As somebody who worked in production for 16 years, I found it hilarious that your performance in your commercial was just as good as any actor. I once had an oil guy tell me a lot of old rigs you see dried up a long time ago, but they keep them on the books (and sometimes even running) as 'operational', because they don't want to pay the enviro cleanup fees.
I sprayed some pretty erratic field shapes here in eastern Nebraska as a custom applicator. When you go to doing your own, if you have fields that aren't squared off as a basic square/rectangle, account for about 7% extra product use to cover the acres. With open more regular shaped fields that will obviously be much closer. Logistics around hot loads, making sure you can guarantee a good cleanout between crops. Rubber hose, etc. can hold chemical in it and certain chemicals like roundup or liberty are very good about pulling that out if it sits over a rainy period. We just ran the coop shuttles on the truck and either ran that into our inductor or we valved them inline off the meter ends with 1" banjo connections. Slow pump your carrier and get those in then speed it up until full. I suggest a 3" wet seal pump system and you'll be in business, a 2" system will take forever. Your the applicator for records so we always took responsibility of measurement and the driver would just feed us the boxes etc. Your largest logistic will not be the truck and trailer or the driver, it will be having enough water storage on site. For 3 rigs running all day we had a large tank with a 2" well feeding it.
I am planning on 3” plumbing for everything. I’d like to spend the most time spraying as possible. Based on our location, we only really have a couple of fields that I would call “erratic.” If they aren’t big fields, they are at least square. I’m planning on mapping everything with the gator to get pinpoint acreages, which should help get me close on chemical needs.
Geoff here in Australia I totally agree with your views on contracting to your nabours, that keeps the $$in the farming system instead of going out to the public sector. Good look with your new venture
That was a "hot load" of information you dumped on us at the end there. That sprayer is going to be a big learning experience, I will be watching along for that journey!
Andy, I see no “holes” in your plan. As long as you are willing to put some time in that seat it’s really a no brainer! Another big plus is the timely application! You can apply when you want always! Well unless Mother Nature has other plans! A Hagie is a big investment but you so see some nice returns.
I'm in the UK, have nothing to do with farming and I found the entire vid really interesting (as I do with everything you do) - love your way of explaining things and really looking forward to what the next season brings with the new purchases. Wishing you good health and a great season
Can't wait for this season, watching all the farm tubers is good entertainment, I look forward to seeing your new planter, thanks for sharing Andy, oh an seeing everything else show up too, new toys, faster job
Been running a hagie sts12 for 5 years now. Pre merge, post merge, spot spraying, fungicide, pesticide, I do it all. This machine is amazing and wonderful, I run the exact same model, youlll never ever regret this decision. Keep an eye out where the boom folds out from the main center boom section, the aluminum frame likes to crack there and we usually weld it every season. (5k acres) The new 2023 models went back to a steel frame, unfortunately we can’t even get one for another year, let alone the 750,000$ price tag.
That's quite the price tag. I heard $530,000 out the door for a new 2022 STS12. I have also heard that it's hard to go away from a front boom once you have ran one... I am still a rookie, so it will be lost on me!
Timing is critical around spraying. There are several times in the last few years we have sprayed around the clock to beat rain applying pre-emerge or y droping corn. Never fun but always feel better knowing it got applied vs hoping the co-op gets to it. Logistics can suck sometimes but you will figure that out with growing pains. We are upgrading our setup to a 5000 gallon tanker to hot load vs mixing the chemicals on a trailer at the field side, only reason is cycle time. We spent 20ish minutes mixing chemicals every load, vs 6 minutes to refill the sprayer. It really adds up if your using higher Gallon per acre mixes.
We are thinking the same about the hot loads. There are a lot of comments strongly suggesting mixing our own, but I think it’ll double our fill time at least. We trust our retailer to provide what we ask for, and I know they’ll stand behind it if there is issues. Thanks for the comment!
Andy, I always enjoy your videos as a non-farmer. I couldn't agree more on your driving in country looking at farms. I did that last Summer in Minnesota, I was in my element. I'm country grown in Penna. Living in Atlanta now. Attended MN Farmfest where I learned a ton of information (mostly from John Deere Precision Professionals).
Just another great video of the depth of your decision making!! I think you are the most comprehensive farming you tuber. Thanks for all the info about your farm.
Great video. Excellent content. For anyone not familiar with the economics of running any business, it is absolutely fantastic to see and hear someone so young with their head really wrapped around the dollars and making sense of the future. Please keep up sharing the long of the short. Blessings to you and your team. Glad to see your son out being exposed to being with dad and the farming experience.
Glad you enjoyed it! At the end of the day, farming is a business, and it is just as competitive as any other industry. If you can’t be profitable in your investments, you probably oughta rethink them!
As one who grew up just outside of Indy, and has no farming experience, I love seeing you guys operate such a seeming big farm without a grain leg/main farm. I always think I was a farmer in my alternate life. Keep it up!
Other than getting the land to start, farming isn’t really any more complicated than you make it to be. It is always neat to see how each farm had a different infrastructure plan and crop strategy, but they typically reach the same end result. It’s a fun occupation!
For what it’s worth, I know a couple farms that switched from aerial applications to a HAGIE and saw yields increase due to the better coverage. Not big increases, but not nothing either. I think you will be happy once you get the bugs worked out and get comfortable with it. Congratulations on the new crop on the way at home!😉
Hiya Andy, Train Guy here. Thanks for the train segment and calling me out. Great discussion about the economics y'all have to deal with. We don't miss a single minute of all your videos. Continued great success and looking forward to next planting season.
Based on the engine quantity, I figured that the train would last a long time, but it must’ve been hauling empties back north. Never miss an opportunity to show some trains for ya!
I don’t actually dislike any equipment. It is just fun to poke around with the other brands. New Holland is very rare around here, so I don’t really have much experience with them. There are a few new holland sprayers around, but that is it!
My outlook is this, their is nothing wrong with paying for custom application if it means keeping it in the family. In short, avoid having employees. But, if a member of the family could be utilized to do the work, then by all means, buy the equipment. As our farms get bigger, we don’t make the same percentage more profit. If you grow 20%. You make from 0-10% more money, but, you also get spikes from the economy of scale at certain points as you develop better use of equipment, people and infrastructure. Then it gets maxed out, you have to blow more money, hire more people, and start all over again.
You are right. I think a lot of farmers forget that scale changes the perspective of an operation. Some of these big guys have grown to the point where the cost of production would probably shock some of the little guys! I do think it’s a perpuating cycle… gotta grow to sustain it… kinda like some of these co-op elevators 🤣
Been turning wrenches on these the past 10 years as a specialist. The hybrid booms are the best we’ve seen from Hagie. Norac will still be hit or miss, but other than that, those booms are great. Row sense works outstanding on the 17-21 models. 22’ was a disaster for software. You’ll really like that machine, hope it treats you well.
I am glad to hear that. I was advised to stay away from the older Hagie's without the hybrid booms. I will do a more extensive walk-around when it shows up this spring... I bet the 22' style Hagie's will be awesome after a few years of production. That's normally the way new models are!
@@aTrippyFarmer the 90/100 booms were great, been the same for almost 20 years until they went to a hybrid 90’ in ‘21. The 120’ delta was a disaster, but was better than the 120’ carbon fiber due to a last minute composite change, and the aluminum 120 that was the latest style before the hybrid was very prone to stress cracks even after we updated and added the pip kit. The 23’s I’ve seen have had great changes so far on common failure points so it’s very refreshing to see as a tech.
Hey, I farm in NE Montana in the Bakken oilfield area (on the edge of it) but I would say with how small the pumping units are compared to the ones in ND 3-5 barrel. Also could be better. Every oil company has a bare minimum a well has to produce daily to keep that well in production. If the well is on federal government minerals once the hole is drilled it has to stay in production though.
Having run a ground rig for the last two seasons I really do see a better return on the fungicide spray with a ground rig over any other type of application on another note custom work won’t make you rich but it will help pay for the machine faster good luck with the new machine
keep up the great work hope your crops do good this year as well as my garden lol that train engine that was leading is my favorite its a GE SD 70 ACE Tir 4 behind that was 2 AC44 CW Then a SD 60 And a GT 44-2 i have liked farming and trains my whole life i use to go ride in the engines a lot a few years ago but haven't done that for 5 years
@aTrippyFarmer if u see more then 2 engines in the front it because they need power somewhere else so they put the engines on a train to save on fuel also if u see a engine in the middle of a tain that's called a DPU its distributed power helps control the train better with starting stopping going up hills ect
@@aTrippyFarmer yup, about 1/3 of our acres are in Indiana, that bride is a key part to our business. You’ll love the Hagie. We primarily run apache but bought the Hagie that I run last year. Besides the tall corn the boom up front is way easier to get around stuff plus everything’s right there in front of you
Now don't forget. A sprayer will also cost you more in other investments you will need. A water truck and a pumping system to fill chems and other fluids. So your looking at another 150 k for another truck water tank and tank loading system. You still will have some roi but it may take a few more years till you see it. Unless you already have a plan for all that already
Truck is already accounted for. If we hot load from the retailer, we won’t need our own water tanks or additional pups. Our tanker and plumbing/pump is all that it would require. I do agree that there are definitely more costs than just the sprayer!
Some used equipment are not covered by warranty, so know the machine by reputation and what shortcomings they are prone to have. Work put in our your farm always pay off and you know how it is done ! It seems to make sense buyiung the sprayer, but then I don't have any money in it ! Andy... Go for it !
Yeah I don't believe that there is any warranty left on the sprayer, but our dealership is going to completely service and fix any issues before it comes to our farm. I am optimistic that it'll be a good thing for our farm!
Build your own tender. We like straight trucks with a 22ft bed and a 4.5 ft drop tail. With a 3500 to 4500 gal tank. Drop deck trailers are next best. Pro tank poly tanks. If u do a tanker trailer you will find out for yourself. They only good for 28 or 32 because nowhere to put shit.
@@aTrippyFarmer gotta have room for bulk tanks, Chem educator, Chem boxes. Gotta plan out lay out so when u pull up everything is correct or convenient. Also you'll want to top fill the water tender tanks .whole lot faster than bottom fill. The flat bed truck I prefer because no matter what u take with you in one trip it's really all about tender turn around time. I hate sitting and waiting on my truck to get back. There some sharp tender rigs around here.
I grew up on a farm and most of my family still farms. Love watching your videos and love how you sprinkle in humor into all the knowledge you drop… i.e. $75,000 is not the the monthly subsidy check we receive… if it is ours has been lost in the mail 😂
Hi Andy I believe your analysis is spot on however there are two aspects on depreciation book and tax. But when doing analysis on ROI its more on all the actual inputs such as storage, trailer to haul the chemicals, insurance, license, fuel, etc,.
Yes there is a tax consideration with this sprayer, but that isn't the best way to look at it in my opinion. There are a lot of costs that go into this purchase, so I will do my best to keep track of them all!
@@alpabst4776 lease is an option, but you’re going to carry a lot of interest expense nowadays. These leases don’t seem as competitive when they’re calculated a 6-7% interest.
9r with 1400s pulls cart good and only puts 5 to 6 psi of ground pressure no row pinching, reduce fuel consumption with high power 4wd use less power, higher trade in I'm told, and always have the power to pull a tillage tool if needed after carting
@aTrippyFarmer operation I work on has them on 9620r, 9510r pulling 48 and a 36 row ran a 8360 with a 36 row tractor had front duals rear triples the pinch rows had emergence and less yield we see better emergence fuel cost were cut by 20 percent
Hi Andy 🙂!!!, hey family and crew 🙂!!!, dude loved to see the kittens ty for that, and Mrs. Kate come say hi please for next vid, miss seeing you and hope everyone is doing well 🙂, until next time stay safe, stay awesome out there 🙂
You were about 12 miles east from me at westfield il, since you were on rte 49 you were near there, martinsville depending where at be aboit 5 miles from one of oir farms it was north of there, would have liked to met ya since you were that cloae
Congrats Andy, I am proud for you. You will save. But three points, I hope you got wide tires with it. Spend the money and get a good nurse trailer. Third, and I will argue this with anyone. You will never get the coverage with fungicides like you will with a plane. It pays to call in an air strike when you’re applying that stuff. We save because we have a great relationship with our crop duster. We buy the goodies and take them to him. You can’t match the ground speed or the pressure with a ground rig. And that’s what you need when it comes to fungicide. One more point if I may? Your Ukraine is winding down come t didn’t age well in 10 days! It’s not going to wind down anytime soon buddy. It’s going to get worse come spring.
Yeah I must've missed the mark on the Ukraine comment. I moreso meant that the market seems to have digested any possible outcome of that situation other than nuclear war... I have heard a lot of people that disagree about the plane being a better option, but it is very possible that you have found that to be true. I have noticed that the quality of the pilot makes a big difference in the application!
@@aTrippyFarmer the proof is in the pudding. But to your point about the pilot? It’s all automated like our tractors and most of those that complain or doubt? There was probably something a miss somewhere else besides the application. I assure you, if you do a side by side comparison the plane wins every time.
"You know that I have no problem talking for extended periods of time with very little to say" - I really laughed at this one ... out loud ! 😂 But actually, either you DO have something to say after all, or you say it in a way that is simply entertaining - at the end of the day we are still enjoying the videos 🙂👍
Who will pick up the slack labor while you are spraying? Also another Way to save money most farmers do it is to do more of your mechanical work. Something else to think about grain bins Will never get any cheaper.
With a few shifts in our herbicide plan, it won’t interfere with our current game plan at all. I am not too concerned about the logistics currently. We don’t have the scale to justify doing our own major repairs. Minor issues are handled by us, unless there is a warranty, but major overhauls and repairs aren’t in our wheelhouse…
What an awesome purchase for your operation. Really looking forward to some sprayer content. Speaking of extra costs….A spray trailer will increase efficiency but also adds to costs. Maybe hit up the folks at mix mate for a sponsorship 😉 Really hoping this all works out for you!
If you’re talking about the application, I don’t know how they would get away with charging you more than what they originally priced. That would be bad business!
@@aTrippyFarmer I don’t know,I thought it was an old swather🤷♂️ It’s John Deere I know that parked where the backhoe is. Other then that I’m absolutely bewildered as to what it is,but I reckon it hasn’t been started in years and needs to see sunlight 😂 Let’s have a look at it
All you really need is a couple 3000 gallon water tanks and a 1300 gallon nurse trailer with a chemical inductor. Skip the retailer and mix it yourself. Not that much to it.
Look at it this way you can do custom application but you're keeping money in house. You don't have to pay nobody but pay your bills and knocking out the markup on your chemicals that you're buying from your applicator
That’s a great point. We’ve made some adjustment to our herbicide plan to make everything work. Our only thing that’ll be cutting it close is soybean residuals around planting.
I hope that's not the last big purchase you make! I believe you guys added more acres last year and it's a safe bet you've done the math that you have enough to warrant the sprayer purchase and make it pay off. Did you guys go with a new bin? Seems like it might be a good idea with the new 12 row head, but cash flow is always an issue.
The grain bin is very likely. I am sure that I will make bigger purchases over my career. If you give it a few years, a lawnmower might cost more than this sprayer!
Hey, I think that your front end costs of the sky-high big wheeled sprayer would be a good acquisition to spray your and hopefully 8-10 customers nearby for their liquid spray needs. Then I heard you say that with your yet to be purchased tanker to be filled with custom blends of product. Do you have a testing strategy for you and your neighbors fields to prove that what blend you purchase from the chem supplier? What would happen to your fields and your neighbors if what the big chem company is off on the blend by any percentage either killing your crops or God forbid your neighbors fields that you think the custom corn fungicide blender is off on their mix-master blend that you think you’re buying…please share with us your testing process…the old adage of not letting the Fox guard the hen house comes into play. “Trust but verify” as former President Reagan said also…where would you put your lab (with work instructions if you cannot do the testing/applying) Just curious…
Those are realistic concerns, but we have a large amount of trust and faith with our retailers. This is a very personal business, and we wouldn’t do $100,000s of business with them if they were sketchy. With hot loads, they will hold a lot of liability for mix issues, as long as it isn’t contamination in our tanker/sprayer. It will be fairly obvious in the field if they didn’t give us enough product! Thanks for the comment.
Pretty exciting times on the farm. I think the sprayer will pay for itself faster than you think. Do you think you will run one combine in the fall with that 12 row head?
@aTrippyFarmer I could send ya some from here in Milwaukee. Please don't make light of the War in Ukrain. Over 200,000 children are orphaned because of it. Think before you speak.
Hi Andy from England, always enjoy your videos but can you explain why in the USA you sell grain by the bushel but your loads are always weighed and then converted. Why not just use the weight for pricing and yields
That’s a good question. A bushel is actually a weighted measurement, but it was originally a volumetric measurement. I would speculate that, as the market transitioned from bushel baskets to weighted bushels, they found it simpler to retain the term “bushel.” You could definitely just price it per pound if you wanted. At the prices that I stated in this video, 1 lb of corn is worth about $.11.
It’s got the row units that are a step-down from exactemerge. They are electric, but they don’t have the delivery belt. I will talk about that when it comes to the farm!
Do your homework with the pesticides and it will save you alot of money and headaches. Also a good tender goes a long ways. I wouldn't bank on fungicide apps making it cash flow. Because it could start raining and stay muddy then you have to call in airplane anyways. Or the corn blows over and you can't get through it anymore
I have a question. What kind of cdl for illinois do you have and what did it take to get it? I want to get one for personal use and I could claim it as farm use
I have a Class A license with the farm restrictions, it’s like a J51 code. I don’t do any commercial driving, so I didn’t see any need to go the extra step. It doesn’t require a medical card or a drug test.
It just depends on the year. Some years you would be better off taking someone else's advice, and there are other years where you'd be better doing your own thing. I think that the most important aspect in grain marketing is consistency. I believe that you should retain the same strategy every year, as long as it works. In the long run, you and everyone else should average out together for your marketing performance. It's the moving target approach that can make you miss every shot!
@@aTrippyFarmer thanks. It was kind of a dig at the propaganda we have to endure. Par for the course. Things that are actually good are labeled bad. Haha!
Commenting on the war in Ukraine comment you made..it’s not dying down, media has just quit covering it as much. Russia just launched 50 missiles in response to Germany and the US sending tanks. If anything it’s ramping up. They’re also in the middle of winter, the spring offensive is just around the corner
Interesting… the media definitely drives a lot of the attitude towards things. I do think that the markets have digested the war, which is why we continue to stay around these grain prices even in the presence of big crops around the globe!
Now ppl will stop asking you why you hire ppl to spray! In my very extensive farmtuber watching years, I’ve learned that sprayers have to be thoroughly cleaned bc they corrode & that “mix masters” are a must.
Mix masters help, but they aren’t a requirement! Cleaning your sprayer out is crucial to reduce crop damage mostly, though some fertilizer products can corrode metal!
@@aTrippyFarmer crop damage, yep, learned that too. I’ve seen what happens if you go from corn to beans or vice versa without cleaning the it out first. It’s so interesting to see how different systems work to do the same job, like spray trailers. I’m SO excited for you! Farm’s growing, soon you’ll need Lenny’s help!
Thanks for Sharing Bro !!
No problem 👍
I have drove by the oil fields hundreds of times. I grew up on a farm about 8 miles east of westfield in the 50s-60s.
Small world!!!
As somebody who worked in production for 16 years, I found it hilarious that your performance in your commercial was just as good as any actor. I once had an oil guy tell me a lot of old rigs you see dried up a long time ago, but they keep them on the books (and sometimes even running) as 'operational', because they don't want to pay the enviro cleanup fees.
The environmental side of the equation gets worse every day! Although the ad was a sponsorship, I do genuinely like the product!
I sprayed some pretty erratic field shapes here in eastern Nebraska as a custom applicator. When you go to doing your own, if you have fields that aren't squared off as a basic square/rectangle, account for about 7% extra product use to cover the acres. With open more regular shaped fields that will obviously be much closer.
Logistics around hot loads, making sure you can guarantee a good cleanout between crops. Rubber hose, etc. can hold chemical in it and certain chemicals like roundup or liberty are very good about pulling that out if it sits over a rainy period. We just ran the coop shuttles on the truck and either ran that into our inductor or we valved them inline off the meter ends with 1" banjo connections. Slow pump your carrier and get those in then speed it up until full. I suggest a 3" wet seal pump system and you'll be in business, a 2" system will take forever. Your the applicator for records so we always took responsibility of measurement and the driver would just feed us the boxes etc. Your largest logistic will not be the truck and trailer or the driver, it will be having enough water storage on site. For 3 rigs running all day we had a large tank with a 2" well feeding it.
I am planning on 3” plumbing for everything. I’d like to spend the most time spraying as possible. Based on our location, we only really have a couple of fields that I would call “erratic.” If they aren’t big fields, they are at least square. I’m planning on mapping everything with the gator to get pinpoint acreages, which should help get me close on chemical needs.
Geoff here in Australia I totally agree with your views on contracting to your nabours, that keeps the $$in the farming system instead of going out to the public sector.
Good look with your new venture
That was a "hot load" of information you dumped on us at the end there. That sprayer is going to be a big learning experience, I will be watching along for that journey!
A lot of talking in this one… that’s winter time for ya!
Andy, I see no “holes” in your plan. As long as you are willing to put some time in that seat it’s really a no brainer! Another big plus is the timely application! You can apply when you want always! Well unless Mother Nature has other plans! A Hagie is a big investment but you so see some nice returns.
That's the plan! It’ll be a learning experience…
I'm in the UK, have nothing to do with farming and I found the entire vid really interesting (as I do with everything you do) - love your way of explaining things and really looking forward to what the next season brings with the new purchases.
Wishing you good health and a great season
Appreciate that! I try to make it understandable for everyone, but sometimes that is tricky)
Can't wait for this season, watching all the farm tubers is good entertainment, I look forward to seeing your new planter, thanks for sharing Andy, oh an seeing everything else show up too, new toys, faster job
Appreciate that! Every year farmers get faster and more efficient!
absoluting the best ever description of bottom line farming in such a way that most folks can understand this is my 1st video and i am a new sub
Glad it helped! The economics are important!
Been running a hagie sts12 for 5 years now. Pre merge, post merge, spot spraying, fungicide, pesticide, I do it all. This machine is amazing and wonderful, I run the exact same model, youlll never ever regret this decision.
Keep an eye out where the boom folds out from the main center boom section, the aluminum frame likes to crack there and we usually weld it every season. (5k acres) The new 2023 models went back to a steel frame, unfortunately we can’t even get one for another year, let alone the 750,000$ price tag.
That's quite the price tag. I heard $530,000 out the door for a new 2022 STS12. I have also heard that it's hard to go away from a front boom once you have ran one... I am still a rookie, so it will be lost on me!
Timing is critical around spraying. There are several times in the last few years we have sprayed around the clock to beat rain applying pre-emerge or y droping corn. Never fun but always feel better knowing it got applied vs hoping the co-op gets to it. Logistics can suck sometimes but you will figure that out with growing pains. We are upgrading our setup to a 5000 gallon tanker to hot load vs mixing the chemicals on a trailer at the field side, only reason is cycle time. We spent 20ish minutes mixing chemicals every load, vs 6 minutes to refill the sprayer. It really adds up if your using higher Gallon per acre mixes.
We are thinking the same about the hot loads. There are a lot of comments strongly suggesting mixing our own, but I think it’ll double our fill time at least. We trust our retailer to provide what we ask for, and I know they’ll stand behind it if there is issues. Thanks for the comment!
Andy, I always enjoy your videos as a non-farmer. I couldn't agree more on your driving in country looking at farms. I did that last Summer in Minnesota, I was in my element. I'm country grown in Penna. Living in Atlanta now. Attended MN Farmfest where I learned a ton of information (mostly from John Deere Precision Professionals).
Well said! Thanks for the nice comment!
thanks
Thanks for watching!
Awesome Video and Much Love as Always!!
Thanks a bunch!!!
I think you're going about this the right way completely keep up the great work pal. This will be good for the wife and son
Oh I am sure that my son will love it... my wife... probably not so much! haha
@@aTrippyFarmer hahaha
About the clay tile repair. All the dirt went down the drain and ended up where. A river or creek
Just another great video of the depth of your decision making!! I think you are the most comprehensive farming you tuber. Thanks for all the info about your farm.
Wow, thank you! I’ll do my best to keep explaining everything!
Peace Andy
👍👍👍
Mix mate for blending the mix of fertilizer and herbicide for the future.
That’s not a bad idea!
Great video. Excellent content. For anyone not familiar with the economics of running any business, it is absolutely fantastic to see and hear someone so young with their head really wrapped around the dollars and making sense of the future. Please keep up sharing the long of the short. Blessings to you and your team. Glad to see your son out being exposed to being with dad and the farming experience.
Glad you enjoyed it! At the end of the day, farming is a business, and it is just as competitive as any other industry. If you can’t be profitable in your investments, you probably oughta rethink them!
As one who grew up just outside of Indy, and has no farming experience, I love seeing you guys operate such a seeming big farm without a grain leg/main farm. I always think I was a farmer in my alternate life. Keep it up!
Other than getting the land to start, farming isn’t really any more complicated than you make it to be. It is always neat to see how each farm had a different infrastructure plan and crop strategy, but they typically reach the same end result. It’s a fun occupation!
For what it’s worth, I know a couple farms that switched from aerial applications to a HAGIE and saw yields increase due to the better coverage. Not big increases, but not nothing either. I think you will be happy once you get the bugs worked out and get comfortable with it. Congratulations on the new crop on the way at home!😉
Thanks, Brandon. I think there are pros and cons to the Hagie, but I think the good will outweigh the bad!
Hiya Andy, Train Guy here. Thanks for the train segment and calling me out. Great discussion about the economics y'all have to deal with. We don't miss a single minute of all your videos. Continued great success and looking forward to next planting season.
Based on the engine quantity, I figured that the train would last a long time, but it must’ve been hauling empties back north. Never miss an opportunity to show some trains for ya!
@@aTrippyFarmer Thanks, maybe I can swing by your place to thank you in person. Talking about doing a train museum swing up in that region.
@@DDA40Xman where is the train museum at?!
@@aTrippyFarmer Southwest of Chicago, I can post exactly later.
Good video and very detailed plan that sounds profitable for your family's farm. Wish you good luck.
Fingers crossed!
You guys did the right thing I feel like by the numbers.
We will see how I feel about the next Summer!
Hey Andy! I hope you are surviving the winter! I am just wondering what your thoughts are on New Holland? I know you like to rag on Case 😜😜😜
I don’t actually dislike any equipment. It is just fun to poke around with the other brands. New Holland is very rare around here, so I don’t really have much experience with them. There are a few new holland sprayers around, but that is it!
I like front mounted spray booms the best! Since John Deere owns Hagie, is the guidance system green star?
It has a Deere rate controller and is set up for Deere Guidance!
You are going to love that 12 row folding head. Don't have to take it off every time going down the road
We might trailer it to some farther away fields. I am excited!
My outlook is this, their is nothing wrong with paying for custom application if it means keeping it in the family. In short, avoid having employees. But, if a member of the family could be utilized to do the work, then by all means, buy the equipment. As our farms get bigger, we don’t make the same percentage more profit. If you grow 20%. You make from 0-10% more money, but, you also get spikes from the economy of scale at certain points as you develop better use of equipment, people and infrastructure. Then it gets maxed out, you have to blow more money, hire more people, and start all over again.
You are right. I think a lot of farmers forget that scale changes the perspective of an operation. Some of these big guys have grown to the point where the cost of production would probably shock some of the little guys! I do think it’s a perpuating cycle… gotta grow to sustain it… kinda like some of these co-op elevators 🤣
Been turning wrenches on these the past 10 years as a specialist. The hybrid booms are the best we’ve seen from Hagie. Norac will still be hit or miss, but other than that, those booms are great. Row sense works outstanding on the 17-21 models. 22’ was a disaster for software. You’ll really like that machine, hope it treats you well.
I am glad to hear that. I was advised to stay away from the older Hagie's without the hybrid booms. I will do a more extensive walk-around when it shows up this spring... I bet the 22' style Hagie's will be awesome after a few years of production. That's normally the way new models are!
@@aTrippyFarmer the 90/100 booms were great, been the same for almost 20 years until they went to a hybrid 90’ in ‘21. The 120’ delta was a disaster, but was better than the 120’ carbon fiber due to a last minute composite change, and the aluminum 120 that was the latest style before the hybrid was very prone to stress cracks even after we updated and added the pip kit.
The 23’s I’ve seen have had great changes so far on common failure points so it’s very refreshing to see as a tech.
Andy! How's it going? I was wondering about your thoughts on skid steers, makes, and tracks vs wheels?
I’m not really an expert on skid steers. I think the tracks would definitely help for working in wetter terrain.
Thumbs up Andy! Great video as always. Thanks
Thanks for watching!
Great purchase for the farm. Like the cat cam segment. 👍
The cats have been a nice comedic relief!
Hey man. Holy shit 36row.!
Only 60’ wide!
That GrowersApp looks promising. Should give farmers a way to get competitive prices.
I think it's a great idea!
Thanks for the info ,I thank you are on the right track . Good luck
I appreciate that!
Hey, I farm in NE Montana in the Bakken oilfield area (on the edge of it) but I would say with how small the pumping units are compared to the ones in ND 3-5 barrel. Also could be better. Every oil company has a bare minimum a well has to produce daily to keep that well in production. If the well is on federal government minerals once the hole is drilled it has to stay in production though.
Awesome information. Thanks!
Having run a ground rig for the last two seasons I really do see a better return on the fungicide spray with a ground rig over any other type of application on another note custom work won’t make you rich but it will help pay for the machine faster good luck with the new machine
If I was trying to be rich, I wouldn't be farming... 😎the custom work would just help make the payment!
keep up the great work hope your crops do good this year as well as my garden lol that train engine that was leading is my favorite its a GE SD 70 ACE Tir 4 behind that was 2 AC44 CW Then a SD 60 And a GT 44-2 i have liked farming and trains my whole life i use to go ride in the engines a lot a few years ago but haven't done that for 5 years
That’s awesome. It looked like there was some major power stacked on the front of that train!
@aTrippyFarmer if u see more then 2 engines in the front it because they need power somewhere else so they put the engines on a train to save on fuel also if u see a engine in the middle of a tain that's called a DPU its distributed power helps control the train better with starting stopping going up hills ect
You met about a mile from my house, I work at the fertilizer plant just south of that dollar general. How cool
We crossed the state line there to the east. Nice area. We could've crossed paths if we were lucky!
@@aTrippyFarmer yup, about 1/3 of our acres are in Indiana, that bride is a key part to our business. You’ll love the Hagie. We primarily run apache but bought the Hagie that I run last year. Besides the tall corn the boom up front is way easier to get around stuff plus everything’s right there in front of you
@@codyredman6464 I’m looking forward to running it. There will probably be a bit of a learning curve!
@@aTrippyFarmer I’m not sure who you’re working with but if it’s Ryan with alliance in Vincennes he’s gonna take good care of you
@@codyredman6464 nope. Brad Wirth is the Hagie guy for alliance… I think. That’s who I’ve been working with. Alliance has always been good to us!
Now don't forget. A sprayer will also cost you more in other investments you will need. A water truck and a pumping system to fill chems and other fluids. So your looking at another 150 k for another truck water tank and tank loading system. You still will have some roi but it may take a few more years till you see it. Unless you already have a plan for all that already
Truck is already accounted for. If we hot load from the retailer, we won’t need our own water tanks or additional pups. Our tanker and plumbing/pump is all that it would require. I do agree that there are definitely more costs than just the sprayer!
Some used equipment are not covered by warranty, so know the machine by reputation and what shortcomings they are prone to have. Work put in our your farm always pay off and you know how it is done ! It seems to make sense buyiung the sprayer, but then I don't have any money in it ! Andy... Go for it !
Yeah I don't believe that there is any warranty left on the sprayer, but our dealership is going to completely service and fix any issues before it comes to our farm. I am optimistic that it'll be a good thing for our farm!
Build your own tender. We like straight trucks with a 22ft bed and a 4.5 ft drop tail. With a 3500 to 4500 gal tank. Drop deck trailers are next best. Pro tank poly tanks. If u do a tanker trailer you will find out for yourself. They only good for 28 or 32 because nowhere to put shit.
Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking about a tanker, but there have been a lot of people suggesting the tender trailer.
@@aTrippyFarmer gotta have room for bulk tanks, Chem educator, Chem boxes. Gotta plan out lay out so when u pull up everything is correct or convenient. Also you'll want to top fill the water tender tanks .whole lot faster than bottom fill. The flat bed truck I prefer because no matter what u take with you in one trip it's really all about tender turn around time. I hate sitting and waiting on my truck to get back. There some sharp tender rigs around here.
There is some tendering equipment for sale at Trent Schmid's upcoming auction. probably some good starter pieces to decide what you need.
I’ll check it out!
now you only need a mix mate that s cole the cornstar uses to mix his chemicals
Those mix mates are a bit pricey, but I could definitely see the benefit!
Enjoy watchn ur videos how many acers do you farm
A few thousand!
I grew up on a farm and most of my family still farms. Love watching your videos and love how you sprinkle in humor into all the knowledge you drop… i.e. $75,000 is not the the monthly subsidy check we receive… if it is ours has been lost in the mail 😂
I try to throw in a joke every now and again. Thanks for watching!
Your math on spraying makes sense to me!
I will be able to provide better numbers once I have acquired all of the necessities!
Hi Andy I believe your analysis is spot on however there are two aspects on depreciation book and tax. But when doing analysis on ROI its more on all the actual inputs such as storage, trailer to haul the chemicals, insurance, license, fuel, etc,.
Yes there is a tax consideration with this sprayer, but that isn't the best way to look at it in my opinion. There are a lot of costs that go into this purchase, so I will do my best to keep track of them all!
@@aTrippyFarmer what about a lease option, do to the technology consistently improving
@@alpabst4776 lease is an option, but you’re going to carry a lot of interest expense nowadays. These leases don’t seem as competitive when they’re calculated a 6-7% interest.
Make sure you have a commercial license for application and insurance to back that up before you do any neighbors field.
Yep already in the works!
9r with 1400s pulls cart good and only puts 5 to 6 psi of ground pressure no row pinching, reduce fuel consumption with high power 4wd use less power, higher trade in I'm told, and always have the power to pull a tillage tool if needed after carting
That sounds like a nice setup. We don't have any LSW's, but I would like to add some!
@aTrippyFarmer operation I work on has them on 9620r, 9510r pulling 48 and a 36 row ran a 8360 with a 36 row tractor had front duals rear triples the pinch rows had emergence and less yield we see better emergence fuel cost were cut by 20 percent
Hi Andy 🙂!!!, hey family and crew 🙂!!!, dude loved to see the kittens ty for that, and Mrs. Kate come say hi please for next vid, miss seeing you and hope everyone is doing well 🙂, until next time stay safe, stay awesome out there 🙂
Katie's head was in the background for a split second before I went to look at the cats!
Who dares,wins
Andy
New secondhand is the way to go
Now all you need is a set up wash pad to ensure long life lad
Yeah we do need a nice place to wash equipment... our current setup is a bit antiquated!
Speaking of Reese Ivers, they did time lapses of their new bin site build. The bin floor set up was really interesting.
Yes that’s a big bin that they put up. I can only imagine what that would cost!
You were about 12 miles east from me at westfield il, since you were on rte 49 you were near there, martinsville depending where at be aboit 5 miles from one of oir farms it was north of there, would have liked to met ya since you were that cloae
We nearly brushed shoulders! I'm sorry... I don't really announce my location ahead of time, but I will be at the NFMS In Louisville for sure!
@aTrippyFarmer will be there
On Wednesday, if your ever down this way let me know
Congrats Andy, I am proud for you. You will save. But three points, I hope you got wide tires with it. Spend the money and get a good nurse trailer. Third, and I will argue this with anyone. You will never get the coverage with fungicides like you will with a plane. It pays to call in an air strike when you’re applying that stuff. We save because we have a great relationship with our crop duster. We buy the goodies and take them to him. You can’t match the ground speed or the pressure with a ground rig. And that’s what you need when it comes to fungicide.
One more point if I may? Your Ukraine is winding down come t didn’t age well in 10 days! It’s not going to wind down anytime soon buddy. It’s going to get worse come spring.
Yeah I must've missed the mark on the Ukraine comment. I moreso meant that the market seems to have digested any possible outcome of that situation other than nuclear war... I have heard a lot of people that disagree about the plane being a better option, but it is very possible that you have found that to be true. I have noticed that the quality of the pilot makes a big difference in the application!
@@aTrippyFarmer the proof is in the pudding. But to your point about the pilot? It’s all automated like our tractors and most of those that complain or doubt? There was probably something a miss somewhere else besides the application. I assure you, if you do a side by side comparison the plane wins every time.
"You know that I have no problem talking for extended periods of time with very little to say" - I really laughed at this one ... out loud ! 😂
But actually, either you DO have something to say after all, or you say it in a way that is simply entertaining - at the end of the day we are still enjoying the videos 🙂👍
Appreciate that! I have the ability to ramble at times, but I know a good portion of you like to hear about what’s going on!
Who will pick up the slack labor while you are spraying? Also another Way to save money most farmers do it is to do more of your mechanical work. Something else to think about grain bins Will never get any cheaper.
With a few shifts in our herbicide plan, it won’t interfere with our current game plan at all. I am not too concerned about the logistics currently. We don’t have the scale to justify doing our own major repairs. Minor issues are handled by us, unless there is a warranty, but major overhauls and repairs aren’t in our wheelhouse…
What an awesome purchase for your operation. Really looking forward to some sprayer content. Speaking of extra costs….A spray trailer will increase efficiency but also adds to costs. Maybe hit up the folks at mix mate for a sponsorship 😉 Really hoping this all works out for you!
Haha that’s a good idea! I’m not sure that I have the audience to garner the attention of some of these big companies for expensive sponsorships!
Man that's a lot of great things coming to the farm . To bad you can't get a free fuel trailer
i see a lot of good used ones at barker implement in Shelbyville IL
I’m trying to talk my dad into getting me a “free” fuel trailer 😎
@@aTrippyFarmer I was thinking more of a channel sponsor like some of the other TH-cam channels
Get urself a big water tank buy and add ur own chemicals it easy like baking
Don't overestimate my capabilities!
Howdy trippy
Hey Tug!
Buy each the chemicals through out with credit so set a balance. If the price is more than expected after collecting all the chemcjals??
If you’re talking about the application, I don’t know how they would get away with charging you more than what they originally priced. That would be bad business!
Are you guys goin to get a sprayer trailer?
We were thinking about a tanker, but a mix trailer isn't out of the question.
Take it easy there Chet Larson on the dirt. You are a farmer people on this TH-cam. They are farmer you play in the dirt soil
What is the three legged green thing gathering dust bro
Can we haul it out for a look?
The Hiboy sprayer?! That is the original high-clearance sprayer... about as fun to operate as pulling teeth!
@@aTrippyFarmer I don’t know,I thought it was an old swather🤷♂️
It’s John Deere I know that parked where the backhoe is.
Other then that I’m absolutely bewildered as to what it is,but I reckon it hasn’t been started in years and needs to see sunlight 😂
Let’s have a look at it
All you really need is a couple 3000 gallon water tanks and a 1300 gallon nurse trailer with a chemical inductor. Skip the retailer and mix it yourself. Not that much to it.
I know it’s simple. It’ll be faster to have it ready to go when I get to the edge of the field. It would be cheaper to mix it ourselves…
Would you guys ever run one of the 4wds on the db60 and put the 370 on the corn planter this year?
I was open to that idea, but my dad didn’t want to tie up one of our 4wds. That’s why we got the 8R370 in the first place.
@@aTrippyFarmer if it's ME5e I see that working great, if it's a high speed I'm not sure you'll get 10 mph consistently
@@thomasbritten7216 it’s a ME5. We didn’t see the reason to spend the extra $130,000(if I recall correctly) to have the high speed units for soybeans.
If I find that crystal ball, I'll share it with my you tube neighbor 😃 then we can both have a sprayer!
You just get me the lotto numbers and we will both be set! 🤣
Look at it this way you can do custom application but you're keeping money in house. You don't have to pay nobody but pay your bills and knocking out the markup on your chemicals that you're buying from your applicator
That is a good point!
If you ever had a drago.... Best thing we ever bought
I’ve heard good things about a drago. The place north of us was completely sold out of them when we tried to price one.
My only concern would be having the time to spray an planting an the same time
There’s 24 hours in a day, sometimes you have to use all of them…
That’s a great point. We’ve made some adjustment to our herbicide plan to make everything work. Our only thing that’ll be cutting it close is soybean residuals around planting.
I hope that's not the last big purchase you make! I believe you guys added more acres last year and it's a safe bet you've done the math that you have enough to warrant the sprayer purchase and make it pay off. Did you guys go with a new bin? Seems like it might be a good idea with the new 12 row head, but cash flow is always an issue.
The grain bin is very likely. I am sure that I will make bigger purchases over my career. If you give it a few years, a lawnmower might cost more than this sprayer!
Hey, I think that your front end costs of the sky-high big wheeled sprayer would be a good acquisition to spray your and hopefully 8-10 customers nearby for their liquid spray needs. Then I heard you say that with your yet to be purchased tanker to be filled with custom blends of product. Do you have a testing strategy for you and your neighbors fields to prove that what blend you purchase from the chem supplier? What would happen to your fields and your neighbors if what the big chem company is off on the blend by any percentage either killing your crops or God forbid your neighbors fields that you think the custom corn fungicide blender is off on their mix-master blend that you think you’re buying…please share with us your testing process…the old adage of not letting the Fox guard the hen house comes into play. “Trust but verify” as former President Reagan said also…where would you put your lab (with work instructions if you cannot do the testing/applying) Just curious…
Those are realistic concerns, but we have a large amount of trust and faith with our retailers. This is a very personal business, and we wouldn’t do $100,000s of business with them if they were sketchy. With hot loads, they will hold a lot of liability for mix issues, as long as it isn’t contamination in our tanker/sprayer. It will be fairly obvious in the field if they didn’t give us enough product! Thanks for the comment.
Pretty exciting times on the farm. I think the sprayer will pay for itself faster than you think. Do you think you will run one combine in the fall with that 12 row head?
We are keeping one of the 8 rows, so I do not know. I said trade them both, but Dad loves the idea of a backup...
Good ideas, ya cant go wrong buying 🔧 tools.
Ya need some Snow
There is finally some snow on the ground now, but it won’t last long!
@aTrippyFarmer I could send ya some from here in Milwaukee. Please don't make light of the War in Ukrain.
Over 200,000 children are orphaned because of it.
Think before you speak.
Hi Andy from England, always enjoy your videos but can you explain why in the USA you sell grain by the bushel but your loads are always weighed and then converted. Why not just use the weight for pricing and yields
That’s a good question. A bushel is actually a weighted measurement, but it was originally a volumetric measurement. I would speculate that, as the market transitioned from bushel baskets to weighted bushels, they found it simpler to retain the term “bushel.” You could definitely just price it per pound if you wanted. At the prices that I stated in this video, 1 lb of corn is worth about $.11.
@@aTrippyFarmer Thanks for your reply Andy
I would talk to Cole the corn star. He has a youtube channel as well and they did allot of corn spraying even at a really tall stand
I would bet that he would be a good person to talk to!
If I lived closer to ya , I wouldn’t mind pressure washing the equipment !
You gotta be careful saying things like that!
What are your plans to get all of that corn away from the combines?
He said in a video that they were going to run only one combine with 12 row this next fall. Also, because he couldn't keep up in the grain cart.
He said in a video that they were going to run only one 12 row machine in corn.
I hope that we are only running one machine. We are only getting 1 12 row!
Zach things I'm Crazy . LoL !! But !! I'm a SEE'R !!! I know what's Coming !!
There’s a lot of bad things done the road for us!
You forgot to talk about the smell of money in the air around Westfield. Oil well smell. Lol.
Haha yes that’s true!
So if the new db-60 36 row 20in planter works alright. Is there a possibility of a Db-60 24 row 30in for corn in the future?
No plans to upgrade the corn planter. The DB60 was the only way to go wider in soybeans and still have narrower rows!
And the worst one also. Why not a Horsch sprayer?
I’m not going to buy something that no one around here works on!
Nice 👍
Thank you! Cheers!
Only thing that db60 will the 8r 370 pull it at high speeds. Just wondering
It’s got the row units that are a step-down from exactemerge. They are electric, but they don’t have the delivery belt. I will talk about that when it comes to the farm!
Do your homework with the pesticides and it will save you alot of money and headaches. Also a good tender goes a long ways. I wouldn't bank on fungicide apps making it cash flow. Because it could start raining and stay muddy then you have to call in airplane anyways. Or the corn blows over and you can't get through it anymore
That’s a good point. It’ll pencil without the fungicide applications, but they certainly help!
I have a question. What kind of cdl for illinois do you have and what did it take to get it? I want to get one for personal use and I could claim it as farm use
I have a Class A license with the farm restrictions, it’s like a J51 code. I don’t do any commercial driving, so I didn’t see any need to go the extra step. It doesn’t require a medical card or a drug test.
nice purchase. be safe around the chemicals tho!
Yeah I’ll definitely were some PPE!
Do you think there is enough money gained to use a grain marketing firm instead of marketing your own grain?
It just depends on the year. Some years you would be better off taking someone else's advice, and there are other years where you'd be better doing your own thing. I think that the most important aspect in grain marketing is consistency. I believe that you should retain the same strategy every year, as long as it works. In the long run, you and everyone else should average out together for your marketing performance. It's the moving target approach that can make you miss every shot!
👍👍👍
Thanks for watching!
Solid crop. Due to those pesky greenhouse gases. Imagine that
The increase in C02 has been proven to dramatically influence yields. I do believe that soybeans might benefit the most.
@@aTrippyFarmer thanks. It was kind of a dig at the propaganda we have to endure. Par for the course. Things that are actually good are labeled bad. Haha!
The nose is looking better.
It’s coming along!!!
And were are you going to keep that haha 😂
We will cross that bridge when it comes… 😳
Take her on a TH-cam farm tour and hit up montana
Haha I need to travel the corn belt and great plains!
Commenting on the war in Ukraine comment you made..it’s not dying down, media has just quit covering it as much. Russia just launched 50 missiles in response to Germany and the US sending tanks. If anything it’s ramping up. They’re also in the middle of winter, the spring offensive is just around the corner
Interesting… the media definitely drives a lot of the attitude towards things. I do think that the markets have digested the war, which is why we continue to stay around these grain prices even in the presence of big crops around the globe!
Now ppl will stop asking you why you hire ppl to spray!
In my very extensive farmtuber watching years, I’ve learned that sprayers have to be thoroughly cleaned bc they corrode & that “mix masters” are a must.
Mix masters help, but they aren’t a requirement! Cleaning your sprayer out is crucial to reduce crop damage mostly, though some fertilizer products can corrode metal!
@@aTrippyFarmer crop damage, yep, learned that too. I’ve seen what happens if you go from corn to beans or vice versa without cleaning the it out first.
It’s so interesting to see how different systems work to do the same job, like spray trailers. I’m SO excited for you! Farm’s growing, soon you’ll need Lenny’s help!
I own a airplane talk about cost of ownership
Hope the other guy gets his new one so you can bring yours home and play with it and learn about it. And wax that puppy up.
Yes that’s a big IF!