Constant innovation, improvement are the name of the game for Travis Seed Carts by HitchDoc

By Justin R. Lessman

Planting is a whole lot easier thanks to Jackson-built Travis Seed Carts by HitchDoc.

And it promises to get even more so, thanks to constant innovation and improvement of the line.
HitchDoc of Jackson began fabricating seed carts for Travis Manufacturing in 2000 and purchased the brand outright in 2009. Eric Boughey, a 20-plus-year industry veteran who works in sales and business development with HitchDoc, said improvements began almost immediately, starting with the fabrication process.

“Really, the innovation starts with how the product is made,” he said. “HitchDoc is on the cutting edge of technology, and our high-tech equipment provides quality parts so the fit and finish of every product is spot on. And HitchDoc uses as many U.S.-made components as possible to help guarantee on-time delivery and quality parts.”
Improvements have also been made to the line itself, Boughey said.

“The first Travis model was a four box and, since then, we have added a two-box augur cart, then bulk augur carts and then conveyor two-box and bulk carts,” he said. “Since the original design was introduced, we have made little enhancements, such as updating the box seals — we switched from flat foam seals to an automotive-style seal — and an optional larger unload augur. All equipment is getting larger, which means larger seed boxes to fill.”

Boughey said the box seal design change increased sealing between the seed box and the seed cart chute, while the larger augur option increased the unload rate by up to 50 percent, depending on seed type and treatment.

“Like the larger augur, the bulk and conveyor carts help meet the increased needs of the growers,” he said.

Those growers are often the ones driving the innovation, Boughey said.

“Farm shows are a good place to get feedback and HitchDoc is very interested in hearing from end users at shows,” he said. “Honestly, 99 percent of our feedback is on how much people like their Travis Seed Cart, but we have people with questions or comments as well, and we take notes on all of them.”

Innovations and improvements also come from within, Boughey said.

“Some of the HitchDoc team members also farm and are always looking at ways to make using the carts easier or more efficient,” he said.
And that includes HitchDoc owners Brad and Chad Mohns.

“They started making motorcycle hitches in 1990, and now we serve a variety of markets thanks to their vision and learning what people need,” Boughey said.

Travis Seed Carts are available in both seed box and bulk-style seed tenders, and farmers can choose from bumper pull, gooseneck and skid models. Color choices of black, green or red powder-coat finish are available.

All models come with a wireless remote that controls the hydraulic functions of the cart, giving farmers the ability to control it from the planter, tractor or wherever they need to be. Also, producers have the option to order specific scales that best fit their needs: auto shutoff scale, standard scale, scale-ready or no-scale models.
Seed tenders come complete with self-contained hydraulic systems, department-of-transportation-compliant trailers, rubber dual torsion axles, electric brakes and easy-cranking jacks.

“I personally have been selling seed delivery products for 20-plus years and HitchDoc’s design is the best one I have seen,” Boughey said. “It is very user-friendly and the build quality is superior. We have very few replacement parts sales, so that is a great indicator of the quality.”
 

Kyle Kuphal | Staff reporter
kkuphal@pipestonestar.com

Gary and Marsha Boverhof grow a variety of produce at their farm west of Edgerton that they sell around the area under the name Boverhof Produce.

Gary is a Michigan native and Marsha is originally from Iowa. Gary started growing produce in Michigan when he was in grade school and continued to work for a vegetable farmer there after high school. He brought those skills with when he moved to the Edgerton area in 2002.

Since then, the Boverhofs have sold their produce at farmers markets, wholesale, at grocery stores and from their yard. Gary said they now sell primarily at farmers markets, including Rock Rapids, Luverne, Edgerton, Pipestone, Marshall and others.

“We’ve enjoyed the farmers markets and getting to know our customers,” Gary said.

The Boverhofs grow sweet corn, peppers, cabbage, tomatoes, green beans, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, kohlrabi and eggplant. They grow their produce on about 25 tillable acres and in four greenhouses. This spring, they plan to add two more greenhouses that came from the producer Gary used to work for in Michigan. Gary said there’s no heat in their greenhouses and they plant directly into the ground, using drip tape to water.

Marsha said all of their tomatoes are grown inside the greenhouses.

“The huge benefit for us is that it’s protected from the wind and protected from the rain,” Gary said. “That’s where all the disease comes from in tomatoes, it’s from that rain splashing up the soil. The disease, like blight, will store in the soil, and then when that rain hits the soil it splashes up on the leaves and then it spreads.”

They also grow some cucumbers and peppers in the greenhouses and start some other plants in them, so they’re ready earlier than if they were started outside. Gary said the family starts all their crops from seed.

In addition to the crops, the family has about 75 chickens from which they sell the eggs. Gary and Marsha said their children primarily take care of the chickens.

Marsha also has a cottage food license and the family makes and sells baked goods at the farmers markets. Their offerings include bread, pies, rolls, cookies, bars, jams and salsas.

The Boverhofs have five children, the ages 10 to 20, who help on the farm. Gary said one of the aspects he most enjoys about working in the business is working with his family.

“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “It’s rewarding to be able to work together.”

In addition to family members, Gary said they have some kids from the area come out and help on the farm. He said it’s a win-win situation with the kids learning some work ethic and earning some money.
This is the slow season at the farm when they work on equipment and get ready for spring. They start seeding in a warmed starter house on March 1.

Gary said they typically transplant into their other non-heated greenhouses in mid-April.

Off the farm, Gary drives bus for Southwest Minnesota Christian school and Marsha works in the kitchen at the school as needed during the winter. The Boverhofs are part of the Minnesota Grown and the Minnesota Farmers Market Association.

Kyle Kuphal | Staff reporter
kkuphal@pipestonestar.com

New technology that targets weeds is getting positive reviews from those who have used it in southwest Minnesota.

One of the items is John Deere’s See & Spray system. The other is the SMARTSCRIPT drone system from Sentera, which was acquired by John Deere earlier this year.

Ross Van Hulzen, of Edgerton, said Van Hulzen Farms has a John Deere 412 R sprayer that was equipped with See & Spray and another one that came with the technology factory installed that they started using this year. The technology uses cameras mounted on the boom of a sprayer that “look forward and see the weed before the nozzles pass over them,” Van Hulzen said. He said the driver can travel up to 12 mph while using the system, which makes split second decisions about whether to spray or not.

Van Hulzen said the cost saving potential was the biggest factor that interested him in trying the See & Spray technology. The fact that crops that don’t need to be sprayed aren’t sprayed was another factor.

Nick Einck, director of agronomy, at Chandler Co-op, said the Co-op started using the See & Spray and the drone technology this year. The drone uses high precision technology to detect, identify and map weeds with accuracy, according to Sentera. That information is uploaded to Sentera, which provides a prescription that’s uploaded to sprayers, which can then identify exactly where a weed is and which nozzle needs to turn on at what time to spray it.

Einck said Chandler Co-op was interested in the technology in order to implement what it refers to as “site specific spraying.”

“What that means is we’re using technology to identify exactly where the weeds are and just spray the weed rather than the acre,” Einck said. “What that allows for us is an opportunity to cut chemical costs and hopefully boost yields because we’re not taxing the crop with metabolizing all that chemistry.”

To use the See & Spray equipment, the operator selects the crop that’s in the field and anything that’s not that crop gets sprayed.

“It’s approved for corn and soybeans,” Van Hulzen said. “If you have it set that you’re spraying corn, it knows what a corn plant looks like, so anything that is not corn that it identifies as vegetation, it considers that a weed. When you’re in beans, corn is actually a weed in beans, so when you’re spraying beans it actually sprays corn.”

If no weeds are detected, no spray is applied. Van Hulzen said that’s the case the majority of the time.
“In corn, we did not apply 63 percent of the time and we did apply 37 percent of the time, so there was a 63 percent savings in chemical,” Van Hulzen said. In beans, they saved 57 percent.

He said the amount of savings varies from field to field based in part on the amount of weed pressure. It also depends in part on the chemical program used by the farmer.

John Deere charges a per acre fee for the See & Spray system when it’s turned on and not applying herbicide. There is no charge for when chemical is applied. Van Hulzen said that even with the fee, the system is worthwhile.

“The savings outweigh the fee just because there are so many acres you don’t apply,” he said.
Van Hulzen said the technology also saves time because the operator doesn’t have to stop and fill up the tanks on the sprayer as often, and it’s easy to use.

“If you’ve run a John Deere sprayer, it’s very easy to run,” he said. “Literally, you turn it on or you turn it off, and by toggling it on, you just tell it what crop you’re in and it really takes care of itself.”
Einck said the drone must be flown by a trained and certified individual.

He said both the drone and the See & Spray technology have similar outcomes and he’s found them to be equally effective. He said they allow Chandler Co-op to help farmers save money on chemical, and those dollars can then be reallocated to other measures that can help increase yields.
Einck said the technology is expensive for individual farmers, which is why it makes sense for a retail outlet such as Chandler Co-op to purchase it and make the technology available to them. While this type of technology is used by a limited number of farmers today because they’re new, Van Hulzen and Einck said they expect it will catch on and become more widely used. They also expect it to grow in its capabilities and be able to provide additional data in the future.

“We’re sure excited to see where the future takes us and we’re excited that we can offer this for our farmers, our customers and our owners, being as we’re a co-op,” Einck said.