Mike Williams relies on KUHN Krause Machines to get the job done
Mike Williams, the Crop Production Manager at Amana Farms, continues to trust KUHN Krause machines to get the job done both in and out of the field.
Amana Farms of Amana, Iowa, is owned by over 300 stockholders. The operation has been the same since 1855 having 26,000 acres. Approximately 7,000 acres are in white corn, waxy corn and non-GMO beans. They run 2,000 cow/calf pairs and 1,500 to 2,000 more head of cattle. The farm has just shy of 30 employees.
One of those employees is Mike Williams, Crop Production Manager, who has been farming for 26 years. Williams coordinates and implements anything involving growing crops on the farm.
Amana Farms has purchased many KUHN Krause machines over the years. In 2010, they purchased the Dominator®, 2012, the Landsman®, 2014, another Landsman® and an 8300 tandem disc harrow; and in 2015, an Excelerator®. Amana believes all of the equipment is great for what they need on the farm. However, before making a major purchasing decision, three factors are considered.
“The dealer support has to be there, cost effectiveness is big, and whether or not it is for us,” said Williams regarding these decisions. KUHN Krause provides this support hence the reason Amana originally purchased the Dominator back in 2010.
“We use the Dominator to go down deep. We have had some pretty severe compaction on this farm and it really has brought our soils back into the right till for us,” Williams said.
The Dominator features a split-the-middle shank pattern achieved when two ranks of shanks on 18” spacing work together. It provides maximum soil fracture and nonstop operation in heavy residue. With two full ranks of shanks, none closer than 36” on the same beam, the Dominator delivers nonstop performance in the highest amounts of tough residue like on the Amana Farm. However, the Dominator is not the only KUHN Krause machine they love.
“The Landsman does a really nice job in the spring leveling and preparing the seedbed, it is just really suitable for planting. They really outshine some of the competitors out there,” remarked Williams. He then continued, “KUHN Krause machines are designed to do exactly what they say they will do: prepare soil, leave a beautiful seedbed, and break-up compaction,” described Williams.
The Landsman’s harrows provide excellent clod breaking and additional leveling action for the fields at the farm. The exclusive 24/7® Soil Conditioning Reel accomplishes fine clod sizing and soil firming with the ability to select a range of constant down pressure or float position to extend the weather/tillage window. These features and benefits from KUHN Krause tillage along with quality are the reasons Amana Farms is a repeat customer.
Other than KUHN Krause equipment, Amana Farms has a small lineup of KUHN and KUHN Knight equipment including two Vertical Maxx® TMR mixers, a GMD 700 disc mower and a GF 7802 THA hay tedder.
“The tedder does exactly what it is supposed to, there are no surprises. The disc mower seems to be very durable. It is a smaller mower; which allows us to get into smaller places because we mow some waterways,” Williams answered.
As stated before, dealer support has a huge impact on whether or not Amana Farms buys equipment. Having the dealer support is important and tells farmers that KUHN Krause equipment has good quality. Williams works with Stanerson Implement in Conroy, Iowa.
“We have bought a number of pieces from them (KUHN) over the years, and we choose to stay with their product line,” expressed Williams.
Based on their experience with equipment, Amana Farms would love to promote KUHN Krause equipment to their fellow producers.
“I would just show and tell them what kind of job it does for us. I was sold on the concept of the Excelerator that way. If you are going to do vertical tillage, there is only one machine worth looking at,” Williams answered enthusiastically.