Progress 2 Tech & Ag

INDUSTRY: TECH & AG

Progress SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2019 THE BROOKINGS REGISTER

WHAT’S

Inside?

Brookings Economic Development Corporation............................................. 2 Farmers Implement & Irrigation............. 2 AgFirst Farmers Cooperative................. 3 Meyer Services....................................... 3 South Dakota State University............... 4

Page 2 - The Brookings Register, Saturday, May 4, 2019

BEDC, SDSU explore

precision ag industry opportunities

An ever-increasing pressure on profit margins partnered with demand from the public for sustainable food production has resulted in significant challenges for the agriculture industry.

Precision agriculture is a fast-evolving farm management approach that makes production more efficient and increases profitability. This diverse industry encompasses everything that makes the practice of farming more accurate and controlled when it comes to the growing of crops and raising livestock through the use of technology.

A recently formed collaboration between Brookings Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) and South Dakota State University (SDSU) is promoting business development within the precision agriculture industry by advancing research opportunities and industry connections at SDSU. “The Brookings region is home to unique and significant assets and resources related to precision agriculture,” said Al Heuton, Executive Director of BEDC. “We need to obtain a better understanding of the needs and challenges of private business and determine how SDSU and Brookings can best package our expertise to provide solutions that will promote economic growth and development.”

BEDC contracted the services of industry expert Prassack Advisors, LLC, a national consulting and research

firm with significant market knowledge in precision agriculture, to provide assistance with identifying SDSU’s core assets as a leader in the industry and helping position Brookings as a place to build and expand businesses. Approximately 30 SDSU associate deans, department heads and researchers participated in the initial research exercise.

SDSU is the first university in the nation to offer a four-year degree program in precision agriculture. Specific SDSU assets identified within precision ag include geospatial imaging solutions, agronomy and soil health concepts, and animal health and livestock management.

A cohort of committed researchers from the SDSU Colleges of Engineering and Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences are taking the next steps to identify and develop business opportunities related to livestock. This group is part of “Think Tank Thursdays” led by Jennifer Quail, BEDC’s Director of Entrepreneur Support. Quail recently became certified in the WKI (wendykennedy. com inc.) methodology for translating ideas into opportunities. The process has been used for more than a decade by leading science, technology and research-based organizations world-wide to increase their success rate for ideation, pre-incubation and commercialization.

The “Think Tank Thurs-

Al Heuton

days” sessions guide researchers in identifying and refining their ideas, determining customers and competition and preparing for funding pitches.

Faculty will also be competing for seed funding provided

by SDSU. While the initial group is focused on livestock, Quail expects more faculty will utilize the process in the future for other research-related activities.

“The WKI methodology is a proven practice for helping innovators and entrepreneurs discover, define and describe the business value of their ideas,” said Quail. “I am looking forward to working with the SDSU researchers to see what the next big idea will be, and we hope this will be just the beginning of many startup and commercialization projects to churn out of SDSU and the Brookings region.”

For more information about BEDC, please visit www.brookingsedc.com or call 605-697-8103.

Commitment to quality, customers High customer service and commitment to quality have earned Farmers Implement and Irrigation of Brookings national recognition.

The company, a full-line dealership for New Holland equipment and Valley irrigation, has received the highest dealer awards from both lines.

“Our goal is to have the highest customer service we can possibly give,” said Dave Gullickson, owner.

New Holland has named Farmers Implement to the exclusive President’s Club every year since 2016. Dealers earn the award through superior customer service, continued improvement and performance. The award is the highest corporate honor New Holland dealers can achieve.

Farmers Implement and Irrigation also continues to earn Valley’s highest national award possible, the Performance Plus Dealer award.

In April 2018, the company added another full line store in Watertown, South Dakota, a half-mile east of Interstate 29 on Highway 212, where they are continuing their commitment of quality and customer service. The company serves a 120-mile radius around Brookings in South Dakota and into Minnesota. The Brookings dealership sits on the Highway 14 bypass east of Brookings’s exit 133, Interstate 29.

“We’re a full-line dealership, from combines to skid steers,” Tom Pierce, sales manager, said. “We’re one of, if not the biggest irrigation dealers in South Dakota.”

Their customer base stretches beyond farmers and ranchers and includes construction companies and homeowners.

Previously, Farmers Implement and Irrigation con-

Celebrating the grand opening of Farmers Implement and Irrigation in Watertown this spring are Michele Lewandowski and Jeff Gullickson, holding the ribbon. Behind them are their parents, Dave and Elaine Gullickson.

centrated primarily on the agriculture industry. Recently, however, they expanded their New Holland line to meet an increasing demand in construction equipment to include mini excavators and small articulated loaders.

The business is also the only South Dakota New Holland dealer offering a full line of forage choppers.

For commercial and residential landscaping needs, the Grasshopper line of riding mowers fits the bill. They also carry equipment lines Kinze, Westfield, Vermeer, Wil-Rich, Kuhn-Krause and MDS. “Our idea is to be a onestop store,” Pierce said. “It’s quite a commitment.”

A large part of the commitment is attention to customer service and meeting standards set by the equipment line.

“All our techs have to meet certain standards,” said Gullickson, who joined the company in 1972. The company now employs 35 people.

Service technicians receive ongoing education, which plays into Farmers Implement earning national recognition.

Irrigation technicians attend Valley service technician

training every year.

“Our service department is fully educated,” said Pierce.

“We have to have a shop that keeps up with all the technology.”

While the business maintains focus on quality customer service, they understand the need to respond to producers’ demands as they adjust to the market and changing production practices.

“They have to have success,” Pierce said. “Being ready for the varying market is a real challenge today, everything from changing interest rates to corn prices to cattle prices all affect our sales and customers’ success.”

Farmers Implement and Irrigation’s service dates to 1946. The business grew and settled at its current location soon before Gullickson became a partner in 1980. In 1998, he became the sole owner and, in 2013, two of his children, Jeff Gullickson and Michele Lewandowski, joined the team.

For details on new and used equipment, visit the website at farmersii.com. Follow their Facebook page for updates.

The Brookings Register, Saturday, May 4, 2019 - Page 3

AgFirst helping farmers From market instability to extreme weather conditions, today’s farmers face many uncertainties.

One thing area farmers can count on is that the team at AgFirst Farmers Cooperative is there to help them achieve successful outcomes.

In addition to the nut and bolts of agriculture – feed, seed, fertilizer and fuel– AgFirst has a team of agronomists to help area producers improve their bottom lines.

The AgFirst agronomists provide help in many ways.

They help with soil sampling and the creation of seeding maps that provide the potential to lower seed inputs and maximize yields.

Using soil samples and harvest data, they create fertilizer recommendation guides and give advice for maximizing producers’ return on every acre.

They also offer many varieties of seed to help producers make the best choices available at the highest discounts.

AgFirst agronomists also help farmers create plans to fight against weeds by creating workable weed-control strategies.

In addition to the many ways AgFirst Farmers Cooperative helps crop growers, the business also helps livestock and dairy producers through its feed department.

AgFirst is a certified expert dealer for Purina Animal Nutrition and also is a dealer for Standard Nutritions.

Whether its beef, dairy, equine or swine,

achieve success

A farmer fills his planter with soybean seed. The staff at AgFirst Farmers Cooperative is ready to help area producers with planting needs.

the AgFirst team is ready to help area producers meet the nutritional needs of their herds.

Also, in order to help cooperative members, AgFirst has expanded its facilities at its locations in Brookings, Aurora, Volga, Toronto and Clear Lake.

The latest addition was the completion of a 750,000-bushel bin in Aurora. The bin was constructed next to two 750,000-bushel bins that AgFirst added in 2014.

The cooperative also assembled a 380,000-bushel bin at its Toronto location.

The addition of these two structures made harvest more efficient for AgFirst’s customers, who were able to dump their crops faster and return to their field work

more quickly.

AgFirst plans to continue expanding at its locations to better serve its members.

AgFirst Farmers Cooperative also has opened up its Free Price Later marketing plan for corn and soybeans to help area producer avoid the pitfalls involved with market volatility.

The staff at AgFirst, through the many products and services it offers, stands ready to help area producers deal with the increasingly complex agriculture industry.

For more information, stop by for a visit at the folks at AgFirst Farmers Cooperative at 204 First St. in Brookings, call them at 692-6216 or go to www.agfirstfarmers.com.

Page 4 - The Brookings Register, Saturday, May 4, 2019

Raven Precision Agriculture Center groundbreaking ceremony Stakeholders, legislators, alumni, students and friends of South Dakota State University gathered together to celebrate the Raven Precision Agriculture Center Groundbreaking Ceremony Oct. 6 on the SDSU campus in Brookings. The Jackrabbits later defeated Indiana State in the first-ever Precision Agriculture Bowl.

SDSU precision agriculture students Cole Berkley, Johnna Jorgensen and John Stubbendick played a key part in the ceremony and each highlighted the impact the center will have on students and the future of agriculture.

Berkley, a junior from Hot Springs, was motivated to pursue precision agriculture as his degree because he wanted to become diversified and well-rounded in all aspects of agriculture. He plans to graduate from SDSU in December 2019 and is pursuing minors in soil science and agricultural marketing.

At the ceremony, Berkley spoke about how he saw the Raven Precision Agriculture Center and the precision agriculture program improving the present generation of SDSU students and the agriculture industry’s future.

“The significance of precision agriculture is big,” Berkley said. “As the industry evolves and the next generation takes over, I see the industry taking off. However, in the next 10 years with one to two good years of yield and commodity prices, I think there will be a huge surge in investments toward precision agriculture.”

Berkley spoke to legisla-

tive committee members in the beginning stages of the project when the building of the center was being approved.

“I can reflect on this building for the rest of my life knowing I was a part of it since the beginning,” he said.

Jorgensen and Stubbendick stood at the center of the shovel line and participated in the groundbreaking.

Jorgensen, a junior from Mount Vernon, is pursuing degrees in precision agriculture and agronomy. Her focus was agronomy when she arrived at SDSU, but learning more about precision agriculture led her to believe that a precision agriculture degree would be a good way for her to broaden her education.

“There is an obvious demand from both the students and the professional industry for the precision program to succeed, and I am excited, especially as I start to become professionally active in the agriculture community, to see SDSU move into a leading role in the agriculture industry,” Jorgensen said.

To supplement her degrees, Jorgensen is currently taking classes to graduate with minors in agricultural business and agricultural marketing.

“I am truly grateful to have been asked to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony, and even more honored to be a part of the beginning stages of a new program,” said Jorgensen. “The new building will certainly encourage future students to consider pursuing precision agriculture as a degree, but the technologies provided

with the building will also allow our SDSU students to strive and succeed in the program.”

Stubbendick grew up on a 1,500-acre corn and soybean farm in Avoca, Nebraska.

His passion for using data to make on-farm management decisions motivated him to pursue a precision agriculture degree and minors in computer science and agronomy.

“Precision agriculture is the pathway to efficiency and increased productivity in any agricultural environment,” Stubbendick said. “I want to be able to use my skills to assist other farmers in making data-driven decisions. The precedents that are set by the SDSU faculty in this building will shape higher education for agriculture students at all universities, not only SDSU. Students here at SDSU will know that they are taking part in the first ever fouryear precision program and can leave this university with pride.”

All three students have played roles in advocating for this program and the new center. Their participation in the groundbreaking reinforced the student focus of the precision agriculture program and the efforts to build the Raven Precision Agriculture Center.

“SDSU is known for our extremely successful and revolutionary alumni, and I foresee this tradition continuing throughout many more generations of Jackrabbits,” Jorgensen said.

student-centered

An architectural rendering of the Raven Precision Agriculture Center, which will be located on South Dakota State University’s Brookings campus. The new Raven Precision Agriculture Center will be transformational with regard to the university’s ability to lead the nation in teaching, research and outreach in all areas impacted by the benefits of precision agriculture.

From left, South Dakota State University students John Stubbendick, Johnna Jorgensen and Cole Berkley spoke at October’s Raven Precision Agriculture Center Groundbreaking Ceremony.

Jeff Vander Schaaf, a precision agriculture machinery research coordinator, talks to several students.