Bay Tractor and Turf leader in farm tech
GIBSONBURG - A local farm equipment company is leading the way in providing farmers in Sandusky and Ottawa Counties with a new wave of technology that is taking agriculture into the 21st century.
Bay Tractor and Turf, formally Buhrow's Inc. and now owned by Findlay Implement Company, has been in the community for 98 years and continues offering farmers new ways to cut costs and reduce wasteful farm runoff that could lead to Lake Erie algae blooms.
Over the past two decades, the agriculture business has seen immense growth in the use of technology, with many veteran farmers using GPS-equipped machines that help cut costs and protect the environment, said Bay Tractor and Turf General Manager Bruce Stone.
"You can program a machine to plant and know how much fertilizer to use," Stone said, referring to John Deere farm equipment's automated guidance features.
"I've got a lot of farmers who use automated equipment. They sit in the tractor, but it drives lines programmed," said Stone. "We're not far off from them driving themselves without having to have an operator in the seat."
Now the general manager, Stone has worked at Bay Tractor and Turf since 1988, and said the computer age of farming really took off in the late '90s spawning a new way to farm.
"There were some that didn't think the change would be as big as it is," Stone said. "Now for guys trying to make a living in the ag business, they're using automated systems to plant their crops."
That system, Stone said, is called "prescription," where the farmer will use automation to plant and can even change how much fertilizer is applied based on the type of ground the machine is driving over.
"That is saving them money and cutting down on excess fertilizer, which is becoming important with the recent water issues we've had," Stone said.
Another benefit to the automation of farming, and something Stone predicts will lead to more efficiency in the future, is crop documentation.
"We've got guys now that whatever they did that day is automatically transmitted through a modem to their computers at night," said Stone. "Everything they've done, whether it's sprayed or planted — they've got a record of it. and they can see how much it cost them."
The future of farming, Stone said, is all about adapting, including his own team, which needs to know how to use computers to communicate with equipment both at the store, and remotely as service technicians who can run diagnostic checks on equipment throughout the county.
The agriculture business is not cheap, Stone said, but technology upgrades have allowed more people to stay in the farming business and to grow crops more efficiently in Sandusky and Ottawa counties.
The machine interface looks a lot like a smartphone farmers are now using, Stone said.
"Now they've got the computers inside the machine that mimic what an iPhone screen looks like. It makes it easier for farmers to get used to it," he said. "A lot of the older farmers have younger help, and they are teaching them how to use this equipment."
While growing the Bay Tractor and Turf business and keeping up with evolving technology, Stone said what really sets his dealership apart from other companies is the customer service.
As technology has improved, most name brand farm equipment does great work, Stone said, but his team tries to go above and beyond for customers.
"In this day and age, we can go everywhere to buy. We can go to Craigslist and internet sites to buy equipment. The big thing for us is our two departments. We've got an agricultural service department and the lawn and garden service department. To me, our service departments are key to having a customer come back and purchase from us again," Stone said.
Stone's team of 21 employees at the Gibsonburg store are locals, many of whom have graduated from Terra State Community College, and are applying skilled trade lessons and computer skills learned at Terra to the growing demand in computer science, maintenance and support in order to keep technologically advanced farm equipment going.
"Computers have changed the ag business. I've got older farmers running the guidance system, and I've got some that if the guidance system wasn't working, they'd be lost," said Stone. "All these straight rows out here aren't just from guys that have a straight eye."
Bay Tractor and Turf is one of six John Deere stores in Ohio owned by FIC, along with stores in Upper Sandusky, Findlay, Ottawa, Tiffin and Bowling Green.
Overall, FIC has more than 150 employees at its six locations.
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cshoup@gannett.com
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