29 Our Advertisers Appreciate Your Business Better Farming | October 2024 UP CLOSE Brock, his wife, and his father are equal partners on the grain farm, and have taken on custom spraying, baling, and seeding. “We take it as it comes,” says Brock. “We don’t really have specific roles, but more have an ‘I manage this, you manage that’ approach, and it seems to work pretty well. In our busy times, my brother will also come out to the farm to help out, and we have a couple of people we hire on.” Brock says that with this approach, typically in the spring he and his father will share the responsibilities of seeding. Throughout the summer, Brock is usually running one of their two John Deere sprayers, while an employee runs the other. In the fall, John typically manages harvest while Brock handles the custom baling and spraying. “Some people don’t like to do custom work,” he says. “It can overlap, and it can cause some issues when we have a bunch of custom acres to do, and our own acres are ready at the same time. We just have to go and do the fields that are ready, when they’re ready. We may be on our own farm and then off and back again.” He explains that to manage the competing timelines of custom work and their own grain farm, planning and organization are key. “We take it field by field in a sense, especially with custom seeding. It also works in the fall when you can kind of follow where the drill went in the spring,” says Brock. “When all the fields are ready at the same time it can create longer hours. Planning is a big part of managing that. We spend some time driving around and checking the fields, so we know what is coming. We also work closely with agronomists who help us with that. We can have an idea of what’s coming and where we can and can’t be about a week in advance.” Looking forward, Brock is always searching for new crops to try on their own grain farm. This can help extend and diversify their rotation. With their Brock has always had a passion for farming. 'We take it field by field.' Jordan Tomalty photo Jordan Tomalty photo
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc0MDI3