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Farmers still investing in practices that show returns

Despite lower farm incomes an executive with a drainage tile company says farmers are still making investments in their farming operations as long as it boosts productivity.

Aaron Kassing with Illinois-based Timewell Drainage Products says growers consider an investment in subsurface drainage systems as “have-to” not a “want-to”.

He says a good tiling system helps growers better manage their fields.  “Number one – it’s going to raise income,” he says.  “But number two – farmers will be able to get into the field, side dress, do the management techniques that need to be done so that the plants can utilize what is being put on the field.”

Kassing says the tighter ag economy has farmers asking a lot of questions.

But, he says when farmers can’t plant a crop and they are forced to take prevented plant and get a percentage of their guaranteed bushels would have been.  He says, “It makes it very easy to pay a system off in a tighter time frame.”

He tells Brownfield farmers are looking closely at every expense and want to see a return on investment.  “For corn you can almost count on 25 percent to 30 percent yield increases,” he says.  “Beans will be 10 to 15 percent yield increase.”

Timewell Drainage recently announced its acquisition of Midwest Plastic, another tile drainage tile company.

AUDIO: Aaron Kassing, Timewell Drainage Products