L-R: Tanner Winterhof, April Hemmes, Jeremy Muff, Tanner Knupp
Moderated by Farm4Profit Podcast co-host Tanner Winterhof, the panel included three innovative Iowa farmers: April Hemmes, Hemmes Farms in Hampton, Iowa; Tanner Knupp, Knupp Farms in Southeast Iowa; and Jeremy Muff, C & JM Farms, western Iowa. Winterhof grew up on a family farm in northwest Iowa. “But ultimately I don’t make any or very many of the decisions. So I’m excited to talk to these real farmers today, not ones that just play farmers on a podcast like myself,” he said.
April Hemmes, who played an active part in several aspects of Tech Hub LIVE this year, is the full-time farmer on her 1,000 acre operation while her husband works off the farm. “So I got what I call a farming husband – my fertilizer and chemical guy. I went that way purely because of the service I got,” April said when she was asked about how she makes her input buying decisions. “It is a relationship business.”
Service was a common theme echoed by the farmers when it came to who got their business. Muff, who shocked the audience with his introduction when he said he just traded in all of his Case equipment for John Deere, said it came down to service. “I don’t know if we got tractors that were built in COVID or what, but we just seem to have a ton of breakdowns and we just weren’t getting the best service for repairs and finally, just made the switch,” said Muff. “We knew the technology was probably ahead of Case, it was the price that was holding us back. But after a while, you know, breakdowns cost money too, even if it’s warrantied, it’s still your downtime. So that was that was the main reason.”
Knupp said trust is most important for him. “Work with people that you trust. Number one is profit,” he said. “And at the end of the day, every farm is going to be different. So, working with your farm, your fields, your tile guys, your chemical guys, your seed guys work, work within yourself. Quit worrying about what the neighbors doing.”
Listen to their candid conversation here:
THL Farmer Panel (37:20)