Burrus Seed – Grandfather of 100% Free Replant +85 Years Later
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Peterson Farms Seed – Largest Independent Seed Company in the Upper Midwest
Peterson Farms Seed are a premier corn and soybean seed provider for Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota farmers. They have the most knowledgeable and dedicated staff, working every day to help your operation purchase, plant, and maximize our products. The company’s extensive replicated research program allows selection of varieties and hybrids specifically for northern conditions. They have the largest testing program in their trade area with nearly 19,000 individual soybean yield plots and nearly 17,000 individual corn yield plots. They currently offer seed for corn, soybeans, IP soybeans, wheat, and yellow peas.
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McBee Farm & Cattle Co – Farming at Scale, Luxury Carwashes, and Building a Beef Jerky Brand
McBee Farm & Cattle Co is located in Gallatin, MO consisting of over 40,000 acres. They currently grow corn and soybeans on their row crop ground as well as raise many different breeds of livestock including registered charolais, commercial angus, longhorns, and bison. In addition to agriculture, Honey Creek Ranch offers whitetail and turkey hunting on 6,000 acres of their ground featuring two 5 star lodges with a pool, hot tub, indoor basketball, crossfit gym, game room, 100 yard archery range, game cleaning room, and over 60 stocked fishing ponds!
The McBee Family also owns a chain of carwashes throughout the midwest called McBee’s Coffee N Carwash. Their mission is to make EVERY customer feel valued by providing the highest quality wash experience by offering free coffee with every wash, state-of-the-art stainless steel Wash N’ Wag Dog Wash, free vacuums after every wash, and business programs for your whole fleet. At the moment, they have six carwashes up and running throughout Missouri and Arkansas with more currently under construction.
Their newest venture is currently APEX Protein Snacks, which is backcountry jerky and meat sticks. The idea for Apex Protein Snacks was conceived in the backcountry of the North Brooks Range, Alaska – 150 miles from nearest civilization. It was there while eating a normal convenience store snack stick, and diving into the nutritional aspects of it out of boredom, that the McBee’s realized the need for a minimally processed – highly nutritious meat snack product in the outdoor market place.
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Whiskey Acres – Handcrafting the Finest “On-Farm Craft Whiskey in the World”
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Sproule Farms – Turning Wheat Into Pasta and Battling For Shelf Space
Sproule Farms, a partnership of family members actively engaged in farming, began operation in 1993 in Grand Forks, ND and Bath, IL that currently grows sugar beets, soybeans, edible beans, corn, hard red spring wheat, durum wheat, rye, oats, and potatoes. At the end of the day, they never limit themselves to conventional crops as they are constantly aware of new, innovative opportunities and pursue them when the potential for success exists. Additionally, the farm also runs an annual event called Cans 4 Corn. Last year they were able to raise $10,514 and 5,108 canned food items to be donated to our local Salvation Army food bank.
The Sproule sisters — Annie Gorder, Mollie Ficocello and Grace Lunski — recently launched Three Farm Daughters, which takes a proprietary wheat variety grown on the farm and transforms it into products like pasta. The company’s tagline, “No fillers, no dyes, no lies,” explains how they want their products to be seen. At the time of this podcast, their product is currently available in Whole Foods, Meijer, Hugo’s, Central Market, and Kowalski’s.
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Wyffels Hybrids – Fastest Growing Seed Company in the Corn Belt
In 1946, Wyffels Hybrids was established with a vision to produce seed that could help friends and neighbors be more successful. That promise has resulted in significant growth and opportunity as Wyffels continues to build a team of employees who share that vision for the seed business, and passion for serving customers.
Wyffels Hybrids, headquartered in Geneseo, Ill., is one of the nation’s largest independent seed corn companies. Focusing strictly on developing and marketing elite corn hybrids, the company is dedicated to providing corn growers in Illinois, Iowa, Southern Wisconsin, Southwestern Minnesota, Southeastern South Dakota and the Ohio River Valley with exceptional products, the latest agronomic information, and unmatched customer service and product support.
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CY Farms – Dairy Cows, Turf, & Onions… One of the Most Diverse Farms in the United States
Started by Carl Yunker as a small dairy farm with 25 cows in 1951, CY Farms was formed when his oldest son, Craig returned home to the farm from college. Carl and Craig built a milking parlor, a free-stall barn, and the 1st bunker silo in New York State and grew the milking herd to 350 cows by 1985. In 1986, Craig and Carl decided to put in a high bid through a government program designed to shrink the U.S. dairy herd and they found themselves out of the dairy business. Over the next 20 years, the farm went through rapid growth. Throughout the years, CY Farms has grown processing tomatoes, thousands of acres of snap beans and operated a custom snap bean and green pea harvesting business. Craig’s son, Christian, returned to the farm in 2008 after spending 6 years working as a Loan Officer for Farm Credit in New Jersey. Currently Craig, Christian and 5 managers run CY Farms, Batavia Turf, CY Heifer farm with a staff of 42. Today the farm grows 6,500 acres of field crops and vegetables including corn, wheat, soybeans, and alfalfa are rotated with onions, green peas and spinach. The farm continues to grow and change every year, experimenting with new practices and new crops.
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Jorgensen Land and Cattle – Most BULLS Sold in the United States
Jorgensen Land and Cattle is a diverse cow/calf and bull development operation that is the largest seedstock producer in the world, which is located in Ideal, South Dakota. In 2021, the operation sold over 4,000 bulls. It includes a 12,000-acre no-till, diverse crop operation that produces feedstuffs, feed grains and certified seed. The family also operates an all-inclusive pheasant hunting lodge called the Lazy J Grand Lodge, which has over 20,000 huntable acres.
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Stutsman: Family Business Since 1934 with 400+ Employees
In 1934, Eldon C. Stutsman started a milk route, and his neighbors soon asked him to bring supplies back from town. As a farmer himself, Eldon was glad to oblige. The requests kept coming and soon a company was born. Today, Eldon C. Stutsman, Inc. is Eastern Iowa’s largest supplier of agricultural products, retail, and wholesale with over 400+ employees. Overall, the company divisions of agronomy, feed ingredient distribution, manure equipment, precision agriculture, field equipment, transportation, and logistics along with wholesale hose and valve distribution. This podcast features three generations of the Stutsman family including Ron Stutsman, Chairman; Scott Stutsman, CEO; Mark Stutsman, COO; Tanner Stutsman; and Logan Stutsman!
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LongView Farms: Honoring the Past, Stewarding the Present, and Looking to the Future
Longview Farms is a 4th generation farm in Nevada, IA currently owned and managed by Steve Henry, Laurie Henry, Scott Henry, and Eric Henry. The farm started all the way back in 1955 when Kenneth and Louise Long moved from their farm in Illinois to Central Iowa in search of more productive ground and more aggressive farming opportunities. Over 65 years later, the farm now stretches across 10,000 acres and includes a couple of new livestock feeding ventures, LongView Pork and Grand River Cattle Company. This podcast features Steve Henry, CEO, and Scott Henry, Managing Partner, at LongView Farms!
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