FARM
Photo courtesy of Trail Family Farms.
Strategies
• Producers share growth strategies, decision processes and turning points •
Kimberly McClellan for Ag Proud
Q As you look back, what’s
something that just went well
for you (within the past 10 years)?
A About 10 years ago, we started strip
tilling. We have gone to minimal
tillage on a lot of our ground to help with
erosion and weed control. We have decided
not to plow anymore because of the wind
erosion. In some of the sandier ground, it
takes that sand and blows it, turns it into a
sand blaster and destroys the beet crop. Or
the alfalfa will blow out because you only
plant about a quarter-inch deep, and it
blows it all away. We have a 12-row planter,
and at the head of the planter is a strip-till
machine. The machines used to be separate,
but about three years ago we put them
together, and now there’s one operator (me,
and I do both jobs at the same time). In
between the rows, there is still a cover crop
growing, so wind erosion is not a factor
anymore. We used to have to replant about
400 acres of beets due to wind. With the
strip till, it has dropped our replanting to
almost zero. Sugarbeet seed is really
expensive, so it has really helped with that
[cost]. One thing that has also really helped
us is the RoundUp Ready sugarbeets. We
used to fight weeds, and it took labor to get
the weeds out of the fields. We probably
wouldn’t be raising sugarbeets if we didn’t
have RoundUp Ready seed.
Q What’s something that’s
really made a difference in your
operation – a turning point?
A We took a 12-row strip-till machine
and put it ahead of our planter. One
tractor with one operator does the job we
used to do with two people. Marrying the
two together happened because of labor. It
saves hours on the tractor and reduces labor.
In addition, every year we incorporate a
little bit of fertilizer beneath the seed. I call
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it a breakfast for the beets. We’ve had a few
“test plots” where the fertilizer applicator
was accidentally not turned on, and you can
tell a night-and-day difference between the
beets that did not get their breakfast and
the beets that did.
Q What purchases are next –
where would you like to go
with the farm next?
A Last winter, one of our really good
operators quit. So labor just keeps
[getting] harder and harder. My dad runs a
six-row beet harvester, I run a six-row beet
harvester, and our operator used to run a
defoliator. We had a hard time trying to
find an operator to run our defoliator, so our
next purchase for this coming year will be
trading our six-row beet harvester and
going to a 12-row beet harvester. We’re
trying to do the same work with less labor.
We are also purchasing a tractor that has
the best technology in it – the best guidance
systems. We run all newer equipment.
Instead of trying to put more and more
money into repairs with older equipment,
my dad took that money and started buying
newer equipment that [doesn’t] require so
many repairs. You’re also saving labor with
the guidance systems – instead of being
exhausted after 10 hours, we can push and
do 12- to 14-hour days.
Q What’s the decision
process for the farm?
A When I came back from college, the
decision-making was 100% on my
dad. He made me start my own farming
business, and have my own shares and raise
my own beets. When everything was
converted to Trail Family Farms, he would
ask my opinion but would not listen to it.
About five years after that, we would talk
through things, and he would listen to what
Rocky and Rusty Trail display their
award-winning sugarbeets.
FARM: Trail Family Farms
NAME: Rusty Trails, co-owner
LOCATION: King Hill, Idaho
CROPS: Sugarbeets, dairy-quality
alfalfa hay, soft white wheat
and corn
I would have to say. About five years ago,
we’ve really become a partnership. I bought
into Trail Ranches. We’ve made purchases
on ground that my wife and I are 50%
owners in with my parents. My dad is still
the boss, the manager. We do have a good
conversation between my mom, my wife,
my dad and me; I could say this a hundred
times – this farm would not be as successful
without my mom and my wife. They pay all
the bills; we wouldn’t be anywhere without
them. At the end of the day, my dad still
makes the final decision, but in the last five
years, we’ve definitely communicated and
made decisions together. We work side by
side 90% of the year.
Q What was one of the toughest
things you dealt with last
season, and what adjustments will
you make this year to compensate?
A Labor is the No. 1, hardest thing
for us right now. And it’s not just
us; I’ve heard from others that are
struggling as well. To solve that, we are
trying to do more with less labor – for
example, purchasing the 12-row digger.
When we lost our operator last winter, I
had to go to a former employee and hire
him back to run my equipment for $20 per
hour. For two weeks, 14 hours a day, you’re
looking at $280 per day. Labor is just such
a hard thing, so we’re trying to figure out
to do more with less.
Kimberly McClellan is a freelancer.
JUNE 2021 23