America’s Land Auctioneer
Captivate and celebrate the dynamics of rural America, American Agriculture and inspire and teach others how to live a bold and abundant life in rural America. Background: The intrigue, endless opportunities, and romance of rural life in America have never been more on the minds of Americans. The recent pandemic and civil unrest have Americans of all ages earning for a more peaceful, less hectic life. Even billionaire Bill Gates is now the largest crop landowner in America. As many Americans look for peaceful refuge in the rolling hills and wheat fields they are faced with a richness of opportunities. But where do you begin to look? This show will highlight and feature endless opportunities in every state. What is it that is so unique about rural America, the land and what it produces? How can I live that life? The American Land Auctioneer will tell stories and weave into those stories a place for you to dream, live and enjoy the abundance of all that rural America has to offer.
America’s Land Auctioneer
Conversations from Big Iron: Technology, Trends, and Testimonials
Deep in the heart of America's farm country, Big Iron stands as the nation's largest agricultural show, sprawling across 300 acres of the Red River Valley Fairgrounds. On this special episode of America's Land Auctioneer, host Steve Link takes us through the final day of the 45th annual event, capturing conversations with the innovators shaping modern agriculture.
The spotlight first falls on Chris Paulson and his groundbreaking QA Farmer app. Born from frustration with existing digital tools, this purpose-built application consolidates weather forecasts, grain market data, and inventory management into one intuitive interface. "I used to log into four or five websites," shares one farmer, "now I literally just have to go into one app." Developed in just three months after consulting with dozens of producers, the app represents agriculture's ongoing digital transformation.
We then journey into the sugar beet harvest with Harrison Weber of the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association. Weber explains the unique dual-harvest system and the delicate balance between sugar content and tonnage. With prices down 30-40% year-over-year, producers face significant challenges, yet remain optimistic about crop quality. "A good crop can mitigate some of those things," Weber notes, highlighting how weather, factory efficiencies, and storage conditions will ultimately determine the season's success.
Ross Johnson of Agassi Drain Tile shares insights from his company's 20-year journey and their expansion into precision planting technology. "Getting everything placed, both spaced out evenly and at depth, with the same compaction over it" dramatically affects yield, Johnson explains. His comments reinforce a recurring theme throughout the episode: even in challenging economic times, strategic investment in the right technology delivers substantial returns.
The episode concludes with Fair Director Cody Cashman revealing record vendor participation and exciting plans for next year's show, including the potential addition of a combine demolition derby. His passion for agricultural education shines through as he describes the fairground's year-round educational center and livestock enrichment program.
Ready to experience more insights from America's agricultural heartland? Subscribe to America's Land Auctioneer and visit piferscom for expertise in farmland management and auctions where experience truly meets results.
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Welcome back to.
Speaker 2:America's Land Auctioneer. I'm your host, steve Link, and I am broadcasting here live from Big Iron and we are on the last day of Big Iron and I'm interviewing people and asking them how the show went. But before we get into that, I want to thank our sponsors, pifers Auction and Realty and Pifers Land Management, the experts in selling land, managing land and or selling your equipment. Contact us or go to piferscom and if you want to listen to this episode or any past episodes, go to piferscom and click on the podcast tab. Episodes go to Piferscom and click on the podcast tab. All right, so our first guest that I am interviewing here at Big Iron is Chris Paulson, and he is with QA Farmer, right? Is that correct, chris? That is the app, absolutely, yeah, let's start backwards. Before I ask you about you personally, I want to ask you about the app and get everybody excited about what you got going on here, and then I'm going to ask you a few other things. So tell me about QA Farmer. Why, why should I, why should I download that app?
Speaker 1:yeah. So it's a purpose-built app specifically for farmers. So I farmed for a bunch of years my family still farms. I left the farm to go do software right, and I was always building software for large multinational companies John Deere, case, corteva bear, etc. And I looked at the landscape and no one's building good apps for farmers. So I looked at it and I said no one's doing it, I'm gonna do it. So we went out and we built a QAmer and it's an app that really helps people with their day to day.
Speaker 1:So, okay, what am I concerned with today? It's usually weather, it's grain markets. You know what do I have in storage, or bin inventory? That's what this app does hyper local weather and long term forecast out to 180 days, and then being able to view your grain markets side by side. So what I mean by markets? I really meant elevators. So now you can pull all of your local elevators, see the cash price, basis price all on one easy to view screen and then set price targets and then you know easy bin inventory all at a push of a button. It was built for people of all generations super intuitive, big buttons. Check it out.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So you were gracious enough to help me download that app, which I definitely could have figured it out myself, but you sped up the process because it is super easy. And when you brought that app up, I love it. Four buttons I don't have to go around and figure out where it's hidden and kind of figure out and it's four buttons, they're right on the front screen and kind of figure out. And it's four buttons are right on, right on the front screen and and I can put that push on that. And then the other thing that I thought is is ingenious is the um, is the text messages that I get at the beginning of the day, at the end of the day, what the markets are, where they're at, and um, because I am one that tends to look at it personally, you know, once a week or every other week, and for me to just get that quick reminder in the morning and after the market's closed, I think is fantastic. So what kind of feedback have you been getting from the people that are downloading it?
Speaker 1:Actually the feedback's been pretty good, you know, I think because we can also track what everyone's been utilizing right. So the thing that everyone's really gravitated towards is the markets and the things you're talking about the opening bell midday and close alerts that we're sending out, and then also weather they're setting up and tracking like long-term weather and they're setting up little alerts for themselves in there. But the feedback in general at the show so far because we just launched it two days ago at the beginning of Big Iron has been wow. I used to log into four or five websites or I have these three apps right, and then I'm using two other apps because I like the radar here but I like the 10-day. There they go.
Speaker 2:I literally just have to go into one app now and I didn't realize how much time that was, or the pain until you made it so much easier. So it's really refreshing to hear, because that was the whole point, right, exactly. So, chris, okay, you started talking a little bit of, but let's expand on a little bit about your background. You grew up. Where'd you grow up at?
Speaker 1:so I grew up on a family farm just south of Castle, north Dakota, kind of by chafee. Okay, where'd you go to school at? I?
Speaker 2:went to high school at Central Cass, okay and where did you go to school at?
Speaker 1:I went to high school at Central Castle Central Castle and then college. Did you go to college at all? Yep, I did undergrad at North Dakota State University.
Speaker 2:Okay, and then what led you into developing apps? I mean, you mentioned that a little bit earlier, but really what you know, some kids would rather you know work on tractors or be in the field, and some kids like the technology behind it. Explain that a little bit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so actually from a very young age. If you would have asked anyone, myself included, what's Chris going to be when he grows up, it would have been farmer, farmer, farmer, farmer, farmer. This kid lives for farming, and I did. Went to NDSU, got a four-year degree, went back to the family farm, was farming for 10 years. Went to NDSU, got a four-year degree, went back to the family farm, was farming for 10 years. Then the technology bug kind of bit me a little bit and started a couple of companies that are fortunate enough to grow and sell, and then started one that grew to be pretty large and it was either you're going to farm or you should go run this company. I couldn't really do both and justify it, and my youngest brother, or my only brother, wanted to come back to the farm. We weren't quite big enough to absorb him in, so it was an easy transition for me to get out of farming, him to get in and then me to go do technology and agriculture instead.
Speaker 2:Do you still call him your baby brother, though? I do, yep, yep, it doesn't matter what age he is, he's still your baby brother, right?
Speaker 1:He's like 34, 33. Yeah, he's 33.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's still my baby, brother and baby. He's a little bit bigger than you, isn't he? He's a lot bigger than me, yeah, All right. So how long ago did you start developing this app? Has this been just something that's been on the blackboard for years, or?
Speaker 1:is this something that's happened in the last six months. It's been in my mind and written down a few different places for a few years that I really wanted to do this Actual sit-down. We're going to task the team to go build it and actually do it the right way. We started that process, I believe, end of March, but didn't actually start doing any coding on it until June. So all of this was built in the last three months. Wow, right, so we went really fast with it. Um, but we were really mindful. I think there was 40 or 50 different farmers that we talked to ahead of time to make sure that we were right with what we were building. And then we had 15 that were testing the app and we were showing it to them throughout the whole course of the build. So when I say the farmers helped build the app they truly like, we just took what they needed and put it in there. We had a good base with what I already knew, yeah, but then we got some really good feedback so QA farmer is the app.
Speaker 2:Remind everybody, all the listeners, that QA farmers the app. How big is your team? 22, 22 developers and salespeople and all of it. Is that that what it is?
Speaker 1:it's the whole company is 22 people, but the vast drum are software developers.
Speaker 2:Okay so I said how many years have you been coming up to Big Iron on a personal level and and and business-wise?
Speaker 1:since I can walk, I can't even remember the last time I missed one. I know I've missed one or two maybe in there, but it's been a long time. I've been coming for years.
Speaker 2:So how has this Big Iron experience ranked in that? I mean, what do you think for turnout? How are you feeling for turnouts here?
Speaker 1:I think the numbers are down. It feels like, especially today numbers are really light, but you know, the quality of people that are here that we've been talking to has been really good. Like I think it's the right audience, at least for our company. There's a lot of farmers here that are actually interested in doing stuff, not only with us. But, like I've been talking to some of the other vendors, they've been saying the same thing. It seems like the serious people that want to learn or possibly purchase something are here.
Speaker 1:It just seems like the overall numbers are down.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I agree, I echo that sentiment and I don't know if it's been by chance, we have run into the right clients and it's been really fun this year. So you guys took a little bit different approach. Um, and I've appreciated your approach that that you've done. Explain that how you cause this is. Was this kind of your grand, uh, grand opening for the app to to, to, to, to introduce it to the public? Yep, absolutely.
Speaker 1:So this was, um, the launch, like what is the event that we decided that we're going to launch the app at Yep. So we kind of took the tact of let's be really visible. So we have not only the whole team is taking shifts here, so all 22,. We're wearing bright green t-shirts with a QR code on the back so you can download it. We have two booth locations and we have a golf cart running around that's branded us as well.
Speaker 2:We'll physically get you set up here at the show so we'll get you downloaded and off to the races and it's so funny because, uh, we talk about this with our um, with our agents that are working at this show, and you know, if it's a little slow at your booth, walk around, and it's amazing who you run into when you walk around. And so I've appreciated your team wearing those bright green t-shirts and and and and walking around and making themselves um, um, present and and go to the people, because it is a big facility here, the big iron, the grounds are big and it takes a long time to get around and so if you're a booth that happens to be in a corner, you might get forgotten or you might get missed by a lot of people. So that's an ingenious approach. How did you come up with that? People much smarter than me came up with that.
Speaker 1:Our marketing folks are great. We sat down. We sat down hash to a bunch of things. I mean, I kid you not. The only thing that I told them is I I want to be professionally loud at the show. Yeah, um. And they bounced ideas off of even renting a llama and like walking around with llamas so people would be talking about it. It turns out, you can't rent llamas that come to be around there's rules against it.
Speaker 1:Um, so then we decided golf cart branded golf cart. That was the substitute. But no, it's, it's an approach and kudos to the team. Um, I can't tell you how many times at this show I've heard someone yell out hey, app guy. Yeah, because they see the green shirt, they have a question about the app. They downloaded it. It's just fun, it's exciting.
Speaker 2:That is really good. I kind of wish the llama idea would have worked for you, because that would have been entertaining for us, but I think what you guys did is fantastic. So remind our listeners what's the easiest way to get to the app.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so just go to the app store either the Apple App Store or Google Play and type in QA Farmer and it'll pop up the app for download. Or we do have a website, you can go to QAFarmercom.
Speaker 2:All right. Well, chris, I really appreciate you being on with us and I'm fortunate to be around you and your family in Castleton, and so I look forward to all those fun times and getting the progress on this and maybe we'll have you on in the future and let our listeners know how everything's going. That'd be great. I appreciate it, steve. Alright, listeners, hang with us. That's the end of this first segment and we will be back after these messages. Thank you, welcome back to america's land auctioneer. I'm steve link, your host, and I am interviewing people here live at big iron this week and, uh, so we thought we'd play play some of those back for you here on saturday morning. So right now I have Harrison Weber with American Crystal Sugarbeet Factory for cooperation, and Harrison, introduce yourself, yeah.
Speaker 3:Harrison Weber Got to correct your Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers. Association, that's right Kind of two groups representing the same growers, but nonetheless happy to be here, steve, and exciting to be here at Big Iron.
Speaker 2:So, for those of you that are good listeners, I had Harrison on, I think this last winter and we dove deep into the history of the Growers Association and learned a lot. So people go back and listen to that because there's a wealth of knowledge on that interview and we had a lot of time and we really got down into specifics on the history. And so go to our podcast, go to pyferscom and click on the podcast tab and you can search them back at those episodes. But I wanted to have Harrison on to give an update at where we are at with the harvest this fall.
Speaker 3:Yeah, great question, steve. You know, with sugar beets we kind of have two harvests, if you will. We have the first one, called what us growers call the pre-pile, and that's where us growers are bringing in about 15% to 18% of our crop and it's based on a quota system and that'll rotate around. So we'll pre-pile all the way from or, I guess, the co-op-wide. We'll pre-pile all the way from about August 14th all the way up to October 1st, and during that time we're only harvesting enough beets for about three or four days worth of processing at the factories, and so we're not storing any of these beets long term. And then come October 1st, that's when the the madness starts and that's where we're running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, till we get the crop out, and that's where we we would call it stockpile harvest and we and we would be storing beets then until the factories can process them sometime throughout the winter or early spring, sure.
Speaker 2:So my son and I were driving by the beet piler there at the Lynchburg exit, which is just west of Castleton, and one night the lights were on and I said to him I'm like, oh, they must be doing some maintenance on it because it's too early, early for for the pre-pile. And sure enough, the next day there was a pile there. So you guys lifted, lifted overnight that night, and just shocked. It just felt early to me. Tell me about. Is it always? Is it always the same time every year? How do you guys?
Speaker 3:yeah, great question so I mean, over time the pre-pile harvest has shifted up in time.
Speaker 3:I remember as a kid I think maybe the earliest time we were the first of September. And as time has gone on, what we've recognized is that we can really spread our fixed costs across the board, with our factories and being able to slice more, Even though that beet isn't quite to full maturity. There is value there and so we can start slicing beets earlier in the year. And so this year, the way the calendar lined up, I think we were on, I'm not sure, August 11th, 12th, somewhere in there, and that was first day of pre-pile. And for our family farm we were first in the rotation. So we lifted beets for, I think, three or four days in a row and then we were done with our pre-pile. Now, next year we'll go to the last end of the line. So, Steve, to your point, you'll see us later in September next year around that same piling location and each grower, like I mentioned, only brings in about 15% to 18% of their crop and they might lift for three or four days, days, and then they're done.
Speaker 3:Uh, until you know the the main harvest so it is earlier, but nothing necessarily out of the normal so the pre-pile?
Speaker 2:how, uh, how are the sugar levels for this stage and and tonnage? What are you guys?
Speaker 3:yeah, depend depends where you're at. Really, you know right away when we started, um, and, and our family is in the moorhead district and we got that excessive rain about a week before our pre-pile. And so what rain does with beets it obviously makes them grow, but it also dumps the sugar percentage. A sugar beets made up of 75 percent water, 15, 20 percent sugar and then five percent pulp and five percent impurities. Somebody will have to check my math if I got to 100 there.
Speaker 3:But it's some combination of that and anyway we were looking really good. And then the sugar content dumped. They were growing in size, they were soaking up all that moisture that was in the soil, so it was kind of a challenge for us in the Moorhead District as you move north. I was actually on the opposite end of the spectrum way up by the Canadian border. They were very dry, so sugar contents were generally higher. Yield was a hair lower.
Speaker 3:Now, as we fast forward a month, just got our polls yesterday, sample polls and sugar has come back across the board and the growth rate of that beet has actually slowed as well, and so we like to see that there is a perfect beet out there where the two lines intersect of tonnage and sugar. And you know, I think we're nearing that. It's looking to be like a good crop. But a lot of things can change, steve, like I said, if we get dumped with rain, you know on October 3rd or 4th that sugar content will go down. Those beets will soak up that water weight and then we'll have to haul that.
Speaker 3:And we still get the same amount of sugar. I guess out of it. It's just you're hauling more freight than you would like to to get that same amount of sugar out.
Speaker 2:Okay, so we have two. You know, when it starts to get colder here and we start to worry about frost on the soybeans and corn, how do the sugar beets react to frost?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so we just had a frost here about a few days ago, four or five days ago. Really not an issue for us at this stage. Really, those leaves provide that. Canopy provides insulation for the sugarbeet. As we move into harvest, come October 1st, we can still see wild temperature swings.
Speaker 3:We will have to shut down harvest for when it's too cold, when that root temperature is too cold or if that root temperature gets too warm, and then we'll also have to shut down when there's excessive moisture. We can harvest when the ground is moist. We don't like that, but we'll have to shut down then. But to your question of how does that impact that? Well, we have to put a good beet into storage. That beet is a perishable crop crop and it's no different than taking a fruit or vegetable, putting in your freezer, taking it out, putting it on your table. It's going to start juicing and falling apart real quick. The beet is the same way. So we want to put a good beet into the pile in good condition and during those periods of when it's too cold or too warm, we we will keep that.
Speaker 3:The sugar beet topper, which is the first step in the harvest process. We'll keep that topper extremely close, maybe the length of a tractor is all right in front of that lifter to provide maximum insulation to that beet until it can be stored at the pile with all the other beets. Because once it's in the pile, yes, we do lose that first little bit, that is, providing insulation to the rest of the beets, but but collectively, not not a problem so, but we're always watching the weather, um and uh it. It can create some challenges come october 1st and especially when it gets later in october, because, uh, once that ground freezes we can't go get those beets anymore sure, um, what are you hearing from the factories as far as are you guys going to be able to lift all your beets and bring them all in?
Speaker 3:Yeah, good question. The last couple of years we've had to leave beets I think it was two years ago. Last year we were able to harvest them all, as we ended up selling those extra beets to a couple other co-ops. Real challenge, selling those extra beets to a couple other co-ops Real challenge. You know the way the sugar industry is and the way the US sugar program is.
Speaker 3:Usda doesn't regulate how much sugar we produce, they regulate how much sugar we can sell, and so that's on us to manage that as a co-op. And so in the springtime we will set, basically, our yield forecast before even putting a seed in the ground or before seeing any long-term weather models. What's that, what's that crop going to do or what its potential and so we'll plant our acres based on on that, and then, as the growing season progressed, we're at the mercy of mother nature. Whether we were underestimated or overestimated, the goal is to get exactly right on the money each year with what those factory capabilities are, and that's a function of slice rate and extraction rate and a number of different variables. Right now it's looking like we we could take that whole crop, but again, a rain right now, which would drastically change that. Those beets would soak up that weight and and then we'd have to slice more total tonnage to get that same quantity of sugar.
Speaker 2:All right. So now the uncomfortable question. Pricing on sugar has not been great right, and so some of those are coming down to the growers and we're not maybe going to get the payments that we like to see.
Speaker 3:Yep, yeah, no, absolutely. You know, last year and a half we've really seen that we did enjoy, I would argue, fair prices. Other people would maybe say high prices, but I'd say fair prices to growers. The last two years and as that happened, the world sugar market really the bottom fell out and the domestic market then followed that. So we've really seen downward pressure. For the last year and a half. We're probably down 30% year over year, 40% over the last year and a half.
Speaker 3:So that's a big, big swing in numbers and that's going to create some definite challenges when it comes to the beat payment after we deliver those beats. I mean, it's a wide range, a lot of variables in there of how efficient the factories are, what's our extraction rate. You know what are customers doing, are they drawing stocks, et cetera, et cetera, and so there's kind of a wide range and each co-op is a little bit different as to where their pricing is going to be and their payments to the growers. But nonetheless definitely a downward trend and different from what we've enjoyed the last couple of years. But you know, a good crop can mitigate some of those things and certainly factory efficiencies can, and a good storage year. There's a lot of money to be gained and a lot of money to be lost in storage and sugar beets, and so if we're, you know, blessed with cool temperatures right away early on in the winter, that can be to our advantage.
Speaker 2:Um, throughout that storage process, or storage and processing time period, interesting, like we talked about when, when, when you're in studio, you know the, uh, the, the, the. The economy in this region is so driven by the sugar bee farmers and what they do and it's such a big driver for us and so you know, many of us are rooting for, for, for, for good crop and good storage and good prices. If we, if we can get that yeah, absolutely appreciate that, steve.
Speaker 3:Um, you know it's, uh, you, you can definitely see it, we back up to 2019 and when we had a disaster that year, uh, you can feel it in the small towns up and down the valley and, and you know it's guys are a little tighter on their equipment, they're a little tighter on. You know guys are a little tighter on their equipment, they're a little tighter on. You know, spending money at the local cafe or maybe even donations to whatever club. You can certainly feel that in the countryside. And right now, I think we're at an interesting time with all agriculture, all of our commodity prices. You know cattle is still strong, but all of our commodity prices are down and sugar is no different right now. Prices are down and sugar is no different right now, and so there's going to be a lot of interesting conversations, I think, around the table, the kitchen table, this winter, no doubt.
Speaker 2:What's anything you're noticing here?
Speaker 3:We have a short amount of time, but anything you're noticing here at Big Iron, you know new technology or anything to be excited about for in the sugar industry. Yeah, you know, one thing is, I think, kind of unique to at least our growing region is the self-propelled lifters and toppers. That's where a topper and a sugar beater lifter are all in one machine, predominantly pull-type machines. Here in the Red River Valley I see one company here advertising and have their machine here. We don't see a lot of them but always kind of neat to look at. In terms of the actual lifter technology and topper technology, not a lot of changes. Guys are using older stuff because nothing but bearings and belts and chain.
Speaker 2:Well, Harrison, I really appreciate the update and we'll have to have you on when harvest is done and get a recap on it. Absolutely love to be here. All right, Thank you and stay tuned for the next segment. As we close out, I want to remember for all your auction expertise or farmland management, turn to Piper's Auction Realty, Piper's Land Management, where experience needs results. Listeners, stick with us. We'll be right back after these messages.
Speaker 2:I'll see you next time this is steve link here at big iron and I am with ross johnson, agassi, drain tile. And what are all your other companies? Ross, introduce yourself.
Speaker 4:Tell me everything that you're doing I mean we kind of have three companies under the agassi flag. We had started all Agassiz drain tile and then in 2015, we got into the machinery business, so Agassiz sales. And just last year, a year ago, we bought out a guy in Hillsboro, the precision planting dealer. So Agassiz, precision Ag kept all the same great guys. If everybody could buy a business like that, it would be easy, because they know how to do it, they take care of it. I'm learning from them.
Speaker 2:All right, so Agassi, precision, ag, tell me a little bit more. What do they all do?
Speaker 4:So precision planting, basically Rebuilding old planters. Taking that wore-out planter that wobbles like a cooked noodle and get it into something that's going to put your seed very accurate. So it doesn't have to be green, it can be any color. They tear it apart, rebuild it all the way from meters to anything. Anything on a planter they rebuild.
Speaker 2:Yep, interesting. Okay, so a lot of that technology has changed over the last number of years, and so they're staying on top of that. And it's incredible when I drive down, up and down the roads and I see how accurate the shutoff is, how accurate the seat placement is, and so the emergency is all.
Speaker 4:Even To me that's new over the last handful of years so last winter they do a winter conference every every winter and I didn't realize how important it is for emergence to come up at the same time, sure, uh, just a plant coming up, I think it was 36 hours later than the one next to it, basically, is only going's, only going to get about a 4-inch corn cob, sure, because of the other plants around it.
Speaker 2:So yeah, we were talking about the spacing of the seed and the new technology on the planters and that is incredible, the yield difference on that.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so getting everything placed, both spaced out evenly and then depth, and the same compaction over it, and how that can affect yield, really opened up my eyes. And we we rebuilt the one planter on our farm because I really do think the return on investment. You don't think of return on investment on your planter, right, but how more accurate you can be placing those. There's a good return on investment. Now, I guess the precision planting. New now is the vision spray system where they've got cameras on your sprayer, where it'll just vary the rate throughout the whole sprayer or the spot spray, sure, and we can adapt to any sprayer on the market right now. Yep, and the thing is you own it. Yep, you don't have to pay a $3, $5, $7 per acre prescription charge to another company that has it out there. Once you buy the stuff, it's yours.
Speaker 2:You own it. Interesting, interesting, all right. So what's going on in the world of uh drain tile, or is there? Uh? Is there new technologies in that, or is there things you know not?
Speaker 4:a lot of new technology. It's one of them old workhorses, yeah, like the old vers tiles, they just work, yeah, so, no, I mean, really, it's, uh, the guys getting more and more footage under their belt. They're, they're, they're good guys, they're professional guys, they know how to do the work. Yeah, um, all of our designers have got millions and millions of feet of design under their belt. Yeah, um, our installers same thing. So it really comes down now to who's gonna be there when something breaks down. Who's gonna be there, um, you know, when your next project is is ready. Yeah, we're gonna be there. I think, uh, this is our 20th season. We're giving away. At this show and then at the sugar beach show, guys are signing up. We're giving away 40 acres of tiling. Wow, now, that's the, that's the install. There's some fine print there, but, yeah, we're giving it away. I mean, it's just a way of us, 20 years in business, giving, giving back, and you've been in the business 20 years, 20 years congratulations.
Speaker 4:Well, yeah, I mean, this is our 20th season, so, yeah, end of the year, 20 years.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I thought I was only 26 years, yeah, but I guess I'm not anymore so, speaking of return on investment, you know, I think that conversation has has changed now because I think everybody understands the return on investment. You know, I think that conversation has has changed now because I think everybody understands the return on investment. When you put drain tile, and now it's just if you can, if you can figure out the timing of it, if you can figure out the cash outlay on it and and that. But I I don't hear anybody say, oh, that was a mistake to put drain tile in there. It's always been, it's been. A positive is that. Are you seeing that same? Your conversations are shifting.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I haven't seen anybody that would ever say that they wish they wouldn't have done it right. They all say they wish they would have done it sooner, 20 years ago. Yeah, yeah, it's. It's just a um, economic thing. Yeah, how much can I title this year? Yeah, what can I afford to do? Um, we're all getting a little creative. Our, our belts are tightening up to helping guys during this tough time. So, yeah, we've got room this fall to still do some tiling. So I think we just signed up a couple of them here at the show. Nice, nice, I'm doing some on our own farm here this fall and, yeah, I write the same checks everybody else does.
Speaker 2:Yep. So one of the things that I think you've been involved in over the years it's kind of a showstopper here over the last couple of years is the self-propelled beet harvester. That's kind of your baby.
Speaker 4:Yeah, this is a new one. We had one here in 2015,. Sold them for about four years and that company stopped making them, okay, so this is a new machine here. Yeah, it's. Uh, the company is very old. They're from the netherlands. It's called vervatt. Okay, uh, bravat. Uh, I think the first machine was in 1964. Uh, that guy right there crossed the way, his. It was his grandfather that built it, so he's third generation now. They're committed to the us. They well, and they've got some here in the us, just not in the valley yet, yeah, but michigan, I think they got 10 machines. Um, got some up in canada. They're making a bigger presence. Um, so, myself at agassi sales and pro and Grand Forks, we went together and did this together. So it doesn't matter if you call me, if you call Ken up at Pro-Ag or Chuck up at Pro-Ag in Grafton. We're all working together.
Speaker 2:So are you guys hoping to have this machine in the field this fall? Yeah, we've already had it in the field.
Speaker 4:It's just we had a really good guy washing for three days.
Speaker 2:Nice, it looks brand new days. Nice it looks, it looks brand new.
Speaker 4:yeah, it looks clean but yeah, and that's what we're doing, we're signing up guys to just get it out in front of people. Yeah, if we sell it, great, we'll lease it out for the season, great, or we'll just keep doing demos sure, sure get more butts in the seat.
Speaker 2:So how many years have you come to Big Iron?
Speaker 4:I think our first year was probably 2006.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so how does this? I mean, we had some COVID years in there that got a little bit wonky. Now how does this feel compared to some of the other years?
Speaker 4:Hmm, you know, I think they all kind of are the same in that Tuesday is an okay day, wednesday is crazy, and then Thursday here we're all ready to go home. But I think the crowd this year maybe wasn't as big, but the quality of people, the decision makers here, and it's always fun to have the college and the high school FFA groups come through and get them excited because, hey, in a few years we need to hire those people to be turning the wrenches and selling stuff for us.
Speaker 2:Yep, yeah, so that's been a common theme that I've talked to people here is yeah, the quantity maybe isn't there, but the quality conversations have been there, so that's good to see. So you are at this show and you're going to be up at the sugar beet show coming up.
Speaker 4:I'll be at the sugar beet show and then after that, that's when we'll give away the tiling.
Speaker 2:Yeah, 40 acres so tell uh, tell our listeners, how do they get a hold of agassi?
Speaker 4:internet, just google it. Yeah, agassi sales, agassi drain tile. We're in buxton. Stop in coffee pots always on. Ladies always have some candy in the dish.
Speaker 2:I got to slow down when I'm driving by there and stop in and say hi, right, and get some of that.
Speaker 4:I always thought about getting an ice cream machine. I don't have one yet, so don't come in looking for ice cream. I thought an ice cream machine would be great. Good way to get people to come in and stop in.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, we appreciate your presence here and I appreciate the update on what's going on in your world. So, ross, next time we'll have you on for a full show. Thanks, thanks a lot, yep, stay with us Again. Thanks to Piper's Auction Realty and Piper's Land Management for sponsoring the show. We'll be right back after the news. So, All right, I'm here broadcasting live from Big Iron and this is the last day of Big Iron and we are here with the Fair Director of the Red River Valley, fair Director Cody Cashman. Cody, introduce yourself.
Speaker 5:Yes, I'm Cody Cashman, CEO of the Red River Valley Fairgrounds, and we're just happy to have an amazing Big Iron this year.
Speaker 2:So how many years has Big Iron been going on? So this is the 45th year, 45th year. So over the years it's changed quite a bit. I think we've been in business 25 years. I think we've been here just about every one of those years and it's amazing the number of people that come from all over the world that come to this, and I'm just, I'm just, I'm just flabbergasted every year.
Speaker 5:So we found out that we had 144 people, from what I was told that we know of that are from not Canada and not from the United States. So we know that, uh, I should just say not from North America, right? Um, that that came to see big Iron, all that it has to offer. This year, we have over 300 acres being used at the fairgrounds for Big Iron, which makes us the largest farm show in the nation.
Speaker 2:How big is the city? Is it 300 acres? In all, we're 400. 400 acres.
Speaker 5:So there's still room to grow and the plan is to do that. We're looking at incorporating our corn maze and pumpkin patch next year into Big Iron to make it even more family friendly than it already is. So if we do that we will then be officially about 400 acres all in.
Speaker 2:So typically you are the second week in September, is that right there? And your Tuesday, wednesday, thursday show it's during the day, but it's morphed into stuff happening after hours and I think I can say this publicly. You know, back in the day when I first started coming here, there was a big contingency that would go downtown to the bars and hang out there and they'd all come back with red eyes the next morning and probably headaches and and so. But now it's fun to see people stay on the fairgrounds. Speak a little bit about what happened here Wednesday night.
Speaker 5:Yeah. So Wednesday night, not only do we have the biggest crowd I've ever seen during the day, yeah, biggest crowd I've seen at Big Iron at night. So we we had Josh Turner playing on Wednesday night. It was phenomenal attendance. And we had a VIP side which was for all of our companies that decided to purchase a table and then it was completely free for the public. So it's free for Big Iron, it's free to get in to the concert. And then we had the most spectacular fireworks show you've ever seen. To music as well. I know you loved it.
Speaker 2:I loved it. It was fantastic. I got my wife and youngest son and his friend got to come and we let them out of school a little early to come and see all the equipment and climb around and see that and they have a bigger idea of what dad can afford than I have, than I can afford. So I had to tell them, no, that I can't bring that piece of equipment home, but they had just a blast seeing everything.
Speaker 5:It's just a small weekly or monthly payment. It's just a small yep For 60 months.
Speaker 2:And you know what they are actually and, honest to God, they are giving fantastic deals here and so I know this is going to be aired after the fact, but you definitely need to put this on your calendar next year. It stays open rain or shine, and sometimes when it's raining out you get really good crowds and you get to have really good conversations. So those of you who haven't been to Big Iron, it is fantastic and you're bound to see friends and family here from all over, and that's what I love and we talked about it all over, and that's what I love and we talked about it. It felt like the crowds on Tuesday and Thursday were light, which, if I'm going to be a, I'm going to try and come those days, but Wednesday was so much fun. But the quality of conversations we've had I interviewed a number of vendors here and the quality of conversations have been really high this year.
Speaker 5:Yeah, we felt the same way. I've had a few folks tell me that they don't even care about Thursday today because they said Wednesday we checked all of our boxes. So I love hearing that and that's why we do the three days. We do it three days in hopes to get one really good one. We sure did. I mean, Tuesday was a little light, Thursday was a little light, but man, Wednesday just knocked it out of the park. I've never seen it so filled on the grounds, Um, and that includes fair probably too. I mean, it just was so busy. And again, we spread out the whole fairgrounds and you know a lot of folks that are older might not like it, but luckily we have our.
Speaker 5:You know the golf carts and we have the people movers and we had five of those running around and you hop on one. It's all free and we're hoping to get more and more people every single year. We added construction this year. We've added a lot of neat things. We're getting more and more of those influencers out here. These companies are bringing influencers to their booth and it's really growing. It's shaping into something. A lot of folks were worried that Big Iron going the wrong direction, but again we've proven time and time again that it can be bigger and better every year.
Speaker 2:So how many years have you been in charge of the fair?
Speaker 5:This is my fifth year, so my first uh big iron was 2020 during covid during covid.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was wild times. I remember all that and and I just I just go back to even our auctions that we would have, or just it's just incredible that we, uh that we made it, made it on the other end and now it's just it's, it's, it's back to it's back. Is it back to pre-covid numbers?
Speaker 5:it's bigger so we, we, uh, big iron this year is the most vendors we've ever had in the history of Big Iron, which is amazing. I think a lot has to do with the ag economy. I think it has to do with the economy. You know, where people's heads are right now, I think, is they're fighting for every dollar if they're in the ag space right now. So I think that had something to do with it. Where they're coming out and they want to see it, uh, or they want to be seen, so farmers know they're there and uh, again, everybody's gonna fight for every dollar there is in the ag economy. So I think that has a little bit to do with it. Um, also with all the different ai companies that are out there now.
Speaker 2:I think it's changed the game a little bit for everybody yeah, all right, so let's talk about um some of the things that are new this year at big iron and that we're probably going to see um the future. Can you note some of that?
Speaker 5:So future-wise, I'd love to see us have a Combine Demolition Derby during Big Iron. I think it just would be awesome, maybe on Tuesday night and then having the concert on Wednesday again. I think the concert was a big hit, there's no question about it. We couldn't do it without our sponsors. It's huge for us. We couldn't make it free without them. So that was a huge, huge, helpful thing from Case and Titan to help us with that.
Speaker 5:But I'd like to see us continue to grow more on the demo side, not only with construction with ag. I think John Deere and RDO are kind of showing us how that should be done out in the field. I've been talking to a few other folks with some different color tractors would like to do the same thing. Yeah, so we're hoping that we can do more demos. We have the room for it, yeah, um, and I think the biggest tweak that I have is we have room to grow. Yeah, there's space is available and, um, we're always going to try to make room for more vendors, always yep, so I noticed you guys are doing some drawings and that's the benefactor.
Speaker 2:That is a foundation. Talk about that a little bit.
Speaker 5:Yeah. So the Red River by Fair Foundation was started in 2013 and we just got our charitable gaming going, so we did do 50 50s this year and some folks are going. What does the money go towards? Does it just go to the fair? It's like no, it does not. It goes to our. We call it the livestock enrichment program, the LEP program, which essentially lets anybody anywhere if they can make the commitment.
Speaker 5:Starting May 1st of the year, a kid from ages five to 18 can raise a livestock project here at the fairgrounds. So, whether it's a pig, a lamb or goat, they can raise their animal here and they from start to finish. We show them how to raise the animal, take care of the animal completely, feed and show. I personally do it myself and Emily Grunewald, our livestock director, she also helps as well. We show these kids everything about how to show an animal. Then they sell the animal at the fair, at the livestock sale, and the kid gets all the money. Nice, so it costs the kids absolutely nothing. We started with four kids this year we had 32. Wow, so it's really grown, it's taken off. It's kind of our answer to.
Speaker 5:In my opinion, it's the answer of not having an FFA program in Fargo and West Fargo, which drives me nuts. There needs to be, yeah, and so to me, the solution to that is okay, well, if they're not going to have an ag program, we're going to start one. So we did. It also goes to our ag education center, so we opened that up in 2024. It's now a year-round venue where kids can come and we actually pay for the buses to come. So the Corn Council gives us a grant every year to pay for busing, so it costs schools nothing. I got to get Castleton to it. We haven't done that yet, so that's the only school that in the county that has not been, which is my kids school. So, right, we gotta work on that, right, uh, and your kids school? So, yes, um, so we gotta work on that one. But getting every third grader in in the county to the ag center is our goal to teach them about agriculture.
Speaker 2:That ag center is amazing. You guys introduced that here in the last couple of years and it is just. I'm so impressed every time I walk in there. It's a neat center and, you're right, every student should be able to should come out here and see that, because there isn't any ag education again.
Speaker 5:You know, in Fargo West Fargo we don't teach ag, so we need to do it ourselves and I think we're doing a pretty darn good job of it and we're getting all the commodities. Commodities we're getting all these different companies help support it and sponsor it. I mean, um, gary therrelson, or therrelson ethanol plant, uh, gave a huge donation to help us have the immersive reality room, which is spectacular. It's the only one in the united states still yeah, oh, that is.
Speaker 2:it is such a neat you you showing that to me, so, all right. So, uh, for those that are that are listening, um, they the. I encourage you to go to the Red River Valley Fair website and look at the different tabs there and it'll spell out the year that's coming up. So, cody, I appreciate it. Great job again, as always, and we look forward to having you on the show soon. Absolutely Thank you. All right, thanks, and join us every week at America's Land Auctioneer.