"Wow, farm equipment is sure getting big and expensive these days," the old farmer said.
"Oh, c'mon," one of his equally elderly farmer buddies responded with a big laugh. "Your dad said the same thing 50 years ago."
"I guess you're right,'' the first farmer said. "And the new equipment does make farming a lot easier."
The farmers were talking while attending the 47th edition of the Wisconsin Public Service Farm Show at the EAA grounds in Oshkosh. Chances are farmers had the same conversation about bigger and more expensive equipment at each and every one of those previous shows.
Of course, that's the idea behind the Oshkosh farm show -- showing the newest equipment and ideas for producing food to those who produce the food.
As usual, the weather on the first day of the event this week was raw, windy and cold. It's great weather for such a gathering since farmers can take a day off without guilt. A balmy breeze and 70 degrees is a killer for farm shows.
Four huge airplane hangers were full of equipment, some cutting edge new, some old, reliable and still good. A sales rep was at each exhibit to field and answer questions from potential buyers.
Despite the popularity of online shopping, farmers still like to actually look at, feel, kick and inspect close-up equipment that interests them. Why not? Even the simplest of cattle feeders, wagons, tillage equipment and buildings are expensive and ultimately will need service and parts replacement. Farmers look for dependable dealers.
The Mandako Land Roller was a popular attraction. In principal, it's like those little rollers you rent to flatten your lawn. The kind you hitch to your lawn mower and drive merrily across the yard leveling out the worm hole and grass clumps.
Now picture a bigger roller in three sections, 30 feet wide all told, 42 inches in diameter and weighing 15,000 pounds. This huge roller was on display at the Gruett's Inc., Potter display. A sales representative said this was the first year Gruett's has handled this piece of equipment .
Mandako Land Roller was developed in Canada for use in raising peas and edible beans, said distributor Stewart Peterson of West Fargo, N.D. Crop harvests were hindered by small rocks in the field and the big roller was developed to push the rocks into the soil. The latest issue for farmers is ridding fields of corn plant residue in preparation to planting soybeans. The huge rollers are used to flatten the soil surface.
Peterson said the rollers are popular in the Dakotas but are just getting known in the Midwest. "We're just establishing dealers in Wisconsin and Michigan,'' he says. "It's going well and farmers are really interested.''
But will farmers pay $28,000 for the convenience of leveling soil in a corn or soybean field?"
Peterson says it's cheaper than repairing a $200,000 combine that's been damaged by small stones. There's also the issue of close-to-the-soil-growing crops that are full of soil when harvested.
Bruce Johnson owns Wisconsin Silos, Inc. of Lake Mills and Plover. His business is building solid concrete upright silos and repairing silos.
Nowadays bunker silos and bags have become a popular means of storing corn and hay silage as dairy herds have gotten bigger in size. The century-old poured concrete silos have lost some popularity and there are hundreds (maybe thousands) still standing near empty barns across the Midwest.
"We looked at different types of storage for a long time," says Jim Burns, a dairy farmer from Brillion who had Johnson construct a 20x80-foot concrete silo last fall and will fill it with alfalfa haylage in May. "We decided an upright silo was best for us. We're small, milk only 45 cows and don't plan to get a lot bigger. We like the convenience and the fact that there is very little waste in the concrete silo."
Johnson has been in the silo business all his life and owns the former Ribstone and Shefchik silo companies. He points out that the biggest silo in Wisconsin is 132 feet tall and stores feed for 300 cows at Lavey Farms near Malone in Fond du Lac County.
Although upright silos have been around over 100 years, improvements in technology in construction, and in loading and unloading have made them more practical today.
The current farm show in Oshkosh is sort of a throwback and is the only one of three such shows (Madison, Green Bay, Chippewa Falls) that originated with the Wisconsin Power and Light's "Electric and Material Handling Show" in 1960. The original idea was to encourage electricity use on farms. The Chippewa Falls show ended decades ago, the Madison show died in 2004, and the Green Bay show moved to Oshkosh five years ago.
How many actual farmers attend farm shows? It's possible there are more retired farmers wandering the exhibit aisles than actual farmers. Many retirees have no intention of buying anything but are just interested in farming and equipment. But, as exhibitors will say, many retired farmers still have a financial interest in the farms their sons and daughters operate and have a major say in their purchases.
Future Farmers of America was also well represented. The group's members aren't buyers -- yet.
The WPS Farm Show always emphasizes the changes constantly taking place in the high tech business of farming. It's mind boggling to see what's new and coming down the road, from introduction to common use.
All is not simple in agriculture, as conversations point out. The high price of corn, soybeans and milk are common subjects of discussion in the media and among consumers. Farmers realize that the high cost of fuel, fertilizer and animal feed challenge their skill in making a profit.
Maybe, just maybe, the historic low price of food in America is changing in spite of farmers' best efforts to keep it low. Maybe.
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