Tri-S Farm

The Sturgis family farm is a 4th generation farm that use to be a vegetable farm but is now a grain farm except for the hoop houses. When we were there Mr. Sturgis had been planting sorghum but the following week he was going to be planting soybeans. They use precision equipment which keeps records of everything and helps to make the crop insurance paperwork easier. They have a combine with a 35 ft. head ($400,000), a 32 row grain drill ($120,000), and a 90 ft. boom sprayer. They plant and harvest 1,000 acres of personal crops and 2,000 acres for others. They grow wheat, soybeans, and sorghum (used to do corn but not this year). There are 1,000 acres of sorghum grown on the Eastern Shore and 450 of that is grown on Tri-S Farm. Last year they put in a row cut off on the planter ($20,000) and it paid for itself in one year. The combine has a yield mapping system and auto steer. They irrigate with hard hose system and reels. Mr. Sturgis is the President of the State Board of Agriculture and the President of Farm Bureau in the county. He does 98% of his own spraying and applies 15 gallons per acre with a 1,000 acre tank. It takes too long to get someone else to come spray for him. Has had aerial spraying done before. They use all G.M. crops but can not spray 2-4-D because it will spread to the tomatoes and each acre is worth $6,000.

 

This is the type of farm I would love to live on. Seeing how large scale farmers are able to produce so much more and help out their neighbors was also neat. Having the opportunity to talk with someone that is in the type of job that I am looking for was helpful.