Pivotal Issues Blog

By: Dave Mowitz At one time, farm shops were, well, just that… under-roof areas built for repair and service chores. Today such structures have grown beyond providing space to work on machinery to include specialized maintenance bays, welding centers, offices, meeting rooms, storage depots, kitchens, entertainment centers, and whatever farmers’ fertile imaginations come up with. […]

By: Cory Hall I built a second floor in my shop for parts storage. After two near-falls from the ladder, I decided to build an elevator,” says M.W. (Woody) Wood, of Lula, Mississippi. Wood planned to rewire a winch, but was told by a repair shop that if the power went out, the elevator would […]

By: Dave Mowitz & Karen Jones Having the right kind of welder in your farm shop can save time and money on repairs and fabrication. The tried-and-true stick welder, while still useful, has paved the way for MIG welders and even TIG welders. All three have their place, as you’ll read in this article, and […]

By: Adrienne Held With low grain prices and tight margins, farmers may need to find new ways to stay in the black. The solution could be in their data, says Ryan Stien, go-to-market manager at John Deere. Looking at harvest yield data and layering on additional information can help unlock a lot of insights, Stien […]

By: Karen Jones If you pay any attention to social media, you’ve likely seen some memes poking good-natured fun at grain cart drivers. Despite the teasing, the auger wagon is an invaluable piece of equipment, moving grain and keeping combines running. Used units are available but not in huge quantities, and pricing remains stable. “Supply […]

By: Alex Gray What once felt like a futuristic science fiction novel is here: Fully autonomous functions are coming to the farm. Skilled labor to operate heavy machinery can be hard to come by, and weather events are creating tighter windows for planting and harvest. Autonomy may be a solution to alleviate these pain points, […]

By: Alex Gray Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the tech sector’s newest innovations and will likely impact every industry. Beyond just a buzzword, this technology may be on your farm soon. Artificial intelligence is loosely defined and can mean anything from machine learning to large language model (LLM) generative AI. Machine learning is already […]

By: Lisa Foust Prater In 1839, Simon Wyckoff bought 172 acres of what is now Warren County in central New Jersey. More than 100 years later, in 1958, the fifth and sixth generations of Wyckoffs, who had transitioned to dairy farming, planted 1,000 Norway spruce seedlings on a difficult piece of ground. Their first harvest […]

By: Chelsea Dinterman When it comes to spring spraying, every second counts. An equipment failure when perfect conditions finally align could be detrimental to a pest control plan. Luckily, winter offers a period of downtime between seasons, when farm equipment can be brought into top shape. “Wintertime is when we finish what we started,” says […]