DECATUR, Ill. — The first day of the Farm Progress Show in Decatur Aug. 26-28 brought blue skies and pleasant temperatures.
At the AGCO booth, Kevin Lewallen, tactical marketing manager for compact and utility equipment with Massey Ferguson, sees farm equipment continuing to evolve as technology does.
“There is a lot more connectivity and the data-management side of things when it comes to equipment,†he said.
The need for ag equipment isn’t going anywhere as the population grows, he said, but farmers are looking for versatility.
Lewallen said one of the company’s newest machines, the Massey Ferguson 5M Utility tractor, bridges can care for livestock, hay and roadside mowing.
“We have to provide food and we want stable ag solutions,†he said.
Lee Berberich of Mt. Carmel, Illinois, visited the Farm Progress Show on the first day.
“We almost always come when it’s in Illinois, trying to keep up on new things,†he said.
While it was fun to look at, Berberich said he wasn’t in the market for any equipment at this time.
“Grain prices are so depressed, people are afraid to buy things at this point,†he said.
Another visitor looking at farm equipment was Federico Fontana from Argentina, where he grows corn, soy, wheat and canola.
Fontana said he was asking about prices for equipment but did not intend to buy any at this time.
Paul Weir, a grain farmer from Ontario, Canada, was also there for the spectacle.
“We came down to see what’s going on,†he said, “We’re just down here as tourists.â€
Walker Kull of Shelbyville interacts with a character at the Farm Progress Show.
What’s new
Other companies were looking to offer alternatives for those farmers with cost concerns.
Agri Spray Drones launched a new-model drone on the first day of the show.
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“We love how drones provide farmers with additional tools that growers can use to manage their crops,†said Jen Allen, director of marketing.
She noted that they don’t see drones as something to compete with other methods of crop management but as an additional tool.
At TeeJet Technologies, a company that specializes in spray application and precision farming products, visitors could see examples of how spray tips and nozzle control systems operate.
One of the products featured helps manage sprayer operation more efficiently and maintains droplet size, said Marty Heyen, director of marketing at TeeJet. They hope that pulse-width modulation spraying, a technology that precisely controls liquid flow rates at individual nozzles on a sprayer by rapidly switching valves on and off, will become more popular in the industry.
Nathan Choat, a sales representative for Green Cover, answered questions near the cover crop demonstration plots designed by the company. These plots were a new exhibit to the Farm Progress Show this year.
Choat said growing cover crops is an old solution to new concerns in agriculture.
“Fifteen years ago, no farmers cared about soil health,†he said. “Twenty years ago you couldn’t find a place to buy cover crop seeds.â€
He said the main benefits farmers are seeing from using cover crops are weed suppression, erosion reduction, nitrogen fixing and compaction breaking. Choat said he sees the usage of cover crops growing in the future.
Outreach opportunity
The show is also a chance at outreach and education for many organizations.
Farm Rescue, a nonprofit providing help and equipment to farm families dealing with illness, injury and other challenges, came to the event to promote their service and seek volunteers. Ben Smith, field operations manager in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas and Nebraska, said the program has been operating in Illinois for three years now. They also serve Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin and Kentucky.
He said there are typically two to four volunteers deployed to each location depending on the amount of machinery. Smith said that quite a few of the organization’s volunteers are retired farmers, but many still work and use their time off to volunteer.
Smith said that last year’s operation costs for the organization were $3 million dollars and that the cost increases each year as they add more states to the program and as they add machinery. Services are provided free or at a minimal cost which is funded by donations, matching funds and corporate sponsorships.
Eric Brevik and Brad Cate of Illinois Soil Classifiers Association at the Farm Progress Show Aug. 27 in Decatur, Ill.
The Illinois State Water Survey was also there to educate farmers.
“We’re here to do outreach and education on private wells and our private well program,†said Katie Buckley, water resources outreach specialist.
The organization has free classes, a website and helpline for private well owners. They also host a national private well conference.
Clean Fuels Alliance America staff were on hand to talk to people about biofuel and biodiesel. The organization was the sponsor for fuel used in the field demonstration tractors.
Katherine Reed, senior communication manager with Clean Fuels Alliance America, said they were promoting the message that clean fuels provide energy security across the United States and fuel the rural economy. According to the organization, biodiesel in Illinois is responsible for $3.2 billion in economic activity, $411 million in wages and 8,124 jobs.
“I still think usage will evolve in certain geographies, politically and regionally, lending themselves to certain types of fuel,†she said.
