Pivotal Issues Blog

By: Natalina Sents Bausch As drought continues to intensify in North Carolina, the corn crop is shriveling up. More than 90% of the state’s crop is in fair condition, or worse, according to USDA’s Crop Progress report published July 15. Jeremy Petree has been in the crop insurance business for 15 years. “There will be […]

By: Alex Gray With autonomous tractor retrofit kits set for commercial availability in 2025, AGCO is preparing to make the next leap to the future of farming. AGCO demonstrated a number of its new and upcoming agriculture technologies at its 2024 Tech Day, including autonomous tractor upgrade kits for tillage and grain handling. The autonomous […]

By: Dave Mowitz The years before and after World War I were a remarkable time of engineering innovation for the materials and components of tractors. The componentry and metallurgical advances from the 1900s to 1920s were significant for tractors. Among the innovations were lighter and stronger metals and engines that generated more power but were […]

By: Dave Mowitz Discovered in the photography archives of the Nebraska Tractor Test Museum, the fuzzy black-and-white image of the Rogers Brothers tractor is a glimpse back to when tractor design was in its infancy and any concept was worth a try. Rogers Brothers and other little-known manufacturers, such as Heer, Fitch, Nelson, and Olmstead, […]

By: Jolene Brown Problem My husband and I have been farming for 32 years. Our son graduated from college two years ago, moved home, and now farms with us full-time. He recently married, and we provide him and his wife with a house, a vehicle, and some land. Our daughter-in-law was warm and friendly to […]

By: Dave Mowitz From its humble beginnings as a modified steam traction engine (in which an internal combustion engine was plopped on a simple frame), the tractor has been a never-ending experiment in the making. That experimentation continues today, as engineers finalize plans on one of the most significant changes in tractor design since the […]

By: Mark Moore Ask Brandon Wuethrich to name a trusted partner in his farming operation, and his local Ceres Solutions Cooperative is one of the first on his list. Wuethrich’s operation, Top Notch Farms, located in Francesville, Indiana, includes brothers Chance and Dustin. They are the third generation to farm this ground, and the fourth […]

By: Myron Friesen The Problem My wife and I are both 75 years old and we own 700 acres with no debt. We have more income than we could have ever imagined when we started farming, and we don’t need it all. One child is farming with us, so we have time and financial freedom. […]

By: Alex Gray Rochelle and Evan Schnadt have been farming in Lodi, Wisconsin, north of Madison, for the past six years, and say they have always wanted farming to be part of their story. “We’re both farm kids: I’m from Wisconsin, and Evan’s from Iowa,” Rochelle Schnadt says. “We both grew up watching our parents […]

By: Marilyn Cummins Sometimes, letting go is the best way to hold on to what you love. On the R.A. Brown Ranch at Throckmorton, Texas, six generations of the Brown family, going on seven, have been able to “keep the ranch in the family and the family on the ranch,” in part by letting go. […]