THE DIRT onVolume 7, No. 2 – Fall/Winter 2009

Harvest: More than just combines! Yes, combines going across the fields come to mind first for most when they hear the word “harvest.” Yet what goes on around the farm during harvest time might surprise you.

The harvest crew, Aaron, Bradley, Devin, Kevin, Mike, Adam and Andy head out before the sun rises to prepare equipment for the day’s work. Combines and grain carts have to be fueled, greased and checked closely to prevent problems during the day ahead. Eric and Wade meet at 5:30 in the morning at the bins to inspect semis and load trucks, which were emptied through the night. Once trucks are loaded, drivers

head to the grain elevator, then, on their return, to the fields.

John, Ricky, Eric, and Justin prepare the bin/drying facility for the grain coming from the fields while Wade meets the tillage crew to complete daily maintenance on the chisel plows and tractors. Andy leaves with the bush hog to mow a roadside or gets the dozer to clean up fence rows.Now that the harvest crew and grain hauling are underway, Justin joins Paul and Gary, who have been plowing for a few hours, after he cleans around the dryers.

Chisel plowing was a new adventure this year as we trained the operators to use the new track

tractors equipped with auto steer. What a difference technology can make, maximizing plow width for more efficiency and enabling us to watch the equipment closely to catch any problems before they become major issues. Good preventative maintenance is rewarded when the tillage crew can keep pace with the lime and fertilizer applicators, which follow right behind the harvest crew.

Spraying is another very important part of the fall activities. Some fields are not plowed for erosion control due to the lay of the land. Spraying keeps the unwanted weeds and grasses from growing and allows spring tillage to be more effective prior to planting.

Got tillage?We were fortunate this year to have the equipment and manpower to fol-low the combines with our tractors and chisel plows for tillage operations. Tillage in the fall provides a means for moisture (rain/snow) to get deeper in the soil and also better decomposition of the corn stalks.

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With the harvest completed and winter arriving, we wash and store the equipment. Tractors are fitted with their snowplows, washed, waxed and sent off to the airport for snow removal. We market grain and haul it to the elevators. Then the indoor shop projects begin. The ol’ JD 4430 was scheduled for a makeover by Bradley. Bought new in 1976 by our grandpa (Spencer), it was the workhorse and has provided many hours of productive work throughout its “career.” Maintenance included an engine overhaul by Aaron, new wiring, paint and new 42-inch tires. We love this tractor, as it is part of our family and a connection to grandpa.

Andy has the task of fitting the dozer with a new undercarriage and tracks and getting the backhoe ready for spring field tile repairs. Aaron has taken on the

challenge of an engine overhaul on truck 110, prepping and getting it a new Indy Family Farms paint job, then putting it all back together before spring arrives. Jason is putting a new motor in the Ford F350 flat bed, helping Bradley and Aaron with their projects, as well as helping out with hauling corn.

Adam and Mike completed annual maintenance on the mulch trucks and tillage tools.John and Devin have the cold task of updating some of the grain systems and helping Aaron, Bradley and Andy when needed.

As we planned for spring activity, we felt an additional water source

could save us some transport time, so truck 110 was modified to haul a water tank in addition to grain trailers. With those projects complete, the tillage tools and anhydrous applicators were brought in to get ready for spring work.

Setup and preparation will keep us all busy until the weather warms and the ground thaws and it’s off to the fields for another exciting year on the farm. So don’t think for a second that there is a winter break on the farm just because you don’t see the equipment out in the fields. We always have “season-specific” work to complete. Such is the life of a farmer.

Winter projects: A team effort!

Say what? Socially responsible? A farm operation? You bet! For Indy Family Farms this is one of our major goals. But what does it mean to be socially responsible?

The typical thought for farms is “being good stewards of the land.” We’ve been doing that for years and will continue doing so. But it is much more than that. Things like employee safety, caution signage, power equipment efficiencies, record keeping for proper application and secure storage of grain, fertilizers and

chemicals are just some of our focus areas. We plan to share more about these in future newsletters.

Equipment manufacturers are invested as well. An example of this is AGCO’s development of e3 technology to reduce harmful emissions without jeopardizing horsepower. When EPA Tier 4 standards are required in 2014, AGCO will be surpassing them. It is expected with the e3 technology that the air coming out of the tractor exhaust will be cleaner than the air being taken in.

Farming means being socially responsible

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Not to be outdone by the on-board computers in the tractors, Eric has added his own “mobile technology.” Eric’s birthday request was a “good/sturdy” stand for his pickup truck so he could use his laptop as he made his rounds during planting, crops scouting and harvest. (He does this while stopped – safety first!) He is our logistics manager, working diligently to keep men and

machines moving and productive. Eric has a variety of information to keep us organized during these peak times and is responsible for keeping various records and information up-to-date. We hope that this will give him the opportunity to stay current without spending additional hours in the office at the end of the day.

Technology allows us to take the office with us

2009 in the rearview mirrorWow! What a year. Here’s a snapshot of our challenges and accomplishments:

1st Quarter: Hauled grain, moved into our new shop, shop projects, moved into our new office, started applying anhydrous, prepared leases

2nd Quarter: Field preparation to begin planting, heavy May rains, corn and soybean planting in all three months, June 8 finish

3rd Quarter: July wheat harvest, cool and wet July and August, shop/office open house for landowners and friends including NASCAR 31 and antique equipment, fall harvest start later than usual

4th Quarter: Harvest challenge as corn didn’t dry down, all corn had to be dried, handled most corn twice as a result, tillage kept up with combines, harvest completed November 24, tillage done December 9

Real time tracking improves dataWe’ve shared information about the technology we use on the farm. It provides useful information specific to the operation being performed. But other data needs collected as well to track completed acres, any work plan changes, and important to-do items. No need to scribble it down on paper. With our new set-up someone can post it on the computer and send the file in an email to the office staff for collection.

We mentioned the engine overhaul of Truck 110This gives you an idea of the effort and results of the activity although we believe that once Aaron got a good shot of oil on him, he decided to go for it!

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110 Bluffdale DriveGreenwood, IN 46142-7749

E-mails:Farm Office

growit@indyfamilyfarms.com

• Farm Office ................317-888-FARM• Eric Cell .................... 317.714.8885• Adam Cell .................. 317.590.4085• Aaron Cell ................ 317.714.8887• Rick Cell ................... 317.590.4083• Rob Cell .....................317.213.8910

Looking for Land to LeaseIf you are aware of property owners who might want to lease their farm to us, please pass that information along. Thanks!

Monsters in the house! It may sound crazy but we actually invited Monsters to our shop. Two monsters from the Monster Jam truck show were in our shop for three days prior to the Indianapolis show and three days following.

Through a network of friends and suppliers, the teams for the Grinder

and the Escalade connected with us. They were looking for some shop space so they didn’t have to travel to North Carolina between shows in the Midwest.

You can imagine the excitement as word spread and we hosted several guests wanting to get an “up close

and personal” look at the trucks. We even have the damaged hood from the Grinder that had an unfortunate rollover in its race. For those of you at our Open House who heard the NASCAR 31, these trucks were just as loud!

Sizing up the trucks

The name “monster” is well deserved. This photo shows the height of the trucks compared to Rob, Aaron, Bradley and Eric. And they don’t even have the big show wheels on. Looking under the body reveals a reinforced frame struc-ture, extremely small cab – think race driver, and a very big engine. Definitely not your aver-age farm pick-up truck!