Turning now to our Video of the Week. This one comes to us from Cantril, Iowa, where third-generation farmer Bradley Zimmerman puts his grandpa Raymond Zimmerman’s prototypes to the test. Raymond is the founder of Zimmerman Manufacturing, which makes strip-till bars, low-disturbance manure and nitrogen applicators and more. Bradley, what’s it like to use grandpa’s equipment?

Bradley Zimmerman: It’s great. It’s nice to be able to use the first thing, even though it doesn’t work right, it’s still nice to know you’re the first to get to use something.

Michaela Paukner, No-Till Farmer Contributing Writer: “Do you give him honest feedback when it doesn’t work right?”

Bradley: “Yea. They take it. At least they know they need to change something and not send it to someone else, and then it’s wrong for them.”

Raymond Zimmerman: “I think it’s great that my grandchildren want to be on the farm. 3 of these boys are right behind each other. They have to take turns running farm machinery. It’s fascinating to see them run the big manure tanks. And being out there running at the same time in the field, there’s one of them running the grain cart, and the other running the combine. I think we need a lot of young farmers. Teach them what farming is when they’re young, and they’ll want to do it when they’re older.”

Bradley: “I like farming. Someone’s got to do the farming or nobody can eat. It’s fun to be the one to do it.” 

Watch the full version of this episode of Conservation Ag Update.