Defending the Land Blog

Farmer is just one of the many titles Minnesota farmer David Legvold has held throughout his lifetime. He’s also been a teacher, executive director of a non-profit watershed organization, a controller at his local John Deere dealer, and most recently the driver of the instrument semi for the orchestra and band at St. Olaf College.

This adventurous spirit that pushes him to think outside the box when it comes to farming. It’s the reason he purchased an 8-row SoilWarrior strip-till system in 2008 after he realized that his original thought  of running a diverse organic farm wasn’t working.  His disaggregated soils were washing and blowing away due to too much tillage. And the most environmentally-friendly way for him to manage soil and fertilizer for optimal yield was by tilling a 12-inch wide zone, leaving the rest of his field covered with crop residue to protect it from erosion.

Apples, oranges, and pears are different but tasty fruits, just like cash, loan and lease are different but effective financing options when acquiring production equipment. They are all beneficial under the right circumstances. The challenge is comparing your options as apples to apples instead of a mixed fruit salad.

Making changes to your farming operation can be scary and even painful for your pocketbook if you end up taking the wrong path. After all, the average farmer has the opportunity to plant and harvest a crop 50 times during his or her lifetime. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for error.

Switching to strip-till is one of those changes. It means investing in RTK, selling several pieces of equipment, tackling your own fertilizer application, and learning new techniques. With that kind of commitment, you want to be sure you’ve got the right products and people on your side.

At ETS, we believe trialability is key to making the transition. Our on-farm demos, rental program, and flexible leasing with guaranteed buy back, allow you to experience the benefits of the SoilWarrior before committing to purchase.

This article was written by Gabe Jarnot, SVP Business Development for Northland Captial Financial Services, LLC. Mr. Jarnot has been in the equipment finance industry for more than 20 years. Environmental Tillage Systems, Inc. and its farm customers have worked with Northland Capital many times to provide successful equipment finance programs.

As a child, I remember receiving the Magic 8 Ball for Christmas, asking it questions and then waiting to see the answers: Very Doubtful, Outlook Good, or Yes Definitely.  This is what 2014 felt like as we all anxiously waited to hear Washington’s decision on Section 179 and bonus depreciation.