Tobacco

Small But Capable: Is 2025 The Year of The Utility Tractor?

Wed, 19 Feb 2025 12:30:00 GMT

Several farm machinery companies are releasing new low-to-medium horsepower utility tractors for model year 2025.

Which begs the question: If 2024 was The Year of The Combine , is 2025 already shaping up to be The Year of The Utility Tractor? It doesn’t have the same ring to it though, now does it?

Many of these machines feature redesigned operator cabs and revamped engine transmissions. It seems tractor manufacturers are increasingly integrating technologies, such as in-cab monitors, LED lighting packages, and machine guidance and telematics, which are usually reserved for higher horsepower models.

Ease-of-use, versatility and operator comfort seem to be the common threads that tie all of these introductions together beyond engine output.

The following new machinery introductions were announced last week during the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky., and World Ag Expo in Tulare, Calif.

AGCO announces the launch of its Massey Ferguson 2025 compact tractor lineup, which includes a new Premium Series model and MF Economy and Sub-Compact Series models.

(Alex Visciotti )

AGCO’s Massey Ferguson brand has announced its 2025 compact utility tractor line, which is comprised of three distinct series.

Premium Series (24.8 hp to 60.3 hp) tractors designed for daily use and ideal for a variety of applications from snow removal and landscaping to fieldwork and property maintenance.
Compact-Economy Series (24 hp to 57.3 hp) tractors balance affordability with capability and offer a variety of configurations.
Sub-Compact Series (22.5 hp to 24.5 hp) tractors that Massey Ferguson says are perfect for hobby farmers and first-time operators.

Each utility series features updated ergonomics and operator comfort features, a wide range of compatible attachments and implements, and user-friendly options for enhanced ease-of-use.

RELATED: AGCO Launches Massey Ferguson 2025 Compact Tractor Series, New Double Square Baler

Case IH’s new Farmall C Series tractor

(Case IH)

Case IH has announced its new medium utility Farmall C tractor Series.

The four-model lineup offers a 12-speed PowerShuttle and a 24-speed Hi-Lo transmission alongside a suite of factory-installed technology updates.

The manufacturer says the Farmall C Series has a larger, reinforced front axle, boosted hydraulic flow, heavier gross vehicle weight and increased rear lift capacity. All models in the series feature fully integrated base telematics to geo-locate the tractor and monitor the machine for service.

Additional new features include an auto PTO function to automatically engage and disengage the PTO, and an advanced loader joystick in the cab to simultaneously lift and shuttle control for fast material handling.

Dealers are taking orders now, and Case IH says Farmall C will ship in the fall.

Kubota Tractor Corporation’s new MX4900 utility tractor.

(Greg Latza/Kubota)

Kubota Tractor Corporation has unveiled its all-new MX4900 utility tractor.

The company says it is designed to be a workhorse at a new price point. From transporting hay bales to grading a driveway, or performing general property maintenance, the sub-100 hp machine provides a capable solution that ranchers and farmers have been waiting for.

There are two types of transmissions available on the MX4900 and both models are equipped with a Kubota engine and Common-Rail System (CRS) with electronically controlled fuel injection.

The MX4900 also features both ROPS and Cab options with ergonomically placed controls. Some of the comfort features include a spacious operator station, optional suspension air ride seat with optional armrests on the cab model, and all-new optional dealer-installed LED lighting kits.

The MX4900 will be available at authorized Kubota dealers in spring 2025.

New Holland’s PowerStar Series utility tractor.

(New Holland)

New Holland’s brand new PowerStar Series offers four distinct utility tractor models ranging from 86 to 117 hp.

The company says the next-gen series offers new styling, greater operator comfort inside a refined VisionView cab with independent suspension, and a wide array of productivity-enhancing features. Underneath each hood is a FPT Industrial 3.6-liter four-cylinder engine, and the lineup complies with Stage V emissions standards.

The PowerStar series also offers all-new, factory-installed LU Series front loaders standard on all models. These loaders offer more lifting capacity, greater lifting height, faster cycle times, improved visibility, easier coupling and refined control.

The new PowerStar Series tractors will arrive in dealer inventory in Q4 2025.

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Tomorrow's Top Producer Winner Joanna Carraway

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 20:43:50 GMT

A young Kentucky farmer thrives amidst adversity

Joanna Carraway is goal-oriented. Not a bucket-list, dreams-of-the-day type of goal setter; Carraway sets goals she will accomplish.

Carraway has lifetime goals, yearly goals and short-term goals. “Joanna will even set daily goals,” says her husband, Craig. “It drives me crazy.”

Carraway was combining a corn field on their western Kentucky farm not long ago. They moved fields late enough they should have parked the equipment and went home. “I was determined to finish it,” she says. Her father-in-law, Steve, calls her at 10:30 p.m. and says, “So, I guess you’re going to finish this field?” She says: “Yep, you all go home.”

A few hours later, that field was checked off her list, and she went home. Goal accomplished. “That is just the way my brain is wired,” says the 35-year-old farmer. Carraway’s driven personality and analytical nature is what has helped her family’s Murray, Ky., crop operation thrive during adverse conditions.

Every corner of farm country has its own unique challenges. For the Carraways, the biggest challenge has been no rain. In 2006, the couple bought into his family’s farm, which includes a partnership with Craig’s parents, Steve and Freda.

They had a banner year growing white and yellow corn, soybeans, winter wheat and tobacco. It was so encouraging that Carraway left her job at a software development company to join the farm full-time. Craig had left his ag retail sales job in 2003.

In 2007, it quit raining, and has hardly rained since. Corn yields on Carraway Family Farms have come in under 100 bu. per acre five of the last seven years due to drought. In 2012, corn only made 31 bu. per acre.

Carraway says nothing teaches you to manage money better than not having any. In 2007 they were facing a trying financial situation. Carraway knew it was time to nitpick their financials and business plans and make some management changes.

For the past decade nearly the exact same group of men has been working for the Carraways.

Craig’s family had always bought crop insurance, but hadn’t had a crop insurance claim for years, Carraway says. “Then we came back to the farm and it quit raining.”

Necessary Changes. Due to consecutive years of low yields, Carraway knew she had to ramp up her understanding of crop insurance. “It took me a week, but I studied everything I could find about crop insurance,” she says. “I set up a spreadsheet that I could plug in the bushels we would potentially make, with a price, so I knew exactly what the crop insurance would pay.”

Jody Jones, a River Valley Ag Credit loan officer, handles the Carraway’s crop insurance. “I had seen Joanna work hard in the field, but little did I know how smart she was when it came to the business side of agriculture,” he notes. Jones says Joanna will often tell the crop insurance adjusters and him the crop insurance claim amount before it is even worked.

Her knowledge of crop insurance has proved to be financially valuable. Twice, their crop insurance checks were significantly less than what she had determined. By having her spreadsheet to show as proof, they were able to have the claims corrected.

Having a good team of advisers and partners, such as Jones, has been vital to the Carraways operation.

After a tough 2007, they decided to add more tobacco acres because it was the highest value crop on their farm. To do so, they needed to set up irrigation and build additional tobacco barns, which had a hefty price tag.

“The bank we were with at the time told us we couldn’t add any more debt,” Carraway says. “I showed them on paper how the expansion was going to add a huge amount to our farm income and be the safety net we needed, but they still said no. So I went bank shopping.”

With a little extra effort they were able to find a bank willing to take a chance. “We were really fortunate to find Heritage Bank,” Carraway says. “They believed we had a good plan and were a good idea; while on paper, we did not look like a good idea.”

Jimmy Hicks, Heritage Bank market president, has worked with the Carraways since 2008. “During this time, they have demonstrated excellent character and communication, and maintained a spotless credit rating,” Hicks says, noting that their substantial financial growth is a tribute to their production and financial management skills.

Carraway is quick to credit Hicks and the bank. “He allows us the flexibility to run our business and looks at the big picture,” she says. “Plus, he doesn’t point out our mistakes.”

Carraway’s main responsibilities on the farm include record keeping, setting financial goals and analyzing new purchases or expansions.

Her goal is to “recycle” money. “When we spend money, I always want it to stay in the same balance sheet,” Carraway says. “I don’t want to spend money that won’t be positively reflected on the balance sheet.”

A recent example is the purchase of a larger spray coupe. “Joanna did the math and determined it was a better investment to buy a bigger sprayer instead of hiring guys from the local coop to help spray,” Craig says. “That has been a great investment.”

Machinery costs are an area the Carraways focus on. “We can’t afford to have broken-down machinery for very long,” Carraway says, explaining that they buy extended warranties, typically three years, on key equipment. Even on new machinery, a small problem can quickly surpass the cost of the warranty. “We know for the three years we’re going to have this machine what it will cost us,” she says. “There are no surprises, which means we can run at full efficiency.”

Relationship Management. For more than a decade, 12 men from Mexico traveled north to spend six months on the Carraway Family Farm. The Carraways pay for H-2A visas, which allow temporary agricultural workers to seek employment in the U.S. Expenses for traveling to and from Kentucky, as well as housing, transportation and wages while in Kentucky, are paid by the Carraways.

Their main responsibilities are tobacco related, Craig says, and the program is expensive, but they wouldn’t be able to produce tobacco without them. “If you’re going to raise tobacco of any magnitude, you depend on migrant workers.”

What’s impressive is for the past decade nearly the exact same group of men has been working for the Carraways. “They are like family to us,” Carraway says. Through Facebook, she has connected with her employees’ families and posts updates and photos of what’s going on around the farm.

Carraway understands the sacrifice their employees make. “They are here trying to make a better life for their kids,” she says. “My goal is to set something up, like a retirement plan, for them. Tobacco is such hard work and they can’t do it forever. They have been so good to us, that I want to do something long-term for them. Ultimately, we need to grow and expand, but we want them to have something for later.”

The Carraways also maintain landlord relationships. They rent around 2,450 acres and have 50 landlords. Craig says these relationships have always been important. His grandfather started a tradition of providing sweet corn to landlords, then his father added sausage.

Now, Carraway has taken it a step further. Each year, she mails a card that features a snapshot of the farm. They also send notepads, hats and pens with the farm logo to help solidify their relationship.

These acts of kindness can lead to opportunities. Their goal is to fine-tune their finances so if a landlord wants to sell them his or her farm, they will be in a position to buy.

At the Heart. Originally a Missouri farm girl, Carraway grew up the youngest of five girls on a row-crop farm. Her father never hired employees, so his daughters became expert truck and tractor drivers at an early age. By age 10, Carraway was working 14-hour days. “My dad never asked if we could do something, he just told us to do it,” she says.

Carraway left the farm for Murray State University and majored in business administration. After six months, she missed agriculture; it was in her blood. She switched her major to agronomy and started an internship at a local ag retail store, where she met Craig.

As the daughter-in-law in a multi-generational operation, she admits it can be challenging, but with her farm family background Carraway understands the emotional connection families have with the land and their property.

Craig’s family wants the farm to succeed and stay intact, she says, and they try to balance that with her own goals and dreams for the farm. “It isn’t like I just married a farmer,” Carraway says. “This was my dream before I met him. We just happened to have the same dream.”

A Profile of Carraway Family Farms

Joanna and Craig Carraway focus on relationships with their advisers, landlords and workers.

Long Line of Farming: Carraway Family Farms began in 1953, when Noby Carraway bought land near Murray, Ky. He and his wife, Euva, farmed until their son, Steve and his wife, Freda, joined the operation in 1971. After Noby passed away, and in 2006 Joanna and Craig began a five-year process of purchasing Euva’s share. Joanna and Craig have two children, Preston, 7, and Hannah, 2.

Crop Mix: The Carraways own 42 acres and rent 2,450. Around 80 acres are planted in tobacco and the remaining acres are used to produce white corn, yellow corn, soybeans and double-crop winter wheat.

Employee Management: Carraway Family Farms employs 12 migrant workers each year, whose main duty is to help with tobacco production. Joanna has connected with the workers’ families through social media, which helps them stay in touch during their six months apart.

Community Focused: Joanna says she never realized she would need to be an advocate for agriculture, but as fewer people have a direct connection to farming, she recognizes the need. In 2012, Carraway Family Farms donated funds for the local elementary school to build an outdoor classroom and garden. “It’s important for children to learn how food is grown,” she says. “It’s just one little garden at one little school, but it could make a difference.”

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Trade Scrapping Tobacco from Mix, Shrinking Acreage

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 20:57:45 GMT

Tobacco is one crop struggling to keep acres.

At the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville, Ky. last week, Ryan Quarles , Kentucky Ag Commissioner, says the cash crop relies heavily on exports. Trade deals continue to scrap tobacco from the mix, taking its toll on acres in the Bluegrass State.

“Historically, tobacco is king in Kentucky,” said Quarles. “At our peak, we had 85,000 different tobacco farms. Now, we have 4,500 people engaged in raising tobacco.”

Quarles says tobacco is very labor-intensive. Most estimates say it requires roughly 250 hours of manual labor for each and every acre of tobacco in Kentucky.

Scientists Modify Plants, Making Them Use Sunlight Better

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 20:57:41 GMT

Scientists have hacked a plant’s genes to make it use sunlight more efficiently — a breakthrough that could eventually dramatically increase the amount of food grown.

Think of it as photosynthesis on steroids. Photosynthesis is how plants convert sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into food. But it’s a very inefficient process, using less than 1 percent of the energy available, scientists said.

By genetically modifying part of the plant’s protective system, which kicks into gear when too much sunlight beams down, scientists were able to increase leaf growth between 14 and 20 percent in experiments with tobacco plants, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science .

“Now that we know it works, it won’t be too difficult to do it with other crops,” said study lead author Stephen Long, a professor of crop sciences at the University of Illinois. “If you look at crops around the world, it would (increase yield) many million tons of food.”

That’s still at least 15 years away, but this is the first time scientists have been able to do something like this, Long said.

A plant’s protective system is like a pressure relief valve in a steam engine. When there’s too much sunlight, it turns on and gets rid of excess energy safely. When the plant is in the shade, the protective system turns off, but not quickly, said study co-author Krishna Niyogi, a plant scientist at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the University of California, Berkeley.

Long said the protective system regulates sunlight in much the same way light-adjusting glasses darken and lighten. But it takes 10 minutes to an hour for plants to adjust, so the plant doesn’t get the optimal amount of energy, especially when it goes back into sunlight. So Long and his team genetically modified the plant to turn that protection system off and on faster.

Two different plants in the experiment increased leaf growth by 20 percent and a third by 14 percent. Long said he used tobacco because it is easy to manipulate the genetics, but there is no reason it can’t work with rice, corn and other seed-oriented foods. Maybe the yield increase would be only 10 percent, he said.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln agriculture professor Tala Awanda said the study makes sense, but cautioned the yield might not be quite so high for conventional food crops. Still, he added in an email, “this study remains a breakthrough.”

Learn about Louisiana Tobacco

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 20:54:55 GMT

A.J. Sabine of “This Week in Louisiana Agriculture” travels to St. James Parish to show us one of the state’s lesser-known commodities: perique tobacco.

Video courtesy of http://www.twilatv.org

See all ‘ A Day in Agriculture ’ coverage.

Carolina Farms Could Face Billions in Losses

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 20:54:26 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Hurricane Florence is testing the resolve of farmers in the Carolinas, who could face billions of dollars in agricultural damage while still feeling the sting from Hurricane Matthew almost two years ago.

After last weekend’s high winds and rain that was measured in feet, followed by this week’s rising rivers and standing water in fields, early farm reports are confirming pre-storm worries about losses to tobacco, cotton and corn crops. North Carolina industry leaders remain anxious about whether sweet potatoes and peanuts — grown beneath the soil and susceptible to flooding — will suffer greatly as well.

Matthew hurt eastern North Carolina farmers in 2016, but that storm arrived in October, after most of field crops had been brought in. With Florence, most major crop harvests were still underway or just getting started.

“This hurricane couldn’t have come at a worse time,” North Carolina Farm Bureau President Larry Wooten said,

North Carolina likely won’t have preliminary crop damage estimates until the end of the next week, state Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler said. Floodwaters and blocked country roads still were making it difficult for agency agronomists to check out farms. Five of North Carolina’s top six farming counties are within the hardest-hit areas in the eastern part of the state.

“I think it’s easily going to be in the billions of dollars,” Troxler said in an interview Thursday, calling the damage “catastrophic” and “unbelievable.”

In South Carolina, meanwhile, crop damage was estimated at $125 million so far, Gov. Henry McMaster wrote Thursday to the state’s congressional delegation. This week, state Agriculture Commissioner Hugh Weathers visited farmers in damaged areas previously hurt by Matthew and by record flooding in 2015. Weathers said farmers told him that while this year’s cotton crops had been damaged by high winds and peanuts were rotting in soaking soil, no crop was a total loss.

North Carolina farmers had several days’ notice of Florence to harvest what they could and move livestock to higher ground or to market, but there was only so much they could do to prepare.

“Farmers have just faced several years of (low) commodity prices. Matthew came through ... and now we’re faced with Florence,” said Jason Jones, a fifth-generation farmer in Craven County. He said the un-harvested corn on his 1,800-acre (728-hectare) farm is “just about completely flat” and neighboring farms lost all of their tobacco in the fields. Jones said farmers have crop insurance, but it doesn’t cover the total loss.

“For eastern North Carolina farmers, we’re hanging by a thread,” Jones said.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said he told President Donald Trump during his visit to the state Wednesday that making farmers whole will take more than just a “farm bill.”

“We’re going to have to take a special approach to our farm communities, because they have taken a gut punch,” said Cooper, who planned to view agricultural damage Friday.

North Carolina remains the nation’s largest tobacco producer, with more than 330 million pounds (150 million kilograms) in 2016. Graham Boyd, chief executive of the Tobacco Growers Association of North Carolina, estimates losses could total as much as 125 million pounds (57 million kilograms) valued at $250 million to $350 million.

About 40 percent of the tobacco crop remained in the field when Florence arrived, Boyd said, with the highest-quality leaves yet to be harvested. Leaves began “melting on the stalk” — disintegrating when sunny skies followed heavy rains and standing water.

On the 5,000 acres (2,023 hectares) that Craig West’s family farms on near Fremont — about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of Raleigh — the biggest moneymaker is the 500 acres (202 hectares) of tobacco. Sixteen inches (41 centimeters) of rain there made it impossible to harvest the leaves still in the fields in time, even if the winds hadn’t battered them so that they were about as appealing and saleable as a bunch of bruised bananas, West said.

“We haven’t had a good growing season anyway. We had a pretty severe drought early on and then it started raining. We had too much rain even before the storm,” West said Thursday. “So we had some disease issues already. It’s magnified since the storm.”

West’s tobacco loss means the farm’s nearly $6 million in gross revenues will be diminished by about 30 percent, he said as workers loaded a machine that sorted tobacco picked weeks ago and then packaged the cured leaves into bundles for shipping.

Livestock losses in North Carolina are estimated at 3.4 million poultry and 5,500 hogs so far, the state Agriculture Department said. Both represent small percentages of the 800 million broilers — chickens raised for meat production — and 9 million hogs raised annually. Troxler said chicken and hog house damage would be significant.

Kim Kornegay’s family farm in Johnston County could lose 40 percent of its cotton crop, farm manager T.J. Sasser said Thursday. Workers there prepared to slog through the mud Friday to try to see what sweet potatoes could be salvaged.

“We’re optimistic, but we’re also realistic,” Kornegay said.

Copyright 2018, Associated Press

Florence Floods Fields, Washing Away Tobacco and Cotton

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 20:54:21 GMT

(Bloomberg) --

The record-setting, still-rising floods unleashed across North Carolina by deadly Hurricane Florence are soaking crops after the storm wreaked havoc on cotton and tobacco.

The number of cotton fields rated in good or excellent condition fell by 14 percentage points to 48 percent as of Sunday from a week earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a report Monday. Conditions also declined for corn and soybeans, and agriculture officials in the state cited damage from wind and rains to tobacco plants.

No one is certain just how many tobacco, corn, soybean, cotton, peanut and sweet potato fields are still under water or experiencing flooding, said Lynda Loveland, spokeswoman for North Carolina Farm Bureau. It will take several days to properly assess crop damage as the water still needs to recede, she said in an email.

There’s “just too much devastation to get a good handle on it right now, ” Jack Scoville, senior market analyst at the Price Futures Group, said by email.

Blown Away

Kim K. LeQuire, co-owner of Kornegay Family Farms and Produce, said the operation in Princeton, North Carolina had seen at least 14 inches (36 centimeters) of rain as of Sunday and was still getting more showers. Some leaves on tobacco plants were blown off their stalks amid the strong winds and were lying in puddle-filled fields. While about 70 percent of her farm’s tobacco crop had been harvested before the hurricane, the damage affects some of their best-quality supply.

Fields of sweet potatoes were also waterlogged, but she said the root vegetable is a hardy crop that may be able to withstand the rough conditions if soils drain soon.

“There’s definitely going to be some issues, but I’m not going to call the 2018 North Carolina sweet potato crop a wash,” LeQuire said.

Most of the bolls on about 2,000 acres of cotton plants had not yet opened, but the fiber on the ones that had were drenched by rain and will be very poor, she said.

Alan Underwood, president of Texas-based Underwood Cotton Co., said for the state’s cotton there’s “going to be a reduction in yield.” Water pulls out the oil in the fiber, reducing the yield and will also “be detrimental to the quality,” he said.

Some of the counties harder hit by Florence are located on the southern end of North Carolina’s largest tobacco growing region, said Matthew Vann, assistant professor and tobacco extension specialist at North Carolina State University. Other large tobacco-growing counties also suffered damage, but not the amount of flooding that’s being reported further south, he said.

“There is a fairly wide range in terms of severity when you look specifically at the tobacco growing regions,” said Vann, noting it’s too early to estimate total losses.

Copyright 2018, Bloomberg