropland spread over a 50-mile radius. Pence jokingly refers to his area as the “Boulder Belt” due to its rock-filled, clay pan soils.

The college-grad-turned-row-crop-farmer speaks with a booming, rapid-fire cadence and bounces back and forth from what he’s excited about at the time to tales of hilarious adventures on the goat and livestock showing circuit with his wife, Christine, and daughter, Paige.

Luckily for us, Pence was all fired up about his new approach to nitrogen management and application technology when we dropped in on him. Planting season was so close in his neck of the woods that you could almost taste the airborne soil dust dancing on the early spring breeze.

Shifting to Spoon-fed

First generation Ohio farmer Brent Pence in his “man cave” inside of his red barn in New Carlisle, Ohio. The space is festooned with photos of his daughter Paige winning awards on the livestock showing circuit.

(Matthew J. Grassi)

Many seasons ago, Pence dove head first into late-season nitrogen on corn research. Convinced it would drive his yields higher and pay off, he got his hands on a Hagie high-clearance sprayer and went in at V13-V14 to spoon-feed nitrogen on 400 acres that first year. Before the Hagie came roaring into his life, he often steered a side dress rig to put nutrients on around V4-V5.

“I don’t care who it is – whether it’s DeKalb, Channel or Pioneer – all of these hybrids today react to late-season nitrogen,” Pence says. “Most of the guys around here put anhydrous on and maybe do a side dress before they head to the lake, then we normally get really dry, and you’ll see the corn brown out. But ours stays green. We don’t go to the lake either. We work all summer.”

Pence saw a yield bump of 14 bushels per acre. He also noted hardier plants that better withstood the blustery mid-summer windstorms common to mid-Ohio.

“I would call it standability. The corn is not cannibalizing itself anymore to make an ear. Now the nitrogen is right there where the plant can use it to make the ear,” he adds.

Last winter, Pence signed the papers on a brand new 2025 Hagie STS 16 from his local AgPro dealership. He’s excited to run that shiny, hulking graphite and yellow sprayer all summer long - the pilot seat his favorite throne of all.

Tech Tools
Another benefit Pence discovered – after running two passes over 350 acres of winter wheat this spring – is how easy it is to steer the new Hagie around his smaller, oddly shaped fields with a front-mounted boom. Add John Deere’s ExactApply technology, which turns off individual nozzles on the boom where it knows the sprayer has already applied, and AutoTrac guidance with the G5 display, and you get why he’s so at home in this cab.

Ohio farmer Brent Pence’s 2025 Hagie STS 16 sprayer. Pence plans to put about 12,000 acres on the machine this summer.

(Matthew J. Grassi)

He also says John Deere’s Boom Recirculation upgrade has saved him money and headaches. Now, he’s able to reclaim 50 to 70 gallons of product from the boom back into the tank.

And then there’s the John Deere Operations Center mobile app. Pence whips out his iPhone and knows exactly what his machines and operators are doing, how long until they finish a field, and where he needs to send the tender truck to keep those guys working. Christine, who has a day job with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, can also keep track of everything going on from her office upstairs in the farmhouse.

During one particularly busy spring planting season, before she knew about the app, Brent was watching her work a field in Operations Center when he noticed she was stopped for awhile.

“I called her and said, ‘Hey, you’re not moving. I’m almost done. I can come help you in a few minutes.’ And she goes, “You knew I wasn’t moving? How the hell did you know that?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I didn’t mean it like that’,” he recalls with a chuckle. “So, I get down there and she’s standing there pointing this screwdriver at me and she goes ‘You have two options, so you better tell me how you knew I wasn’t moving,’ and I was like ‘Well, there’s this app I have on my phone.’ and she’s like, what!?”

Of course, that transparency goes both ways. Brent has had to answer for his own periods of inactivity as well. And when Paige makes her return to the farm this summer from college, she’ll have the Operations Center app, too. When she’s not out helping her customers win awards on the show animal circuit or breeding new goats for the future crop of customers, she’ll be on the farm helping out right next to mom and dad.

That basically sums up Brent Pence: he loves his family and farming, and he’s always thinking about that next piece of machinery or technology that can give him a leg up on ol’ Mother Nature.

“This journey we’re on as a family, the whole farming thing has been such a blessing,” Pence says. “And when Paige came into this world, we were able to spend time showing livestock all over the country with her. It’s just been pretty unreal, and it’s been a hell of a ride, that’s for sure.”

Your Next Read: How a Nazi-Fighting Oklahoman Rejected NFL Draft and Went Home to Farm

Why Farmers are Flocking to Auctions for Low-Hour Equipment Deals

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 19:22:00 GMT

The used equipment buying season remains active as spring planting takes off. Farm equipment that is only a few years old with low operating hours continues to draw strong prices at auction.

Machinery Pete noticed that trend last week via a few record-setting transactions. At a Kiko Auctions sale in Diamond, Ohio, a pair of blue tractors and a blue planter raised the bar higher:

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

A 2013 New Holland T7 260 tractor with only 1,226 hours on it brought $152,000, which blasted past the previous record high for that year/model by over $19,000.

(Machinery Pete Facebook )

A 2015 New Holland T5 115 utility tractor with a loader (765 hours) brought in $75,000, beating the previous record high by $7,000.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

A 2024 Kinze 3505 8/16 row planter with just over 170 acres planted on it sold for $100,000. That set a new record by $17,500.

“There’s a similar pattern here. Whether its blue, green or orange, if it’s got a few years on it with low hours and in nice condition, those prices are very strong right now,” Pete says.

Moving Iron host Casey Seymour, who has over 20 years of experience in the farm equipment dealership space, says there are more farmers hitting auctions than heading to the dealer lot, and that’s typical of a down cycle in the farm economy.

“Things at auction have a higher demand signal than what you see on the lot. When I was working at the dealership, I would see these sales and think, ‘Man, I’ve got five just like that sitting on my lot that I would sell to you for $10,000 less than what you bought that one for.’ But nobody’s coming to the table, and that’s just where we’re at right now,” he says.

Order-Writing Season For New
Aaron Fintel, used equipment specialist with 21st Century Wholesale – a John Deere dealer with 26 storefronts across Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas – joined the podcast to talk about the soon-to-open new machine order-writing period.

Fintel says it’s not something many think about when it comes to buying new, but farmers getting re-approved for financing has “been a process” this year.

“It’s kind of a two-edged sword. If you went and got that new machine at 0% interest at the end of last year because the accountant said to do it, I don’t care that it’s 0% because its also $450,000 sitting on the balance sheet,” he says. “That’s been a huge factor.”

Commodity Markets Update
Chip Nellinger, owner of Blue Reef Agri-Marketing, joined Seymour to wrap up this week’s episode with an update on the commodity markets.

When it comes to corn and soybean futures, Nellinger says there is still “a lot of uncertainty and volatility in the market” but he is seeing some potential upside with President Trump softening on the tariffs against China.

“The stock market seems to be signaling something has changed, and the bean market has been pretty resilient here over the last couple of days,” he says. “There has been a fair amount of activity in planting, and I think that’s why corn has relaxed. We’re ahead of average planting pace at 12% and that’s probably delayed a little bit. So, we should see a lot more progress in next week’s report.”

Nellinger says to keep an eye on the South, where higher-than-average moisture levels have delayed corn planting, and farmers might flip acres to beans or cotton – or even take prevent plant insurance.

Want more Moving Iron? Click this link to watch the episode in full here.

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Pete's Pick of the Week: Single Owner New Holland Tractor, Low Acre Kinze Planter and Strip Tillage Tool

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 13:11:18 GMT

The weather is finally starting to turn warmer and (sometimes) sunny in many areas of the country. The latest Pete’s Pick of the Week comes from the Eastern Corn Belt, where many growers are still waiting on fields to dry up before putting pedal to metal and going full boar into the #plant25 season.

Pete’s Pick of the Week
This week’s eye-catching machine comes to us from a Kiko auction that took place on Saturday in Diamond, Ohio. Machinery Pete says the sale featured a fine selection of low hour, single owner, well-conditioned machinery for the taking, but a pair of machines in particular drew his attention.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

A 2013 New Holland T7 260 tractor with 1,226 hours on it (shown above) sold for $152,000. The T7 was among a fleet of six New Holland tractors at the sale, Pete says.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

And a 2024 Kinze 3505 planter with low acres planted (172) sold for an even $100,000 at the same Ohio auction.

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

He says last Wednesday’s PurpleWave.com farm auction near Oakley, Kan., was another notable sale, with an Orthman 1tRIPr (One Tripper) 40-foot, 30-row strip tillage tool going for $90,000.

Promising Auction This Week

(Machinery Pete Facebook)

Pete adds it might pay off to check out the Kerr Auction online sale that finishes up Tuesday, April 22, in Mount Pleasant, PA.

He added he is excited to see how much cash a Case IH 8920 Magnum tractor (shown above) with 2,887 hours on it will end up fetching. It’s not every day you can track one of these machines down with less than 3,000 operating hours on it, Pete says.

“There’s a lot of very nice equipment on that sale, so that will be interesting for sure,” he says.

Go to KerrAuction.com to see what’s up for auction and to register to bid. You can also check out this video preview Pete put together and shared on Facebook :

The State of the Used Farm Equipment Market
Looking at the bigger picture, Machinery Pete says two buyer behavior trends are playing out across the used farm equipment auction market:

Even with budgets tightened, he says there is still solid buyer demand for good condition, low-hour used equipment.
The used combine market, which is usually six to 12 months ahead of the high horsepower tractor segment, is starting to firm up value-wise after two years of high supply price erosion. The segment today is only down about 10% overall, which Pete is taking as a good sign used tractor values could firm up in the near future.

“Good condition, low hour used is still bringing out the buyers,” he told AgriTalk host Chip Flory on Monday. “We’re seeing prices firmer on the combine side, but what will the dealer market do this summer? Last year we saw a huge flow of late model tractors and combines from the dealer lot into the auction market, which caused prices to drop. Will we see the same this year?”

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Tractor Tales: Rediscover Classics from John Deere and International Harvester

Fri, 07 Feb 2025 21:31:23 GMT

If you love antique and unique farm tractors, then Machinery Pete’s Tractor Tales segment is right up your alley. You can find the videos on YouTube. The segments are also featured each weekend on U.S. Farm Report.

Here’s a roundup of some of the latest Tractor Tales videos.

John Deere Tractor Tales

Ohio farmer Chris Durham has one of only 39 John Deere 435 diesel tractors on his McClure, Ohio, farm. Making this tractor even more special is the original engine Deere planned to use for this model was swapped out for a General Motors 253 hp “Detroit Diesel” two stroke engine. Durham said that Deere did not like how the engine sounded or its rough starts in cold weather, so large-scale production was scrapped.

Manlius, Ill., farmer Kim Sanden and a couple buddies took the time to painstakingly restore this 1970 John Deere 4070 diesel tractor, which Sanden purchased from a lady in Springfield, Ill. The old workhorse tractor was pretty beat up when Sanden and his friends first got to wrenching on it, but you’d never be able to tell looking at it today. That is one sweet, sweet looking restored John Deere tractor.

Colorado farmer Tyson Hanson and his family have restored a John Deere GP tractor that has been in the family for over 50 years. It’s the first tractor Hanson ever drove as a kid growing up on the farm, and it’s not one you’d easily forget due to the unique clickity-clackity-sputtering cadence of its engine. It was owned by Hanson’s great-grandfather, who owned 200-plus two-cylinder tractors during his life. Apparently, the old tractor is still a beast when it comes to tractor pulls: The Hansons have only lost a handful of pulls with the GP.

Fun with Farmall

You’re going to start picking up on a theme with these: Farmers love to go back and buy the first tractor they ever drove, and that’s exactly the case with Saint Mary’s, Kan., farmer Dan Kennedy and his candy-apple red Farmall BN tractor.

Kennedy purchased the tractor from a farm in Shanksville, Penn., that was right next to the field where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on 9/11. Kennedy says he still gets choked up even today talking about this special tractor. That’s one farmer who will truly never forget.

Adrian, N.D., farmer Lee Miller has a beautifully restored 1949 M-D Diesel that also takes unleaded gasoline. He says the diesel engine is more powerful than the gasoline combustion engine, so most farmers would take the tractor to a local machine shop and have them widen the original rims a few inches so they could use wider footprint tires to take advantage of that additional torque to the ground.

Northfield, Minn., farmer Jeremy Sevcik bought and restored a 1946 H Series tractor as part of a 4-H project during high school. He fixed a broken gear box, sandblasted all the sheet metal and gave it a fresh coat of paint. It turned out to be a pretty solid school project: Sevcik bought the tractor off his Dad last fall, and he uses it for pulling trailers and moving around hay racks.

Your Next Read: Casey Seymour and Machinery Pete Join Forces on the Moving Iron Podcast

Inside AgRevolution: AGCO’s Bold Mobile Service Play Pledges ‘Farmers First’

Fri, 15 Nov 2024 19:47:34 GMT

Intent on building out a new dealer service strategy for its family of equipment brands, AGCO quietly approached equipment industry pro Stacy Anthony to see if he’d be willing to take on the reimagined dealer network’s CEO role.

The affable-yet-intense farm kid from Kansas was undoubtedly interested, but he wasn’t going to be an easy sell. Anthony recalls three non-negotiables he shared with AGCO executives before agreeing to put pen to paper and go all-in:

The project had to be “something different” than the traditional equipment dealer business model.
He wanted to take the repair and maintenance aspects of the dealer business “straight to the farm, and even to a farmer’s field.”
The new business model needed to embrace an “all makes mindset.”

AGCO president and CEO Eric Hansotia huddled his team of executives and eventually they agreed Anthony was the man for the job.

(Related - Planting A Flag: AGCO All-In On Mixed-Fleet Aftermarket Ag Tech)

A New Era of On-Farm Service
AgRevolution was officially launched in 2021, a time when the world was slowly but surely crawling out from underneath the soul-crushing weight of the COVID-19 pandemic. Fast forward three years and AgRevolution today features 13 dealer locations dispatching service technicians in shiny, well-appointed half ton pickups around the Ohio Valley region to diagnose and wrench on machines.

Anthony says roughly 90% of the jobs his service technicians undertake are finished either on-farm or right there in the farmer’s field. That age-old logistical nightmare of how to get this giant but currently inoperable machine several miles up the road to the nearest dealer shop, has been taken off the broad shoulders of the farmers who call on AgRevolution for repairs and service.

AgRevolution field service tech Steve Bowers uploads a firmware update to a customer’s Fendt 940 tractor on a farm just outside of Urbana, Ohio, in October.

(Matthew J. Grassi)

The concept got off to a shaky start though, not unlike most rookie campaigns. AGCO’s finance team projected the business would lose $1 million. Anthony and his team did what most farmers do in times of peril: they tightened their belts and focused on what they could do to effect positive change. It all eventually worked out and the AgRev team ended up flipping that dismal profit projection on its head, creating a surprise profit that most in the company didn’t think possible at the time.

Today, AgRevolution has invested $7-million-plus into a fleet of over 50 mobile service trucks, and the initiative just expanded into Ohio with five locations around the Buckeye State. Overall AgRevolution revenues are up 400% since year one, Anthony says, and revenues are up 49% from last year.

While it was his ideation that birthed this innovative service model, the humble Kansas native is quick to deflect credit to the guys in the AgRev hats out in the field everyday.

AgRev field service techs (above left) complete 90% of their tasks on-farm with a fleet of well-appointed mobile service trucks.

(AGCO/AgRevolution)

“Our service technicians and the relationships they have with farmers, that’s what has really helped us grow and expand,” Anthony says as we walk around AgRevolution’s newest location in Urbana, Ohio.

Even before its Nov. 1 grand opening, service technicians and sales pros out of the Urbana, Ohio, office were servicing local farmers’ machines for a couple months as they worked on getting the main office ready.

Going on a Service Call
Steve Bowers, a field service technician and Ohio farm kid, let Farm Journal tag along on a quick service call to get a feel for how it all worked. He says farmers in his community love the responsiveness and ease of doing business with AgRevolution, not to mention the fact that AgRev techs are brand agnostic: They’ll come out and fix your Fendt combine, or your Massey Ferguson tractor, and if you’ve got a broken down John Deere sprayer you can’t get to the local dealer, they’ll fix that, too.

The service call we witnessed was routine: Bowers needed to update the operating system on the farmer’s Fendt 940 tractor because the machine was having trouble maintaining connectivity. The adjustment handle on the cab air seat had also been broken off and needed replaced.

AgRevolution field service tech Steve Bowers let Farm Journal tag along as he diagnosed and repaired a couple minor issues on this Fendt 940 tractor.

(Matthew J. Grassi )

Bowers said he would order the new seat handle at the end of day, and it would show up either later that night or first thing the next morning at his house. With the part in hand, he can go straight to the customer’s farm to fix the seat before heading off on his service calls for the day. AgRevolution can also send larger parts straight to the farm so they’re waiting for Bowers when he arrives.

Hear It Straight From a Service Tech
We asked Bowers if there are repair jobs he prefers over others, as one would guess doing software updates might not rank very highly. Bowers said his favorite machines to work on are combines. Since there are so many moving parts and systems, it’s more of a brain stimulating challenge than some other jobs.

As we climbed out of the tractor cab after Bowers completed his work, Anthony didn’t mince words when asked what he thinks puts the “Rev” (think vroom vroom) behind the AgRevolution brand.

“It’s guys like Steve here, the guy wants to service a customer no matter what it takes, because he lives in this community and doesn’t want to leave a neighbor hanging,” Anthony says. “Before his service truck even arrived, I got a picture from one of the guys and it’s Steve out in a field standing on the roof of his wife’s minivan working on a combine.

“That’s the heart of what trust, commitment and resilience is, to do whatever you have to do at any cost to take care of the farmer,” he adds. “Guys like Steve help us build companies like this; you can’t do it without people like that and they’re highly, highly sought after.”

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How Pro Farmer's 2024 Yield Estimates Compare to USDA Expectations

Fri, 23 Aug 2024 19:39:45 GMT

For four days this past week, more than 100 crop scouts sampled 2,000 to 3,000 fields in seven Midwest states as part of the one-of-a-kind Pro Farmer Crop Tour . Building on the boots-on-the-ground data and observations, Pro Farmer considers crop maturity and historical differences in Crop Tour data versus USDA’s final yields to release its national production estimates.

“One of the major questions heading into Crop Tour was whether the corn and soybean crops could live up to the lofty expectations,” says Brian Grete, editor for Pro Farmer. “Of the two crops, I was more impressed with soybeans than corn, and the corn crop is stellar.”

Here are the 2024 Pro Farmer National Production Estimates.

Corn Yield Estimates

“The first two days of the tour all we did was move bushels from South Dakota and Nebraska to Ohio and Indiana compared with USDA estimates,” says Chip Flory, host of “AgriTalk.” “We had laid the groundwork for a really good crop in Iowa, but in northwest Iowa, we ran into problems, which we anticipated after too much rain during the planting season. In our final day running the routes, we’ve got a nice crop in Iowa, but Minnesota is another story.”

On the eastern side of the Corn Belt, Grete and fellow scouts found a strong corn crop.

“USDA put a record yield on corn for five of the seven states,” he says. “Ohio isn’t one of those — but if we weren’t talking about last year’s record crop in Ohio, this year would be up there. This year is comparing to last year’s gold standard.”

Indiana: Trouble spots are few and far between. The corn crop posted higher numbers across the board for ear count, grain length and the number of kernels around the cob compared to the 2023 crop.

Illinois: While scouts saw variability in Illinois, the high-yielding fields far exceeded those that fell short, and the state is holding a big crop . Plant health looks good, and even the lower leaves are still green.

Iowa: Yield potential looks promising , especially in the southeast corner, the garden spot, of the state. The corn in east-central Iowa looks good, but the variability is more noticeable in the northeast.

Minnesota: The corn crop in Minnesota doesn’t look too good from the road, and it seems to have ran out of gas . Record rainfall during planting hurt the crop out of the gate, causing drowned out spots and yellow corn, followed by a dry summer.

Nebraska: Despite hail damage and fewer ears, the Nebraska corn crop looks promising with better numbers for grain length and kernels around the cob compared with 2023. Some dryland corn looks as good as irrigated acres thanks to cooperative weather.

Ohio: Despite drought conditions this year (59% of Ohio is currently seeing some level of dryness), the corn crop is proving to be resilient .

South Dakota: Historic flooding that occurred right after Father’s Day in the southeast part of the state left its mark. Scouts found fields with fewer ears , but grain length was up compared with 2023. It’s obvious the corn crop had two very different planting dates, so there’s two very different crops growing in the state.

Soybean Yield Estimates

“Soybeans could be spectacular as long as there isn’t a weather event that derails the crop ahead of harvest,” Grete says. “Typically, there’s some concern with either the corn crop, soybean crop or both coming out of Crop Tour. There aren’t concerns this year.”

Indiana: If soybeans can get a rain or two, yields should finish strong .

Illinois: Uniformity, heavily podded plants and good soil moisture — Illinois has all the ingredients for a big yield , which is a pleasant surprise. “For beans that don’t look that impressive, they certainly have a lot of pods on them,” says crop scout Mark Bernard.

Iowa: Soybean fields are consisten t and show minimal pest and weed pressure across the state, boasting big pod increases versus last year.

Minnesota: Soybeans seem to have handled the excess water better than the corn crop, but yield will be lucky to top 50 bu. per acre .

Nebraska: More pods and pods with three and four beans are good signs.

Ohio: The pod factory is still working. Plants are heavily podded and recent rains pumped moisture into the pods. The drought seems to have had little impact on yield potential.

South Dakota: Soybeans are inconsistent and could go either way this year. The crop is still filling out and has a ton of work to do to realize its potential, Flory says. If it doesn’t get it done, then it’s probably not going to be last year’s bean crop.

Tyne Morgan, host of “ U.S. Farm Report ,” sits down with Chip Flory and Brian Grete to recap the highlights and lowlights from the 32nd Pro Farmer Crop Tour.

Your Next Read — Take Our Poll: How Are Your Yields Shaping Up This Year?

PF Crop Tour Day 1: Scouts Find Higher Pod Counts in South Dakota, Lower Corn and Soybean Estimates in Ohio

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 00:59:39 GMT

The 32nd Pro Farmer Crop Tour kicked off on Monday with nearly 100 scouts in South Dakota and Ohio. The results from day 1 were released Monday night , with South Dakota and Ohio’s corn yield estimate coming in lower than what scouts found last year. Ohio’s soybean pod counts were also off from last year’s record, but scouts found higher soybean pod counts in South Dakota versus 2023.

South Dakota’s Results

South Dakota’s corn data from the Pro Farmer Crop Tour 2024

(Lori Hayes )

In South Dakota, Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts found fields with fewer ears, but grain length was up compared with 2023.

South Dakota corn yield estimate: 156.51 bu. per acre, down 0.58% from 2023
Ear count: 84.42, down 5.11% from last year
Grain length: Up 6.44% from 2023

South Dakota’s soybean data from the Pro Farmer Crop Tour 2024

(Lori Hayes)

South Dakota’s pod counts were 1,025.89 in a 3’x3' square, which is up 1.27% from 2023.

Ohio’s Results

Ohio corn data from day 1 of Pro Farmer Crop Tour

(Lori Hayes)

Ohio’s corn yield estimate from the 2024 tour came in slightly lower than last year’s record.

Ohio corn yield estimate: 183.29 bu. per acre, down 0.35% from 2023
Ear count: 100.37, up .66% compared with last year
Grain length: Down 2.17% from last year

Ohio’s soybean data from the Pro Farmer Crop Tour 2024

(Lori Hayes)

Ohio’s soybean pod counts were down 1.84% from 2023 at 1,229.93 pods in a 3’x3' square.

Chip Flory and Brian Grete React to Day 1 of the Tour

Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk, leads the western leg of Pro Farmer Crop Tour each year. He says it was another interesting year for scouting South Dakota’s crops.

“The holes in the field, the drowned out spots, the ponded out areas, that’s putting a big question in my mind about the impact on the South Dakota corn and soybean crops,” Flory says. “We saw that in a lot of places. We saw a corn crop that had two very different planting dates. So we’ve got two very different corn crops growing in South Dakota. In terms of the beans, when you look at last year, it was dry. The beans, though, were still filling out. They had done a lot of the work that they needed to do a year ago. However, this year, that bean crop has got a ton of work to do to realize its potential.”

Flory says ear counts might have been down in South Dakota this year, but the crop made up for it in grain length.

“We had longer ears, longer grain length on this year’s crop, and that’s where we made it up,” Flory says. “We’re looking at a corn crop that’s basically the same as it was a year ago. Soybeans were up only 1.27% on the pods in a 3’x3' square, but I think we’re looking at a really different bean crop this year. Last year, it was what it was and wasn’t going to get any bigger. The bean crop in South Dakota could go either way this year. It’s got a lot of work to do, and if it doesn’t get it done, then it’s probably not going to be last year’s bean crop.”

Editor of Pro Farmer Brian Grete leads the eastern leg of the tour. He says he didn’t see the same consistency across Ohio that scouts found last year.

“I don’t think this year’s Ohio crop is what it was last year, to be honest with you,” Grete says. “Chip talked about the difference in ear counts out there. We actually had higher ear counts, so there’s more ears out there, but the grain length is less, which offsets each other and you end up down four-tenths of a percent from what we found on Crop Tour last year.”

Grete points out scouts did find some disease in the Ohio crop this year.

“We’ll see how much of the yield potential we measured actually gets into the bin,” Grete says.

An In-Depth Look At What Scouts Found In Ohio

As Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts set out on day 1 on the eastern leg, they saw impressive corn and soybean crops in Ohio, despite the area seeing drought this year. With rains over the weekend, the soybean yields have the potential to be strong.

“We started planting our beans on April 16 and finished on the 25th,” says Michael Vallery who farms in south-central Ohio. “We started planting corn on April 26 and finished on the 30th. We’d never been done planting that early before.”

Vallery says the early start was promising, and he hopes it helps push his soybean yields higher. But the biggest concern for Ohio farmers this year has been drought.

“Our yields this year are going to be less than last year. We’ve basically had the top cut off of our crop by the fact that we’ve received about 5" less moisture than normal,” Vallery says.

According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, 59% of Ohio is currently seeing some level of dryness. One year ago, that number was only 11%.

“So far, the drought has affected corn more than our soybeans,” he says. “We can still benefit from a late-season rain on some of the later-planted beans.”

Crawford county Ohio #pftour24 pic.twitter.com/Md6ylfJsYi
— Mike (@BerdoMike) August 19, 2024

Vallery says Ohio farmers know they’re probably not going to see the record yields they harvested last year. Still, as Grete got into corn fields on Monday and started peeling back the ears, he uncovered an extremely resilient crop.

“In terms of what’s normal out here in Ohio over the years and what we’ve seen on crop tours in the past, this is an above-average year,” Grete says.

Early updates from the West and East legs of The @profarmer Crop Tour! Stay tuned for more crop insights throughout the week! Follow along with #pftour24 pic.twitter.com/uXfPBsDYWl
— Farm Journal (@FarmJournal) August 19, 2024

Grete has led the eastern leg of the tour for nearly 20 years. He knew after last year’s phenomenal crop in Ohio, it would be hard to beat this season. Yet, even with drought, he thinks this year’s corn yields could be in the top three for the state.

“When comparing it to last year that was the record yield in the state and the gold standard. It was just a phenomenal corn crop last year in Ohio. It’s probably not going to quite live up to those standards this year, but it’s a very good corn crop based on what we’ve seen so far,” Grete explains.

When it comes to Ohio’s soybean crop, Grete was even more impressed.

“The soybeans have been pretty consistent and, actually, they’ve been probably more consistent than corn,” he says. “The fields we stopped in are highly podded. They have soil moisture since they got rain in some of these fields overnight and yesterday. Plenty of topsoil moisture is present, so they should have the ability to finish strong.”

A heavily podded soybean crop with recent rains to help pump moisture into the pods means the pod factory is still working. That could produce some bountiful soybean yields in Ohio this year.

“A heavily podded crop that has moisture in the third week of August is probably going to yield pretty well. I think that’s what we’re looking at so far on our route,” Grete says.

Scouts Found a Consistent Corn Crop in South Dakota

Despite heavy rains and flooding early in the season in southeast South Dakota, crop scouts are finding consistent corn yields, making USDA record yield projections achievable. But soybeans might fall short of the mark, due to the high variability of pod counts.

The historic flooding that occurred right after Father’s Day in the southeast part of the state definitely left its mark.

“You can see the washed-out areas, flooded-out areas, and it seems like every field has a problem of some sort,” says Chip Flory, host of AgriTalk and western leg tour leader.

Centerville, S.D., farmer Craig Andersen received 18" of rain in 48 hours, destroying many of his fields. He wasn’t alone with that experience.

“Using the satellite information, we figured it was over 40,000 acres in this area, right alongside the Vermillion River,” he says.

Acres that weren’t zeroed out will likely see lower yields from increased weed pressure, variable maturity and reduced pod counts.

“A year ago, our pod counts in South Dakota were 1,013,” Flory says. “We started off in the 1,300 range but we’ve also been as low as 400.”

Considering he’s finding such an inconsistent soybean crop, Flory says it might be a stretch for the state to reach USDA’s 47 bu. per acre yield estimate.

“I’m not seeing anything that makes me think it’s a 47-bu. bean crop in South Dakota,” he says.

🌽Four stops in northeast Nebraska on #pftour24 (Knox, Cedar, Pierce Counties). Here's how the #corn yield has averaged (in bu/acre) on this exact route through four stops in the last four years:
2024: 161.6
2023: 158.3 (1 irrigated)
2022: 133.5 (1 irrigated)
2021: 178 pic.twitter.com/w3BcK2PyA8
— Karen Braun (@kannbwx) August 19, 2024

Western leg scout Tim Gregerson found more uniformity in the corn despite a sample that just pollinated last week.

“I’'ve seen a lot of consistent corn,” he says.

He encountered a few surprises with Southern rust and no signs of nitrogen loss from heavy rains that fell early in the season.

“So far the color of the corn is pretty good, though the holes are evident. They’re a little bit bigger than normal in this area of South Dakota than in a normal year, the drowned-out spots. But it’s amazing how tight we’ve seen the yields range, between 170 and 174 bu.,” Gregerson says.

But is it the record 162 bu. per acre yield USDA predicted for the state? That’s yet to be seen.

“The ear count has been consistent enough that it’s definitely possible,” Gregerson says.

Plus, he says the northern half of South Dakota might make up for the deficits in the southeast region.

For more than 30 years, Pro Farmer Crop Tour scouts have been providing the agriculture industry with insights into potential corn and soybean production, gathering scout reports from 2,000-plus fields across Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota.

This year’s event takes place August 19-22. Register now to attend in-person or watch results live each night at 8 p.m. Central Standard Time.

______________________________________________________________________________________________
For exclusive access to professional grade news, analysis and advice, subscribe to Pro Farmer here .

HPAI Now Detected on Ohio Dairy: Strange Bird Flu Concerns See Growth

Thu, 04 Apr 2024 16:45:08 GMT

Ohio has become the sixth state where dairy cattle have tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), also known as bird flu. A recent news release from the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) reports presumptive positive results from dairy cows in Wood County.

According to officials, the cows arrived in Wood County on March 8 from a dairy in Texas. That dairy later reported a confirmed case of HPAI. The Ohio dairy operation alerted state officials when the livestock began showing signs of illness. State officials are awaiting confirmation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“We have official confirmation that we do have a case at a dairy in Wood County of HPAI, which is an influenza,” says ODA Director Brian Baldridge. “We’ve been working with this in the poultry industry for about the last two-and-a-half years and it has found its way into the dairy industry. We are working diligently with the dairy, with their vets and with our Animal Health division and our state veterinarian, Dr. (Dennis) Summers, on this issue.

According to the USDA, HPAI has now been detected in five other states, including:

Texas
Kansas
New Mexico,
Idaho
Michigan

“Clinically sick dairy cattle from affected herds range from 1% to 20%, with an average of 10% of the milking herd affected. There are no confirmed reports of death loss in dairy cattle directly attributed to these detections. Most sick cows begin recovering within a few days.”

“Federal and state agencies continue to conduct additional testing from sick animals and in unpasteurized clinical milk samples from sick animals, as well as viral genome sequencing, to assess whether HPAI or another unrelated illness may be underlying any symptoms,” the ODA reports.

The agency notes that clinically sick dairy cattle from affected herds range from 1% to 20%, with an average of 10% of the milking herd affected. Currently, there are no confirmed reports of death loss in dairy cattle directly attributed to these detections with most sick cows recovering within a few days.

HPAI symptoms in dairy cattle include:

Sudden drop in milk production.
Some severely impacted cows are producing thicker, more concentrated, colostrum-like milk.
Drop in feed consumption with a simultaneous drop in rumen function, accompanied by loose feces and some fever.
Impacted herds have reported older cows in mid-lactation may be more likely to be severely impacted than younger cows, fresh cows or heifers.
Some herds have reported pneumonia and mastitis.

Officials are strongly advising dairy producers to use all standard biosecurity measures. They note it’s important for producers to clean and disinfect all livestock watering devices and isolate drinking water where it might be contaminated by waterfowl. Farmers are also being asked to notify their herd veterinarian if they suspect any cattle within their herd are displaying symptoms of this condition.

For more on HPAI, read:

Ohio Woman in Ag Ties Teaching and Farming Into One

Wed, 31 Jan 2024 16:00:42 GMT

Midwestern farmer Marcia Ruff knows she was created for two main reasons.

“Teaching and farming are probably why God put me on the Earth,” she says. “That’s what I’m supposed to be here for.”

As she splits her time between local kindergarten classrooms and the family farm, she spends each day fulfilling her passions.

“This is really the dream life I had envisioned,” Ruff says. “As a teacher, you educate children and make them ready for the world, but as a farmer, you feed the world.”

Ruff’s passion for tying together agriculture, education and advocacy is what led to her being recognized as the 2023 Top Producer Women In Ag Award winner.

Slow and Steady
Ruff plays an integral role on the Circleville, Ohio, farm she operates with her husband, Mark, and their three children: Matthew, Mitchell and Mae. Over the years, she’s worked hard to help build the operation to what it is now.

“It wasn’t an explosion of acres,” Ruff says. “Nobody was actively farming when we got married 26 years ago, and we started from ground zero and built this up. We started out with 100 to 150 acres in the beginning.”

Mark works as the full-time operator, Matthew and Mitchell drive equipment and Mae is involved with the cattle. Siblings, parents and several full-time employees also play important roles.

As the operation has grown and diversified over the years, so has Marcia’s role. And even when she’s not the one out in the field, she’s been behind the scenes ensuring everything is running smoothly.

“When we first got married, we had a forage business, and I drove the baler almost exclusively. I had my rhyme and my rhythm and my ‘I’ll let you know if I need you’ kind of thing,” she says. “I think the dynamic really changed once we started having kids because I needed to put my attention there. So I became more of the escort vehicle — delivered meals to the field, supervised the 4-H projects, things you can do from home.”

While each person has their specific duty on the operation, Ruff serves as what she describes to be the coordinator of activities, making sure everyone has what they need to achieve success.

Advocate Where You Can
One of the hats Ruff wears to help promote the farm’s activities is social media manager.

“I realized so many people use social media, and I would start to see things and say, ‘why can’t I do that’,” she says. “I think sometimes we forget that what we do is important and interesting, because we do it every day.”

She also uses it as a way to connect the farm with her school’s curriculum.

“Last year, I started taking pictures of my daughter’s pumpkin patch throughout the growing season, and my teacher brain thought ‘these are the things I read to my kids about’,” Ruff says. “I put a video of it on YouTube to show my students and added labels so it goes along with the books we read.”

She shared the video with other teachers, and it now has over 8,000 views.

“I think you have to be an advocate for agriculture and educate people,” Ruff says. “Anything you can do to get information out there and get people interested in agriculture and where their food comes from.”

Showing consumers where their food comes from is something Ruff and her family have taken to the next level.

“Two summers ago, we had foreign exchange students from Indonesia here and we happened to be shipping grain to Indonesia around that time,” she says. “We hosted a luncheon for them and then showed them the combine and showed them the beans that were headed to Jakarta, where they would be getting the exact beans that we were sending. They were very excited, and they were telling us how they would prepare the beans to eat them.”

And while Ruff is an advocate for agriculture anywhere she goes, but as a teacher of 28 years, the classroom will always hold a special place in her heart.

She recently decided to pair her own award money with grant funding and donations to gift agriculture books to all 655 students in her elementary school.

“We live in a farming community, but many of the kids aren’t actively involved,” she says. “They see it every day, and I wanted them to get more information.”

Ruff did a presentation in each classroom at the school, and the students were then able to look through a variety of ag books that had been donated and choose one to keep. A popular title with the students is also one of Ruff’s favorites: “Click Clack Moo.”

“Some kids don’t have books of their own to keep, so that was a treasure for them,” Ruff says. “It wasn’t for a specific reason, and there were no strings attached. It was just that everyone got a book.”

With a large outpouring of support from her community, she hopes to continue this donation in the future.

Innovate and Diversify
Ruff has plenty to share with the farm’s online following between the operation’s seeding business, tile and drainage business, and brand-new container loading facility, all of which are products of the family’s ability to not only solve problems on the farm in innovative ways, but also diversify the operation.

“We raise regular corn, soybean and wheat crops. I think it’s in what we do with them that’s different,” Ruff says.

Inspired by the ways their parents use their resources, each of the Ruff children has thought of new and unique ways to harness the aspects of the operation they enjoy the most — something Marcia and her husband will always encourage.

“I think if they have these ideas, we’re there to encourage it or ask, ‘what can we do to help you’,” she says.

During the pandemic, Matthew began selling ears of corn on Amazon for squirrel and wildlife feed, which, at one point, grew to 150 boxes sold a day and is helping put him through college. Mitchell is marketing his third round of freezer beef directly to consumers and has considered starting a food truck in the future. And Mae has plans to grow her pumpkin patch and garden into a farm stand.

Ruff serves as the connective tissue between these business ventures, whether it’s driving her son to the post office to ship orders or helping her daughter understand gardening fundamentals.

“My kids aren’t allowed to say, ‘I can’t do that.’ They say, ‘I can’t do that yet’,” Ruff says. “So I hope I’m being a good role model and mentoring in that way that they can be confident, independent and do all these things.”

The Meaning of a “Farm Wife”
Ruff doesn’t just mentor her children to find their passion on the farm. She also shares that message with other women in agriculture.

“You can make a place of your own in agriculture; you don’t have to follow your father, your brother or your husband. There’s a place for you to do your own thing, and you can be the leader and an equal partner,” she says. “My role has changed over the years, and there were years that I felt like I didn’t do a lot for everybody, but making a meal and loading it in the car with the kids still helped everyone out.”

As her own day-to-day duties have changed over the years, one thing has remained constant: Ruff and her husband’s partnership in the operation.

“We joke about the term ‘farm wife,’” she says. “I love my husband, and I love being married to him, and I love being the farm wife, but it’s because I also know he’s the ‘farm husband.’ Because we’re partners.”

The pair make all of the farm’s big decisions together, going over the paperwork and discussing the timing.

“Even if I’m not the one physically driving the combine, I’m still in the picture,” Ruff says. “I’ve always told him if you can convince me, you can convince any bank.”

Ruff’s inspiration for this dynamic stems from the relationship she witnessed between her parents while she was growing up.

“My parents worked off farm, and I remember them coming home and dad would be on one tractor and mom would be on the other. They’d build fence together and just work very hard,” she says. “My daughter told me ‘You’re just like Nana; you do all the things,’ and I said ‘Well that’s how I grew up. You do all the things.’”

No matter what a woman wants her role on the operation to be, Ruff recommends making that desire known and using it for the betterment of agriculture.

“You hear women who say, ‘I’m just a farm wife.’ I’m like, take the ‘just’ out of that. There’s no such thing,” she says. “Put your desire out there, and do the things you want to do. You can always be an advocate and you can educate people, but just be an asset to the industry.”

As far as where Ruff’s role on the farm will go in the coming years, she hopes to take more of an active role in the day-to-day operations as she nears the end of her teaching career, but no matter what that looks like, she knows she will be fulfilled.

“I think success is all about your personal satisfaction with your life and the direction that you’ve chosen to take, striving to meet your goals and doing something with meaning,” she says. “In those terms, I’d say I’m
very successful.”

Ceres Solutions and Co-Alliance Merge to Form Keystone Cooperative

Wed, 10 Jan 2024 13:37:31 GMT

Ceres Solutions and Co-Alliance , two of Indiana’s largest agricultural cooperatives, have completed a shareholder vote with 99% in favor of merging.

The companies will now be known as Keystone Cooperative, effective March 1, 2024, and headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind.

At the news of the merger, The Scoop had an in-person interview with the new cooperative’s leadership.

Keystone will be led by:

CEO Kevin Still, currently CEO of Co-Alliance
Executive vice president Jeff Troike, currently CEO of Ceres Solutions
Executive vice president Scott Logue, currently executive vice president of Co-Alliance
20 total district directors

With a combined 1,700 employees, 20,000 farmer-owners, $3.1 billion sales revenue and 195 locations across Indiana, Illinois and Ohio, the leaders knew working together would allow them to better serve their owners.

“When you can see those types of synergies and look to the future, it’s our responsibility as a leadership team to take it to our board and say, ‘Here are the possibilities’,” Troike says. “Our members expect us to be able to deliver technology to help them be more productive, more efficient and more profitable. An organization of this size will allow us to continue to do what we’ve been doing in the future.”

Still adds, “We were geographically next to each other in a lot of places. And so in those areas, we’re going to be able to utilize assets together that before we couldn’t and I think that’s going to play a really important role.”

One of the first goals for the new company is to ensure their employee cultures are well aligned.

“The main thing we want to kick off as Keystone Cooperative is that our employees are focused on the customer and we don’t lose focus,” Troike says. “We want to make sure we communicate to our employees because they’re our most valuable asset – they take care of the customer.”

And as they move forward, Keystone’s strategy is to be a long-term solution for their customers.

“We want to continue to be a leader in the market and the employer of choice,” Still says. “We want to partner with our customers and keep that local feeling but still leverage size and scale.”

Related Articles:

Ceres Solutions and Co-Alliance to Vote on Merger

Two of Indiana’s Largest Cooperatives Pursue Due Diligence, Possible Merger

Co-Alliance Says Its Big Year Pays Back to Farmers, Its Business

Business Innovation Award: Digitize then Automate

Here’s How Pro Farmer's 2023 Yield Estimates Stack Up to USDA Expectations

Fri, 25 Aug 2023 22:17:31 GMT

It’s Friday in Pro Farmer Crop Tour week, which means the highly anticipated production estimates for the 2023 U.S. corn and soybean crops are now available.

These estimates are based on Crop Tour data and observations collected this past week by more than 100 crop scouts who sampled 3,000+ fields spanning Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota.

Corn yield estimates

“We built record corn yields ahead of these extreme heat-indexed days. That’s the key point as we looked across the Corn Belt as a whole this week—we got ahead on yield early-on in order to hit average after the losses to heat,” Brian Grete of Pro Farmer says.

Indiana: Corn plants in Indiana look good , but kernel counts around will take a bite out of yield. With incidences of tar spot popping up all over the state, the yield could quickly change. Without tar spot, Indiana could hit yield average.

Illinois: Wildfire smoke and overnight temperatures won’t stop Illinois corn from hitting average yield. Tar spot, however, could blow up in pockets in coming weeks, which would pack a punch in the kernels’ starch and test weights.

Iowa: Five days with 103° heat index equated to five weeks of stress on corn crops in Iowa. The crops clearly ran out of energy and will see a just-below-average yield.

Minnesota: Burn is eating up the state’s corn crop up to one leaf below the ear . Kernel depth will push the crop below average yields.

Nebraska: The Nebraska corn fields had plenty of ear s, but they are already hanging. Irrigated acres will hit average, but non-irrigated will take a hit.

Ohio: A surge of moisture saved the crop this week. Despite being behind on growing degree days, the crop is more consistent than 2022 and looks to yield above average.

South Dakota: Rain in many regions of South Dakota resulted in a 180° from 2022’s crop. There’s no tip back in the Southeast corn for the state, yet. Final weeks of the season could shrink grain depth, but with little effect.

Soybean yield estimates

“We saw extremely stressful conditions this week. Thanks to the management put on the crop, hybrid and varieties available, the ability of both the corn and soybean crops to build a yield in these conditions has been unbelievable,” Chip Flory, AgriTalk host says. “The question now is whether or not they can hold on to it.”

Indiana: Moisture deficiencies are playing out heavily in Indiana ’s soybeans. However, the plant is proving resilient with high pod and seed counts. The state will yield higher than last year.

Illinois: Months-long drought followed by a derecho caused whiplash in Illinois soybeans. But the storm caused more good than bad, resulting in short nodes and short beans, with high pod counts. The state will see slightly above-average harvest numbers.

Iowa: Dry conditions produced yellow-green marbled fields . Despite dry conditions, pod counts in Iowa will trump Illinois. But seed size and count will cause a yield penalty.

Minnesota: Heat stress and drought are throwing punches at soybean yield in Minnesota. The state is patchy, with two-bean pods spotted in the state’s Southwestern corridor while other areas will have an average-yielding crop.

Nebraska: The bean crop appeared to be dying out instead of drying out. With no chance of rain in the forecast, the crops won’t have a chance to fill.

Ohio: Rains this week in Ohio greened-up crops at a pivotal growth stage. The state’s soybean crop won’t be better than 2021, but it will be better than 2022.

South Dakota: Pod counts are above normal for what scouts would usually see in the state, thanks to late-season moisture. Yield will likely come out average, or slightly above.

Pro Farmer Crop Tour, Day 1: Mostly Green in Ohio and South Dakota

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 22:26:22 GMT

The 31st Pro Farmer Crop Tour kicked off on Monday, as nearly 100 crop scouts pointed their headlights toward Grand Island, Neb. and Indianapolis. Ind., this morning.

Here’s what scouts found on Day 1.

Western Leg: South Dakota to Nebraska

This time last year, more than 36% of South Dakota was covered in drought. This year, that number dropped to 14%, with very little of the state in the severe and extreme drought categories. The moisture changes in the West became apparent in Monday’s estimates.

Sherman Newlin, Pro Farmer Crop Tour scout, says many regions of South Dakota have seen a 180° turnaround from 2022.

“Last year, this region had very low yields because of drought. This year they’ve been catching a lot of rain,” Newlin says. “There’s no tip back here, yet. The dryness coming up could shrink the grain depth and have a small affect.”

July and August rains in South Dakota greened-up the state’s soybeans. Karen Braun, Pro Farmer Crop Scout, foresees South Dakota’s average hitting higher than USDA’s August prediction of 42 bu. per acre.

“Our pod counts are really strong and up from what we would normally see in this state,” Braun says. “If I continue to see these higher pod counts, I think we could come out with a bit higher estimate than USDA’s.”

After four stops in northeast Nebraska (Knox, Cedar County area), #soybeans are averaging 1295 per 3x3' plot versus 1200 on this exact route last year. One irrigated each year, so a very comparable view. #pftour23 pic.twitter.com/m0OUx7T4QO
— Karen Braun (@kannbwx) August 21, 2023

Watch AgDay’s recap of Day 1 on the western leg:

Eastern Leg: Ohio to Indiana

USDA estimates Ohio’s corn yield will hit 191 bu. per acre, but Pro Farmer scouts revealed a lower number for Ohio on Monday. The yields are still an improvement from last year.

Growing degree day units might be behind, according to locals. However, scouts saw a more consistent crop this year compared with 2022, according to Brian Grete.

“Ohio is, generally, a hit-or-miss state. There’s a good-quality corn crop here this year, and it’s looking like a hit,” Grete says.

1st stop in Van Wert county OH district 1. We found the corns. Yield check - 233. But plz send rains #PFtour23 pic.twitter.com/SHLAi84aNQ
— Ted Seifried (@TheTedSpread) August 21, 2023

The same story is told in the state’s soybeans, as Josh Yoder’s operation planted the earliest ever recorded.

“We had a nice window to get soybeans planted early,” Yoder says. “Overall, I don’t think we’re going to have a better crop than we saw in 2021, but it will be better than what we saw last year.”

While the early part of Ohio’s growing season saw dry weather, recent rainfalls in the region allowed the crops to bounce back. But fears of nutrient deficiency remain a concern.

“We’ve seen some potassium deficiency flash on our soybeans early in the season. As the next few weeks play out, we’ll find out what kind of impact that lack of moisture really had,” Yoder says.

Growers in Ohio look to retain these projected yields in the last stretch of the growing season through any means necessary, including last-minute fungicide applications put on mere weeks ago.

Watch AgDay’s recap of Day 1 on the eastern leg:

For exclusive access to professional grade news, analysis and advice, subscribe to Pro Farmer here .

Ohio Farmer Takes to Heart Business Innovation and Grassroots Leadership

Thu, 26 Jan 2023 17:52:10 GMT

Each year, Top Producer recognizes a female producer who is shining examples for her peers, as well as advocate for agriculture who represents an innovative farming operation. Congratulations to Marcia Ruff, the 2023 recipient of the Executive Women in Agriculture Trailblazer Award. She will be recognized at a ceremony held Feb. 24 during Top Producer Summit in Nashville.

Marcia Ruff considers herself blessed to live and work in agriculture. From an early age, she knew she would farm.

Today, she runs Ruff Farms near Circleville, Ohio, with her husband Mark and three children. The operation includes nearly 4,000 corn, soybean and wheat acres; beef cattle; and various ag businesses.

The Ruff family built a grain handling and container loading facility in partnership with Farmers Business Network. For the second year, they’re under contract to deliver soybeans to CHS for a premium.

“The most recent containers we’ve loaded and the ones we will be loading from here on out this season will likely go to Malaysia,” Ruff says. “Those are food-grade going into the human consumption market.”

Speaking of business innovation, the family also does lawn seeding, installs drain tile and has a 50-acre ear corn business that started as a FFA project for eldest son Matt during the COVID-19 lockdown.

“During the pandemic, when everything shut down, people must have been home watching squirrels and sales went through the roof. Instead of 15 boxes a day he was selling 150 boxes a day,” Ruff says.

Today it’s a full-time enterprise, managed by younger brother Mitchell. Sales are primarily through Amazon, with customers across the U.S.

Ruff plays an integral role in every aspect of the operation.

“I drill beans. I drill wheat in the middle of the night. I’m the shuttle driver for everybody moving pieces. I deliver the meals to the field,” Ruff says.

Heart of a Teacher

In addition to farming, Ruff has another passion: Teaching. She’s been a 4-H adviser for 25 years and a teacher for 27 years – both roles that allow her to educate and advocate for agriculture and food production.

“When I’m teaching the kids letters and we get to letter H, for example, I say H is for hen. That’s a girl chicken that lays the eggs,” Ruff explains. “I love when the kids repeat that information back to me later.”

As a female producer, Ruff diligently works to address stereotypes and show that women can be farmers too. Her message for other females is not to trivialize their role in the operation.

“You don’t have to be the one who’s driving the combine,” she says. “There’s so many working roles on a farm.

That attitude and spirit is why Ruff is this year’s Executive Women in Agriculture Trailblazer Award winner.

Get to know the other 2023 Top Producer award winners:

Trey Wasserburger, Tomorrow’s Top Producer Horizon Award

Silent Shade Planting Company, Top Producer of the Year

Engel Family Farms, Top Producer of the Year finalist

MoDak Dairy, Top Producer of the Year finalist

When to Sell Your Farmland

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 17:08:24 GMT

The term “eminent domain” can conjure up scenes from “The Grapes of Wrath” — a man in a fancy car being followed by bulldozers, ready to flat- ten farms with a single pass.

While that 1940 movie scene shows sharecroppers forced to leave their farms, the feelings are the same for today’s landowners, according to Bush Family Farms’ Cheryl Bush.

Small Town No More

The Bush Family Farm is one of many operations near the Johnstown, Ohio area, 20 minutes from downtown Columbus, that have been approached about land acquisition for neighboring New Albany.

Intel, the latest mass developer in the area, is acquiring land for semiconductor research, development and production through the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.

“The New Albany Company (NACO) first approached our farm in 2021. We were like ‘no, absolutely not,’” Bush recalls. “But we knew if we didn’t sell, we would be forced out eventually.”

After the company’s “lowball” offer, the Bush family worked with a NACO to negotiate a price they thought was fair. Once an agreement was reached, the family found out their land would be used for Intel and the grief stages set in.

“Four of my siblings built homes on this land. We’re all trying to figure this out; we’re all affected by it,” she says. “It’s kind of like a death — you shed tears, you’re angry and at a loss.”

Impact on Acres

Kevin Reeves, a former tenant of Bush’s, has lost 350 acres of tillable ground and pasture to development. While devastated about the losses, he says the development repercussions reach far beyond farmland.

“Moving equipment down the road is very dangerous now,” he says. “The city is talking about increasing the roads from single lanes to three or five lanes. It’s going to be a nightmare.”

Beyond infrastructure, Reeves is also concerned about his pocketbook.

“We’re told to expect a 35% increase in property taxes in 2023 and, upon reevaluation in 2027, there’s a chance it will double what it is now,” he says. “We won’t be able to afford to live here even if we choose not to sell.”

Know Your Options

If you are approached about selling farmland for development, Bush provides these suggestions:

1. Negotiate with a timeline.

“If you try to play hardball too long, they’ll take your property by eminent domain,” she says. “You don’t want to be in that predicament.”

2. Consider the cost to relocate.

Due to the warehouse construction, Bush says her area has a shortage of concrete. Consider such factors in your relocation plan, she advises.

3. Pick a price and don’t look back.

“Just down the road, a 5.65-acre section of farmland is listed for almost $10 million,” she says. “We stepped back and wondered if we did the right thing. But once you make that decision, you have to move on.”

More on land :

4 Keys to Building Land Lease Relationships that Last
$30,000 Per Acre? Yep, The Details on the Latest Record-Breaking Farmland Sale
High Exposure: Understand How Record Farmland Prices Impact Your Estate Plan

Campbell Soup Shifting Canadian Production to U.S.

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 03:14:23 GMT

(Bloomberg) -- Campbell Soup Co. is closing its lone Canadian factory in Toronto and shifting production to three existing facilities in the U.S., the latest symbolic victory for the Trump administration’s effort to bolster domestic manufacturing.

The move will result in 380 job cuts in Canada, with factories in North Carolina, Ohio and Texas picking up the slack, Campbell said Wednesday. But it won’t translate to many new U.S. jobs. Existing workers will handle the increased soup volume, meaning employment gains will be “minimal,” according to a company spokesman.

Campbell, based in Camden, New Jersey, has been cutting costs as it grapples with a prolonged sales slump. Consumers have increasingly turned away from canned soup, often perceived as overly processed. The company, which makes Goldfish crackers, agreed last month to buy chip and pretzel producer Snyder’s-Lance Inc. for about $4.9 billion as salty snacks have shown strong growth.

Campbell is already more U.S.-focused than many food giants, generating more than 80 percent of its revenue in its home country. Chief Executive Officer Denise Morrison was a member of President Trump’s manufacturing council and was present during an early meeting when he complimented the company’s soup. Morrison was later part of an exodus of executives who resigned from the council, which was then disbanded.

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.

NW Ohio Farmers Deal with Third Tough Growing Season in a Row

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:11:32 GMT

It seems as if many producers throughout The Corn Belt are dealing with a taxing crop year, from drought in the West to water in the East. For Northwest Ohio growers, this marks the third consecutive year of weather challenges. USDA says 56 percent of Ohio’s corn crop and 58 percent of the soybean crop is rated good to excellent.

Northwest Ohio farmers like Kent Eddy are in a rush, trying their best to help a crop that looks a month behind.

“It’s been almost a nightmare,” said Eddy, a farmer in Van Wert, Ohio.

Producers in the area experiencing another tough start to the growing season, where the water wouldn’t shut off and planting windows were small. It’s a sign now showing up in rows.

“The corn is all over the place,” said Eddy. “If the corn wasn’t replanted, the stands usually aren’t there. If it was replanted, you have corn of all different heights.”

The beans don’t look much better.

“They’re behind,” said Eddy. “They’re short. They’re going to need a lot of time.”

Producers like Eddy replanted, patching up some fields up to three times.

“[We planted] up to three times,” said Eddy. “That’s not uncommon. I’ve heard of others the same way.”

Rex Williamson is a crop insurance adjuster for Williamson Insurance Agency in Payne, Ohio.

“I believe we’ve had more replant claims filed this season so far than we ever have in the history of the agency,” said Williamson. “We have over 1,700 replant claims filed right now.”

Although Williamson says there aren’t as many prevent plant acres as he anticipated, he believes the area had more of those claims two years ago.

“Actually, I believe we have [roughly] 35 to 40 prevent plant claims filed at this time,” said Williamson.

While farmers throughout The Corn Belt are dealing with their own weather challenges, this marks the third consecutive tough year for Northwest Ohio farmers.

“I think it’s important to be honest and acknowledge that this area has been hit with some struggles and challenges,” said AgCredit Advisor, Aaron Stoller. “There are some continuing headwinds in the industry with interest rates continuing at looking like they are going to be an increasing trend. This area is also pretty competitive with the land market and asset base. The price of farm ground is very competitive in this area.”

“We’ve had three years in a row of sub-par yields,” said Eddy. “[The year] 2015 was really bad and we were living off crop insurance. [The year] 2016 was average. Now, 2017 looks like we could again be a situation where we have a tough time getting the yields where they need to be. Right now, we are probably at break even, if we get a good yield.”

While 2017 is similar to two years ago when the area got doused with rain, farmers hope the weather turns around so a crop that’s behind will produce.

Eddy says he replanted about 20 percent of his corn acres to soybeans. He parked the planter around June 10.

Ohio Farmers Plant Fewest Wheat Acres in State History

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 03:04:12 GMT

Ohio farmers are following a national trend by planting the fewest acres of wheat in state history but are expected to plant a record amount of soybeans this year.

The Columbus Dispatch reports 470,000 acres of wheat have been planted in Ohio this year. That’s less than half the acreage planted eight years ago. Ohio farmers are expected to plant 5 million acres of soybeans in 2017.

Wheat prices are at 10-year lows after peaking at more than $10 a bushel in 2008.

Ohio farmers say changes in food trends and foreign competition is to blame for the reduce wheat acreage.

Wheat grows in a variety of climates but is only used for human consumption. People shying away from processed foods and gluten has led to declining demand.