Too Young to Save the Family Farm

Most of my childhood memories involve being in a tractor or combine with either my grandpa or one of his two brothers. It was always my favorite thing to do on any given day and I cherise those memories with all three of those men who helped shape me into who I am today. It was always my dream to grow up and take over the farm that my grandpa and his brothers had grown from the ground up many years ago.

The Fall of the Farm

As I started to get older, I could tell that my grandpa and his brothers weren’t getting around as well as they used to but they continued to keep going each year and getting their crops in and out of the field. There were of course talks for years about them getting out of the business, but of course they all thought they could still keep farming. My grandpas two brothers had sons, however they had already moved away and had careers and had no interest in taking over the farm. This always led to questions on what would happen when the day came that the three brothers could no longer do the tasks required to keep the farm going.

Picture taken by me at one of the farms my family owns

Losing Interest

During my Jr. high and high school years I started to lose interest in the agriculture industry and started looking into other career paths for myself. Early in my high school career, I had settled on going to college for Pre-Law and eventually wanted to be a lawyer. This was something that pulled me away from the family farm and I lost interest in farming for the most part, which also meant I never really talked about the possibility of me taking over the farm.

Picture of my grandpa and I- Taken by my Mom

The Sale

In the winter of 2018 the day finally came to have the big sale of the three brothers farm equipment. There had been talks for years now but no one in the family thought this day would ever come. This was something that I didn’t really think about too much at the time as I was about to graduate high school and go off to Bradley for my Pre-Law program. I was there for the sale and just kind of sat by while everything was sold, not ever thinking this was something that would affect me. The land they owned would not be sold, just cash leased, but still, that day was effectively the end of the Jones Brothers Farm.

Picture taken at the sale of the equipment- Taken by my Aunt Debbie

Spring of 2021

After much thought, I had decided that I wanted to get away from law and get back to my roots, agriculture. I had taken a internship with Nutrien in my hometown and had decided that I wanted to switch my major to agriculture business after talking with their seed salesman who also had attended WIU. I have loved every minute of it so far and have regretted not doing this right out of highschool. My grandpa and I have very long conversations about the different things going on in Agriculture and what I am doing at school. Recently I have unfortunately been hearing the conversations on what is going to happen when the three brothers are all gone, the things I have heard is that they would sell the land to split the money with all the three brothers kids. With me growing to love agriculture, this is something that has taken a toll on me as it is something that I wish I could take over. Unfortunately it looks like I won’t be able to buy the farm as the prices of land are too much for me to handle in the future. There is nothing more that I would love than to buy the land and continue the farm, however it seems that I was born too late to be able to take over the farm, due to the time of the sale of the equipment being when I was still in school, the brothers could not wait for me to finish as it just became too much for them to handle in their golden years of age. One thing I know for sure is, I will never forget the lessons I learned in those tractors and combines with my grandpa and his two brothers, and I will never forget the memories that I have with those three great men I was blessed to call my family.

“You can’t have the family farm without the family”

Gilbert K. Chesterton

Meet the Author

Photo from the Ag Career Fair at WIU

Hello, my name is Drake Fraser, I am a Junior at WIU with a major in Agriculture Business. I am from White Hall, IL and grew up on a row crop farm ran by my Grandpa David Jones and his two brothers. During this time on the farm I learned many lessons that have translated to my studies here at WIU. After school I plan on going into agricultural sales and agronomy and eventually going into farm management. In my free time, I enjoy golfing, duck hunting and spending time with my two dogs.

Agriculture should be taught in urban schools.

@Agriculture, @Farming, #Schools, #Education, #WIU Ag

Why is agriculture not a topic or class offered in urban schools? Why not inform the general public about what is going on in the ag industry? I grew up in a rural area with ducks and chickens and went to an urban school. I did not grow up with experience running a tractor or working livestock, but I have always loved animals and have been fascinated by the farmers we live by. They are hard-working and family-oriented individuals. I always would wonder what they are doing now or “wow what is that piece of equipment used for?” when they would pass by my house.

Took senior photos with my polish rooster. My birds were a big part of my life.

Now that I have been studying agriculture for 3 years, I understand what farmers must do to prepare for the season and what it takes to tackle all of their tasks. So why is this not discussed in urban schools? There is enough interest in urban schools that they could form classes to provide insight into the industry while also helping inform more students about what happens on a day-to-day basis, so we do not run into the invalid accusations that many in the agriculture industry deal with today. If I had the knowledge that I do now when I was in high school, I would’ve had more drive to be involved, gain more knowledge, or even experience. I believe offering AG classes in urban schools would increase the number of AG teachers and increase the involvement in agriculture. There is always something to learn about in the agriculture industry, which can be turned into fun learning classes for urban and rural students. There is a possibility there would be a push for an increase in farm help or even small farmers. This would help push for an increase in the number jobs available or filled in the agriculture industry or services available. If there is a problem with funding and the worry of interest why not start by forming a club to gain the interest needed? The funding would increase with the number of students involved. You could always fundraise in hopes to have a better budget. Then from there decide to form classes.

I work in the wean to finisher barns and have come to love working with pigs and the team as well.

Copy right to Carthage Systems

“Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals, and happiness.” -Thomas Jefferson

The experience and knowledge that I have gained, have been through my college classes. I am very thankful for those opportunities but I do wish that I had come to Western with more knowledge or experience. I feel like I constantly have to keep up when in reality the opportunities presented to me since being in the AG department have been once in a lifetime. Gaining the experience of working with swine has helped me understand how patient you truly must be with the animals. I can apply this experience and knowledge to my everyday lifestyle. So why not introduce agriculture to urban schools?

About the Author

Hello, my name is Brinley Rodgers and I am from Cordova, Il. I am a junior at Western Illinois University majoring in Agricultural Science with a minor in Zoology. I am currently working in the swine industry and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience I have gained working with pigs. I do hope in the future I can work with cattle and be a ruminant nutritionist. Thank you for reading my blog post and I hope you enjoyed it!

Farming: It’s a Family Tradition

A military Colonel with the dreams and ambitions of most young men in the 1800s, agriculture, are the roots of our family’s seven generation farm. In 1835, Colonel J.C. Anderson and his son W.C. had a dream: to be able to buy land and turn it into their main source of income. This land was bought during that time for a dollar an acre.

Following the American Civil War, expansion of the farm became necessary for the farm to continue to grow and prosper. In 1867, W.C. and his wife, Mary Ann, built the barn that stands on our farm today, where I have made many memories, including singing from the upper deck as a boy. W.C. and Mary Ann then had their son David, a prolific livestock farmer and land buyer known by most in our area.

Pictured is a sign my Dad and I made together that we display in our yard.

In Macoupin County, prior to the booming 1920’s, Standard Oil Company made its way to central Illinois, helping our community to flourish in that time. Oil mines were scattered in central Illinois and present-day Standard City was prime location for an oil mine, located about a mile north of our farm. Before the boom of Standard Oil, W.C. and David had bought the land that is now the village of Standard City. When the oil company found the mine, David was able to sell the ground to a gentleman by the name of Rice, who intended to plat Standard City. David and his newest son, Alva then built our present-day house for $13,000 with no mortgage.

 Alva provided his son Tary, my grandfather, with the acres surrounding the farmstead, who, provided his sons, Roger, my father, and Mark the same opportunity. I am currently the seventh generation to farm this ground. Being a seventh-generation farmer on our farm makes me proud because of the hard work and dedication my ancestors have went through to give me this opportunity, and to be able to be the first generation to attend and graduate college so that I can bring that information back to the farm and improve our operation for future generations. I am especially proud because of the decline in family farms in the US today.

Pictured is my Dad and I in front of our barn.

 Although I was not able to meet my grandpa, I will be forever grateful that I get to follow in his footsteps. A quote that my grandpa told my father before I was born was,

“When you have land, you have attachments to it, do everything in your power to ensure that our generations will live on.”

My Grandpa, Tary F. Anderson

Without the farm, I would not have the passion for agriculture and the dreams that I have today, and I hope that in the future I am able to continue this legacy for my own children.

About the Author

Hi, my name is Fuller Anderson and I’m a junior at WIU. I’m from Atwater, IL. I am majoring in Ag Business and minoring in Agronomy and Agriculture Economics. I’m involved in many on campus organizations such as Agronomy Club, Collegiate FFA, and Collegiate Farm Bureau. My plans for after graduation are to run our family farm and start my career in Grain Merchandising. Thank you for reading my blog!

Empowering Women in Agriculture

Growing up, I found myself feeling discouraged quite often. I felt like I wasn’t like other girls, but being different at a young age felt wrong. Although I grew up in a rural area, on a cattle farm like most of my childhood friends, I wasn’t interested in the same stuff they were. Makeup, nails, shopping, and anything girly did not appeal to me the way it did for them. I was more focused on the future, what career I would pursue and helping my dad on our family farm.

From the beginning of my life, I loved going to the farm with my dad. I spent much of my childhood summers with my grandparents, who also lived on our family farm. It’s needless to say that much of my time was spent outside, playing with my cousins. My favorite memory of the summer was when the creek was full and we could slide our rubber boots on and splash around in the creek.

The above picture is a view from our south field on Kerpash-Tapley Farms, where I’m from. We raise angus cattle.

On the family farm is where my love for agriculture really sparked. Since I was 10, I have dreamed about being the next generation to farm on our family farm. I would ponder the plans in my head, constantly thinking about how much money I would need to save and how much education I would need. However, my whole perspective changed when I joined FFA my freshman year of high school.

My favorite quote that I learned while memorizing the FFA Creed, is:

“I believe in the future of agriculture…”

E.M. Tiffany

Although I joined FFA in 7^th grade, there were not as many opportunities for children in middle school. So, my freshman year of high school, I was unaware of the opportunities I would be presented, and how they would change my life. Before becoming a freshman, I was determined to be a elementary teacher. I had only considered jobs women traditionally work in, such as nursing and teaching. Throughout my first year in high school, I learned about public speaking, learned about agriculture, and was presented the opportunity to pursue a future career in the field.

The above picture is me at Officer Retreat, 2020

From there, my love for agriculture grew immensely. Throughout high school, I was able to meet other women in agriculture, learn more about livestock practices, and even won the Missouri FFA 2021 Food Science Contest. FFA was a large part of my decision to pursue agriculture as my career and my future. Without it, I don’t think I would have been so passionate about the future of agriculture.

Without organizations like the National FFA, where would the future generations learn about agriculture? I’ve been fortunate enough to transfer to WIU in 2022 and it was the best decision I have ever made. Another key component to encouraging women to pursue agricultural careers, contrary to what we may grow up believing, is having an encouraging, supportive agriculture program to further their education. WIU School of Agriculture has been more supportive than ever, helping me to gain experience through an internship, working on our school farm, and giving me opportunities through organizations to participate in conferences and be a part of the future of agriculture. This is an essential part of encouraging women to pursue their dreams in agriculture.

The above picture is of some of the newly born calves of the 2023 calving season on the WIU Livestock Farm.

The above picture is my friends and I at a WIU football game during the 2022 season.

 Empowering women in agriculture is the future. There are so many women like me, who believe that women belong in some careers, while men belong in others. However, women and men should have the same opportunities to be the future in whatever field they want. For so long, women were not recognized as part of the agriculture industry, but now it is time that we recognize their accomplishments and successes. Since I have pushed past judgement, and started my career in agriculture, I have been told by many in my family of how proud they are that I am doing something to better the world. I hope that one day, I can inspire more women to pursue agriculture and grow passion for something that matters.

About the Author

Hi everyone, my name is Kaitlin Tapley and I am a junior here at WIU. My hometown is Elsberry, Missouri. I’m majoring in Agribusiness with a minor in Animal Science. I’m involved in many on campus organizations including Collegiate Farm Bureau, Ag Vocators, and Collegiate FFA, which I am the treasurer of. My plans for after graduation are to use my degree to excel in the agriculture industry and start my own small cattle farm. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog!

The Power In Farming

“We Do what we can, to keep doing what we love.” – Ryan Schlipf

Long days, hard work, and tough times make some people wonder why we do it. In my opinion, there’s simply no other way. For many years farming has been a way of life for so many. Not only has it been a way to provide a steady and genuine lifestyle for the direct family, but to supply the nation with the necessities to keep an economy stable. More importantly from my experience, it’s about the work ethic, morals, family, and mindset instilled from generation to generation to make a positive impact long term.

I grew up in El Paso Illinois and have been a part of my family’s operation ever since I was born. Tree Lane Farms was established by my great grandfather Loren Schlipf, who had worked hard to build the next generation of farmers. People with the mindset like my great grandfather saw the future in not only building a lifestyle but building the youth of America with the right tools and mindset to be successful and contribute the best they can in society. Looking back, I wish I was old enough to know Loren a little better, but I’m well aware that he didn’t leave me with just anything. Today I stand as the 4th generation, and Tree Lane Farms is managed by my grandpa, and dad, alongside two brothers and a sister. This shows me that what was started generations ago was all part of a bigger plan.

In 2022, farming may be perceived as one of the toughest if not the toughest jobs that a person could have. Fighting a government or a society that pushes back against farming practices such as GMOs or animal rights activists trying to display our wrongdoing to livestock just sniffs the surface of that topic. The truth is, farmers, happen to be one of the biggest stewards of the land and the best caregivers to animals there are. Farmers live with the land and not on it, livestock is in our best interest to take care of and provide for. Countless hours, late nights, and longer days are spent to not only care for the land and livestock but providing for the world which might even be against the local farmer.

What keeps a farmer going? Every day creates a new challenge. Cows need feed, calves need vaccinated, fields need work, and fence needs mending all just make up a short list of things that are necessities that rarely go as planned. To some people, I know this lifestyle wouldn’t fit, so why do we do it? Thinking about my past, I know that there is a big picture. Farmers, put on this earth by God to mend strong relationships with great people, build morals, and great personalities, as well as stand for something that means so much more than just the job, and that, is The Power in Farming.

Ag Career Fair fall 22 300.5523

Hello everybody, I am Sawyer Schlipf a senior Ag Transfer from Lake Land Community College. I am an Animal Science major and have had the great opportunity to be on the livestock judging team and also serve as a member of the Hoof and Horn Club. After graduation, I plan to still be a part of Tree Lane Farms, and search for new opportunities as they come to me. I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog.

Hog-ging the Land: Feral Swine Wreak Havoc Across the States

Since the 1980’s, the number of feral swine roaming the United States has grown to a massive current population of nearly 6 million, with numbers concentrated in the southern states and causing intense destruction to the environment, crops, and livestock. The increasing damage feral hogs have caused can be attributed to many factors-more specifically, fertility and lack of predators. However, in order to limit contact between feral and domestic swine, the production industry has created a number of measures to prevent spread of disease.

Costly Damage

A species can grow to become a potential invasive threat when there are limited predators to control the population from growing, as is the case with feral swine. The feral swine overtaking the United States actually are descendants of domestic pigs released into the wild long ago, combined with wild boar. Over the years, they’ve adapted to their climates and learned to survive by not being picky eaters-a good survival tactic, but not so good for crop production, particularly corn, soybeans, wheat, sorghum, and peanuts. Feral swine not only eat their way through crops, but can cause damage to them and their surroundings. APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service) conducted a 2016 study that estimated over $190 million in crop damages that year for select states. The state of Texas incurred $90 million in crop losses alone. Corn crops had the highest total loss with a total of $62 million in damages, followed by peanuts with nearly $41 million and wheat with $28 million. As for property loss, Oklahoma (not included in the APHIS 2016 study) reported approximately $7 million worth of property damages in 2021.

Above: Examples of crop damage caused by feral swine populations. Photo taken from Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.

Damage Control

Adding to the amount of money feral swine is costing farmers in damages is the amount it takes to attempt to manage the impact they have on crops and livestock. Farmers and landowners deploy a number of measures in efforts to save their property, including traps, hunting, and fencing-but at a cost. Per producer, traps alone cost on average nearly two thousand dollars annually, not factoring in other preventative measures.

A few successful pieces of legislation have been created in light of the growing feral swine issue. One measure to control feral populations was deployed in 2014 by Congress, dubbed the National Feral Swine Management Program. Within this program, teams targeted areas that were considered agriculturally valuable and concentrated efforts on reducing feral swine populations in those locations. Additionally, the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Project was created as part of the 2018 farm bill, allocating $75 million to the efforts of lowering feral hog numbers and preventing further damage.

Farming has become even more of a challenge due to the growing threat of feral swine, on top of the normal obstacles found in crop and livestock production. The impact has resulted in billions of dollars worth of economic losses and control costs.

Disease Management

African Swine Fever, or ASF, has not yet been detected in the United States, but remains a constant threat. Should the virus become present in feral or domestic pigs, the damage it could cause to production and the economy would be massive. Feral swine populations are already growing and increasing their impact across the U.S., and would be nearly unstoppable with the addition of a deadly virus. However, United States production farms have adapted their buildings to withstand the impact of feral swine and limit the contact they may have with the domestic animals inside.

Modern swine confinement buildings have been quite successful in minimizing exposure of domestic hogs to wild hogs…Having a perimeter fence can also be helpful in preventing wildlife coming too close to your facilities. However, when feral swine do come in contact with commercial swine, producers should call their veterinarian, who can contact USDA APHIS [Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service] Wildlife Services.

Alejandro Ramirez, Center for Food Security and Public Health

No cure has yet been found for ASF, but taking preventative measures, such as sanitation and limiting contact between animals greatly helps reduce the risk of any disease.

References

Alumbaugh, JoAnn. “Feral Pigs Cause Billions of Dollars in Damages and Could Help Spread Diseases to the Nation’s Swine Herd.” DTN Progressive Farmer, DTN Progressive Farmer, 16 Oct. 2019, https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2019/10/11/feral-pigs-cause-billions-dollars.

“Farmers, Ranchers Struggle with Hog-Wild Feral Swine Population.” American Farm Bureau Federation – The Voice of Agriculture, American Farm Bureau Federation, 10 Dec. 2021, https://www.fb.org/market-intel/farmers-ranchers-struggle-with-hog-wild-feral-swine-population.

“Invasive Wild Pigs Leave a Swath of Destruction across U.S. – and They Keep Spreading.” The Official PLOS Blog, PLOS, 18 May 2020, https://theplosblog.plos.org/2017/02/invasive-wild-pigs-leave-a-swath-of-destruction-across-u-s-and-they-keep-spreading/.

Ag Career Fair Portraits 2022

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hello, my name is Brenton Fjeld. I am from Burlington, Iowa, majoring in Agriculture Studies at Western Illinois University. I began my career in agriculture at a young age working with my dad on pig farms. In my spare time, I enjoy fishing and being outdoors.

The Increasing Cost of Beef Production

Over the past year, simple common items have skyrocketed in price. Items such as gas, groceries, vehicles, farm equipment, and livestock. In January of 2022, a gallon of gas was priced at $3.28 per gal according to the US. Energy Information Association. During June of 2022, the price of gas was over $5.00 per gallon at one point. Everyday items are increasing in value across the country. Trucks, tractors, combines, grain everything is increasing in price. And in case you haven’t noticed a pattern. All of the things that we have listed that have increased in price are used in the production of livestock. Specifically in the production of beef cattle.

Growing up in a family that produces beef cattle naturally the industry is one that has and always will be an interest of mine. Embracing the unknown and working to produce the highest quality animal possible is a goal shared by many, myself included. The trouble comes when it is time to balance the checkbook. Every day across the country farmers, ranchers, and producers all look to trade and purchase cattle to grow and improve their operations. When prices of gas, feed, equipment, and livestock themselves begin to rise as they have in the past year it becomes more challenging. Many are resorting to retaining more of their own calf crop from the previous year to increase their herd numbers but as easy as that sounds it comes with a price.

Retaining cattle that are healthy and could be sold as production animals is not cheap. If a producer was to keep their heifer calf crop rather than sell them, they would lose out on roughly half of their projected money for the season assuming half their calf crop were heifers. “When heifers are valued at the market price at weaning and all costs from weaning to entering the herd as a bred female are calculated, this total frequently comes in as the third largest cost in a cow-calf budget” (Berger 1). In July of 2022, the price per pound of feeder claves was $1.81 according to Markets Insider. Depending on the number of calves that a producer has to sell that can be a significant amount of money that they are missing out on simply because it is even more expensive to buy replacement cows. The average replacement cow in the Corn Belt Classic sale located in South Sioux City, Nebraska was $1,675 per head.

Over the past year, producers have been put into a tight spot, and everyone had to decide what was best for their operation. Did they hold back some of their own calf crops to replenish their herd or did they take the money from the calves and bring in replacement cows from outside?

If you have further interest in learning about recent cattle production prices and maybe even some more about the industry visit The Beef Magazine.

Hello there, my name is Clay Bruno I am from Rochester IL located just outside of Springfield IL. I grew up on a family farm where the focus was raising and showing beef cattle, along with all kinds of other livestock. Currently, I am a Junior here at Western Illinois University pursuing a degree in Agriculture Business. The increasing price of cattle production is a concern for myself and the younger generation as it takes a pretty penny to establish yourself into the ranks of livestock producers in the Midwest and across the country. I hope this blog sparked your interest and you enjoyed reading it.

The Future of Agriculture

Bound to be challenging, the next five years are extremely important for the agriculture industry. Last summer I had the opportunity to work at one of the nation’s leading animal science programs. Ten weeks working alongside researchers solving today’s issues and tomorrow’s concerns amounted to an invaluable experience. The world population is growing which means food, water, education, housing, and everyday technologies must continue to develop to meet human needs. Efficiency is the key for agriculture producers to keep up.

Livestock are a significant source of protein and byproducts. My internship at the University of Illinois helped me better understand ruminants. Most of my time was spent between the world-class metabolism barn and animal science lab studying acidosis—a major problem in feedlots. Prioritizing animal health is ideal for progressing agriculture. When ruminants thrive from pasture to plate, we are taking the right steps to sustainably feed the world. Any cause of death is a loss of a food source in addition to blood, bones, and tendons used as by products for everyday human products such as shampoo and conditioners. Acidosis is caused from the production of lactate from a poor diet. The goal of the summer was to test and compare the recovery of lactate adapted steers to a control group of non-lactate adapted steers. Promising results suggest lactate adapted microbes in the rumen are better prepared to handle and control the effects of acidosis in an animal. With these kinds of results agriculture producers have a sense of direction to put each animal to its best use.

The agriculture industry gains a bad reputation from activists removed from the farm for generations. Indecisive teenagers are known for making bad decisions that they will cling to for a lifetime. Agriculture producers take on many roles on a daily basis and educating the next generation must be one. Growing up on a family-owned Angus cattle operation, I balanced roles as a farm hand, salesmen, agvocate, and graphic designer. Producers must be willing to reach out to schools and youth where agriculture isn’t admired. Through the ability of upcycling, cattle are capable of amazing things. Little do most athletes realize what balls and equipment are made of. Continuous research is helping producers make choices for the better of the industry.

Pictured Above: Samples collected from the rumen and tested for lactate.

Efficient choices will be the difference between sink or swim for most agriculture producers over the next five years. By trusting in science and technological advances, agriculture producers can feed the world. Mating animals for maximum potential is one way producers can create a brighter future for mankind. Educating anti-agriculturists may open doors no one knew existed.

Hi! My name is Bree Gaffney. I am a senior at WIU with a major in Ag Business and minor in Supply Chain Management. I am also a pre-MBA student. Next year I will complete my Masters of Business Administration with an emphasis on Agriculture at WIU. Over the past four years I have participated in various extracurricular activities including the Livestock Judging Team, Hoof n’ Horn club, Ag Business club, Alpha Zeta Honors Fraternity, and Collegiate Farm Bureau. I’m beyond thankful for all of my experiences at WIU and can’t wait to see what’s next!

Trying New Things: My Recap as a Student Worker on the Allison Organic Research Farm

Last October I started to work with Dr. Joel Gruver and Andy Clayton on the WIU Allison Research Farm and I have learned many new skills and learned about organic agriculture. I had no prior experience with organic agriculture prior to coming to Western but now that I have worked with Dr. Gruver for a year I have learned so much. Andy retired in April of 2022 which left me and Dr. Gruver to produce a crop this year and I feel that we did a good job this year for as little experience I had with organic crop production.

Field Preparation

As many would expect in organic agriculture there is a lot of tillage that is done before planting. At the Allison farm there are many forms of tillage used pre planting. For the primary tillage they use a Howards Rotavator, usually followed with either the McFarlane Incite vertical tillage tool, or a field cultivator. Most have seen a field cultivator or even a vertical tillage tool out in the field and these I was familiar with. Until I starting working on the Allison farm I have never used a Rotavator and I think it does a good job but it really is not very economical for large scale agriculture. The picture below on the right, is one that I took of the rotavator for those that don’t know what it is. In the left picture I was running the McFarlane tool in the fall of 2021 across where the no-till soybeans were after the soybeans were harvested. The picture with the rotavator I was tilling out the clover cover crop to later seed rye into for the no-till soybeans in 2023.

McFarlane Incite

Howard’s Rotavator

Planting the Allison Farm

Running a planter was nothing new for me as I primarily do all the planting on my family’s farm but the part that was new to me was the technology. I have never used or been around the Precision Planting monitor or John Deere guidance as I grew up on Case IH. I picked up how to operate the monitors and planter very quickly with a little guidance from the owner of the tractor and planter. The planting went very smoothly as we planted all the corn in one day and all the conventional till beans in a day.

Precision Planting 2020 Monitor while planting

Planting corn

Planting the no-till soybeans into 5 foot rye

In Season Weed Control

This was the big thing that was new to me as I have never run a row crop cultivator but I did very well and did very minimal crop damage. The Allison farm has an Accuraflow cultivator that is used for the first pass on everything except the no-till beans. The Accuraflow is a fairly new cultivator and the one I used on the Allison farm was brand new this year and I believe it is one of the first production models as the previous ones they have used were prototypes. The Accuraflow cultivator runs very tightly to the row with only 2.5 inches that you can wiggle side to side before taking out the row. I did very well and only took out 2-3 small 15 foot by 100 foot spots of corn on my first day, and no other damage on the rest of the corn and beans. Below I have attached some photos Joel Gruver took while I was using the cultivator. Then on the soybeans we also made a second cultivation pass with a Hiniker to remove weeds before the soybeans canopied over the row.

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  Picture curtesy of Joel Gruver
  Accuraflow in corn

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  Picture curtesy of Joel Gruver
  Accuraflow in soybeans

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  Picture curtesy of Joel Gruver
  Hiniker cultivator

Harvest

We are coming to the end of the season now and we harvested all the the corn and soybeans on the Allison farm. The only thing left to harvest is the popcorn which will be done with an ear corn picker. The crops did well and the beans were about average for what I would typically see on my family’s operation. The corn did much better than last year as this was a dry year unlike last year where there was a lot of flooding on the farm as the drainage on the Allison farm is not ideal. I rode in the combine to write down the yield monitor weights and moistures while Joel took pictures and recorded weigh wagon weights. I will also be spending a little time over the winter looking at the yield monitor data in John Deere Operations Center to compare the different research treatments.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed working on the Allison farm over the course of the last year and I learned a lot into what the organic crop industry is today. So much has changed to make raising organic crops less labor intensive and I have also learned some ideas that I can take home to my own farm as well. I enjoyed sharing my experience and hope you enjoyed reading it as well.

Ag Career Fair fall 22 300.5523

About the Author

My name is Dalton Engel I am a Senior at WIU majoring in Ag Science. I have been working on the Allison farm over the course of the last year. I am involved in various clubs at WIU including Agronomy, Ag Mech, and Collegiate Farm Bureau. When I am not at school I enjoy helping to manage my family’s farm near Galesburg, IL. I hope that you enjoyed reading my blog and have a great day.

Never Too Old For Life On The Farm

I could tell a thousand stories about being in the agriculture industry and what life is like on the farm, but I think I will talk about my grandfather instead, as he is my role model and the one who got me interested in this amazing way of life. John Lauffenburger grew up in Palatine Illinois on a family farm that grew crops, raised dairy cattle and just about every other form of livestock. As the second youngest of seven when he got out of the army there was not much incentive to go back to the family farm so he struck out to build a farm of his own. He has now been growing corn and soybeans for over 50 years but his true passion still is and always has been livestock. He raised beef and dairy cows, pigs, and poultry, he got his four kids into 4-H and showing whatever they had on the farm. The only animal he does not like is horses because they ruin pastures and he had to use them for fieldwork on the farm growing up.

He is now 93 years old and still gets up every morning at 6:00 eats a bowl of oatmeal or cornflakes and goes out the door for another day on the farm. Although we tell him not to go into the cow lot by himself or drive a tractor down the road he tries to do it anyway. It may be hard to believe but three years ago I caught him baling hay by himself, I told him I would help him bale when I got off work at 5:00, when I rolled in at 5:15 he was already hard at it. Even though he was 90 years old there was no stopping him, he would let a few bales pile up on the rack then hop off the tractor stack the bales then get back on the tractor to bale a few more. He loves driving his antique tractors and says they are better than anything that you can get today. He refuses to do fall tillage because it erodes the soil in a field that he worked so hard to get. At 93 he may be a little stuck in his ways and doesn’t really like trying new things in the field or when my dad and I are changing things around the farm but his way has clearly worked over the years because he is happy, healthy and still works on the farm.

“I’m only as old as I feel”

-John Lauffenburger

Living 93 years on the farm and still not wanting to do anything else everyday really says something about a farmers passion, dedication and work ethic. Life on the farm is a roller coaster with ups and downs, never knowing what is around the next corner but enjoying the ride nonetheless. This is how I want to live my life, growing up I loved riding in the tractor and going out to the pasture to feed cows with grandpa. That is what made me so interested in the farm and hoping that I could take it over one day. It is always exciting to here him shuffling down the alleyway on the other side of the barn on his way to see what we are doing. There is no telling what kind of story he will tell, it may be how he did things in the old days, or the story of him getting drug by a team of plow horses through the apple orchard. No matter how long the story takes and how much work we have to do it is always a blessing to sit and listen. This mans life is the story of farming to me and shows me what it means to dedicate my life to the industry and I am so thankful to have him to look up to.

About the Author

Hello everyone, my name is Jacob Lauffenburger and I started my college career at Lake Land College in Mattoon and now I am a Senior at Western Illinois University working towards a Bachelor degree in Agriculture Science with a focus in Agronomy. I live in El Paso Illinois with a farming and livestock background. After school I plan to work at South Central Fs in Sullivan Illinois as a crop specialist so I can work with as many farmers as possible. I am extremely passionate about the industry and can’t wait to graduate and spend my life in the industry.