Farm4Profit Podcast

In this episode of What’s Working in Ag, Tanner, Corey, and David sit down with Drew Grundmeyer, founder of Harvest Ready, to discuss a practical solution to one of farming’s most persistent problems: labor. Drew shares how his background in education and farming inspired him to create a training program that helps prepare people for real-world farm work before they ever climb into a tractor or grain cart.

Harvest Ready combines classroom instruction, safety training, equipment familiarization, and hands-on experience to help participants develop the foundational skills needed to support farm operations during harvest. The goal isn’t to create expert operators overnight—it’s to build confidence, improve safety, and provide farmers with a pool of trained individuals who understand the basics of agricultural equipment and harvest logistics.

Topics discussed include:

The growing labor shortage facing agriculture

How Harvest Ready was created to fill a critical need

Why basic training can make a major difference during harvest

The concept behind Harvest Ready’s Core and Alpha training programs

Safety education and equipment familiarization

Grain cart operation fundamentals

Training new operators before harvest begins

Creating opportunities for non-farm individuals to gain agricultural experience

Potential partnerships with FFA and agricultural education programs

The challenges of training across different equipment brands and technologies

Building a future workforce for agriculture

How farmers can prepare for labor needs before harvest starts

Whether you're a farmer looking for reliable help, a student interested in agriculture, or someone wanting to gain hands-on farm experience, this conversation highlights an innovative approach to strengthening the agricultural workforce and helping operations stay productive during their busiest seasons.

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Website: www.Farm4Profit.com
Shareable episode link: https://intro-to-farm4profit.simplecast.com
Email address: Farm4profitllc@gmail.com
Call/Text: 515.207.9640
Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSR8c1BrCjNDDI_Acku5Xqw
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Farm4Profit Media is not a financial, legal, or tax advisor. Content is provided for informational purposes only, and we serve solely as a platform for third-party opinions. Any actions taken based on this content are at your own risk.

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The discussion covers everything from almonds, vineyards, tomatoes, melons, cucurbits, tobacco, cotton, sweet potatoes, peanuts, peaches, apples, and leafy vegetables while comparing production practices to the corn and soybean systems familiar to much of the Farm4Profit audience.

Topics include:

Specialty crop production across the United States

California almonds, walnuts, pistachios, vineyards and vegetables

North Carolina sweet potatoes, tobacco and cotton

Why long-term planning matters in permanent crops

Water management and irrigation challenges

Labor costs versus traditional row crop production

Weed management strategies and residual herbicides

New Corteva herbicides including Hulk CA

Managing nematodes with Celebro

Disease and insect pressure in specialty crops

How growers balance profitability with quality expectations

Multi-generational family farms across specialty agriculture

What all farmers can learn from one another

The conversation highlights that regardless of geography or crop, every producer faces weather risk, pest pressure, rising input costs, and the need to make timely management decisions.

Want Farm4Profit Merch? Custom order your favorite items today!
https://farmfocused.com/farm-4profit/

Don’t forget to like the podcast on all platforms and leave a review where ever you listen!

Website: www.Farm4Profit.com
Shareable episode link: https://intro-to-farm4profit.simplecast.com
Email address: Farm4profitllc@gmail.com
Call/Text: 515.207.9640
Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSR8c1BrCjNDDI_Acku5Xqw
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@farm4profitllc
Connect with us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Farm4ProfitLLC/
Farm4Profit Media is not a financial, legal, or tax advisor. Content is provided for informational purposes only, and we serve solely as a platform for third-party opinions. Any actions taken based on this content are at your own risk.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Nearly twenty years later, DOSE Manufacturing has grown into a 45-person manufacturing company producing premium agricultural equipment, including Headhunter head trailers, Freedom all-wheel-steer trailers, sprayer accessories, rock boxes, fertilizer equipment, and large LED display trailers used across the country.

In this episode, Brett walks through that incredible journey and shares the lessons learned along the way.

The conversation includes:

How DOSE Manufacturing got its start

Why Brett stopped repairing equipment and began manufacturing products

Building the first Headhunter trailer

Growing from Perry to Bouton and eventually transforming the Story City outlet mall into a manufacturing facility

Product development through customer feedback

Engineering equipment for today's larger combines and headers

Building products for agriculture and the entertainment industry

The importance of dealer relationships

Hiring employees and growing a company culture

Lessons on entrepreneurship, leadership, and customer service

Why "people buy from people"

Brett also discusses how listening to customers has driven continuous innovation, why quality always wins over the cheapest price, and how every challenge has helped create better products.

Want Farm4Profit Merch? Custom order your favorite items today!
https://farmfocused.com/farm-4profit/

Don’t forget to like the podcast on all platforms and leave a review where ever you listen!

Website: www.Farm4Profit.com
Shareable episode link: https://intro-to-farm4profit.simplecast.com
Email address: Farm4profitllc@gmail.com
Call/Text: 515.207.9640
Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSR8c1BrCjNDDI_Acku5Xqw
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@farm4profitllc
Connect with us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Farm4ProfitLLC/
Farm4Profit Media is not a financial, legal, or tax advisor. Content is provided for informational purposes only, and we serve solely as a platform for third-party opinions. Any actions taken based on this content are at your own risk.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After touring the Hagie Manufacturing facility in Clarion, Iowa, Corey Hillebo and his father, Scott Hillebo, reflect on their family's long history with Hagie sprayers and how technology has transformed their farming operation.

Scott shares the story of purchasing his first Hagie STS10 in 2009, using a detasseling cutter to help justify the investment, and eventually progressing through multiple Hagie models as the farm's needs evolved. The conversation highlights how the farm transitioned from using a sprayer primarily for crop protection to utilizing it as a critical management tool for fertility, nitrogen applications, fungicides, foliar feeding, and late-season crop management.

The father-son duo discusses:

Scott's history owning three Hagie sprayers

How detasseling helped support the original investment

The evolution from early STS models to today's technology-packed machines

ExactApply and its impact on application accuracy and efficiency

First impressions of John Deere's See & Spray technology

Why timing matters more than ever in modern crop production

Using Y-Drops and spoon-feeding nitrogen

Fungicide and foliar application opportunities later in the growing season

How a high-clearance sprayer influences agronomic decision-making

The benefits of controlling application timing in-house

What stood out most during the Hagie factory tour

The unique culture of Hagie Manufacturing and its continued focus on craftsmanship

The partnership between Hagie and John Deere

The future of precision spraying technology

This episode offers a real-world farmer perspective on how equipment investments can influence management decisions, improve efficiency, and create opportunities to capture additional yield through better timing and precision.

Want Farm4Profit Merch? Custom order your favorite items today!
https://farmfocused.com/farm-4profit/

Don’t forget to like the podcast on all platforms and leave a review where ever you listen!

Website: www.Farm4Profit.com
Shareable episode link: https://intro-to-farm4profit.simplecast.com
Email address: Farm4profitllc@gmail.com
Call/Text: 515.207.9640
Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSR8c1BrCjNDDI_Acku5Xqw
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@farm4profitllc
Connect with us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Farm4ProfitLLC/
Farm4Profit Media is not a financial, legal, or tax advisor. Content is provided for informational purposes only, and we serve solely as a platform for third-party opinions. Any actions taken based on this content are at your own risk.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Joining the show are Raymond Chung, founder and CEO of AcreHedge, Chief Technology Officer Todd Larson, and Chief Media Officer (and returning guest) Zoe Kent. Together they explain how prediction markets work, why they're gaining popularity, and how they could eventually become another valuable tool alongside crop insurance and traditional marketing strategies.

Ray shares how his background on Wall Street combined with years operating one of the nation's largest edamame processing businesses led him to create AcreHedge. Todd explains how modern AI accelerated development of the platform while maintaining enterprise-level quality, and Zoe discusses using her own farming operation as the first public market on AcreHedge.

The discussion covers:

What prediction markets actually are—and what they are not

How "wisdom of the crowd" often produces remarkably accurate forecasts

Why prediction markets differ from sports betting or casino gambling

Filling risk management gaps left by traditional crop insurance

Weather, disease, commodity price, acreage, and yield-related markets

Real-world examples using New World Screwworm, corn prices, and USDA acreage reports

How farmers can use markets to express opinions while managing financial risk

AI's growing role in agriculture and software development

Why agriculture deserves specialized prediction markets built by people who understand farming

The group also has plenty of fun discussing edamame, Skittles, weather forecasting, rock picking, farm influencers, and brainstorming future prediction markets that could keep both farmers and agriculture enthusiasts engaged.

Whether you're interested in grain marketing, crop insurance, technology, finance, or simply enjoy learning about innovative ideas shaping agriculture, this episode offers an early look at what could become an entirely new category of farm risk management.

Want Farm4Profit Merch? Custom order your favorite items today!
https://farmfocused.com/farm-4profit/

Don’t forget to like the podcast on all platforms and leave a review where ever you listen!

Website: www.Farm4Profit.com
Shareable episode link: https://intro-to-farm4profit.simplecast.com
Email address: Farm4profitllc@gmail.com
Call/Text: 515.207.9640
Subscribe to YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSR8c1BrCjNDDI_Acku5Xqw
Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@farm4profitllc
Connect with us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Farm4ProfitLLC/
Farm4Profit Media is not a financial, legal, or tax advisor. Content is provided for informational purposes only, and we serve solely as a platform for third-party opinions. Any actions taken based on this content are at your own risk.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.