Learning to farm at 40

Indiana excavating contractor turns to his first love…farming

It’s now or never, Indiana excavating contractor Dave Schrock told his family. For his 40th birthday, Dave decided, he was going to do what he had always dreamed of. He was going to hire a general superintendent to take care of the day-to-day business at his excavating firm, and he was going to farm. Five years after that fateful decision, Dave is still farming and doing just fine.

Dave Schrock went into the excavation business right after he graduated from high school. He was good at it, and eventually became the owner of Schrock Excavating, a privately owned company in northwest Indiana with 40 employees. However, farming was Dave’s first love. He’d grown up on a farm and wanted his family to enjoy those good things that only farm life offers.

At the age of 40, Dave Schrock decided to change careers and pursue his life-long love of farming.

Dave Schrock’s New Holland TJ 4WD tractors, are equipped with 35-inch wide, 900-series tires set up
as duals to provide flotation on the farm’s deep peat soil.

Dave and his wife, Diana, are raising three children: Brittany, Courtney, and Zachary.

“I think the farm life compliments the home-schooling that we’ve chosen to do with our children. It gives us the opportunity to raise a few animals like chickens and steers for meat, to do 4-H and other old-fashioned family activities,” says Diana.

Four counties

The Schrocks seed about 4,200 acres of corn and soybeans near Wakarusa, Indiana. The town is located at the junction of four counties, and the Schrocks have land to seed in all four counties.

“I’ve made a lot of changes since getting these farms. We’ve raised the production levels on most of those farms by at least 20 percent. Some of the farms needed help,” he explains. “The fertility was brought up. Tile was repaired and replaced. Fencerows were cleaned. I’ve done literally hundreds of hours of that work.” Being in the construction business was helpful because Dave already had the dozers and backhoes to handle the repair and land renovations.

Dave Schrock and his wife, Diana, and their children: Courtney, Brittany, and Zachary. “Farming life gives us the opportunity to do 4-H and other old-fashioned family activities,” says Diana.

“The TJ tractors have excellent fuel economy and the operator features are second to none.”
—Dave Schrockr

Dave has also put a lot of hours into formally learning the production side of farming.

“I love to grow crops,” Dave says. “But I’ve had to educate myself and learn information by attending seminars on topics ranging from farm chemicals to seed to GMOs and other technology. If you apply yourself, it’s easy to learn because there are people who want to provide the information,” he says.

Learning the marketing side, says Dave, has been more difficult. He’s attended seminars to learn more about marketing, but that doesn’t make it easy. “Selling is just hard to do. You can’t see very far into the future. Whatever decision you make, you live by. I’ve learned that your initial or gut feeling probably is your best shot at it. Second-guessing yourself is not a good thing.”

When it came time to equip his farm with machinery, Dave went back to the New Holland dealer who had supplied his Dad.

“My relationship with the dealer is the primary reason we use New Holland machinery,” he explains. “That developed when I still farmed with my Dad. This dealer has been very good to us, and their service has been excellent. We’ve been very happy with the equipment and the service.”

TJ tractors

Last spring, Dave took delivery of a pair of New Holland TJ 4WD tractors: a TJ375 and a TJ450. The two farm tractors will operate about 600 hours a year doing primary and secondary tillage, planting and pulling grain carts. The tractors are equipped with 35-inch wide, 900-series tires set up as duals to provide flotation on deep peat soil in the area.

“The TJs are a very well-constructed tractor. They have excellent fuel economy and the operator features are second to none. They’re nicer to drive than my car or my pickup truck! They’re just very, very comfortable. Visibility is great. They’re awesome tractors,” he says.

The tractors are operator-friendly, Dave says. “The controls are easier to handle. They have short hydraulic levers and push buttons. You move all the levers with your fingertips, not your hands and arms. You set the temperature at the start of the day, and it stays at that temperature all day long. There’s an AM/FM stereo and a CD player.”

One thing Dave says he doesn’t miss is the whine of a hydraulic system that’s supplying constant power to seeding equipment.

“The TJs don’t have that noise. The hydraulic system does not develop that whine at all, but the hydraulics are very strong and very quick.”

New Holland’s TJ sets a new standard for lighting packages, he says.

“This spring, for two nights, we planted corn all night. You could see just as well as daylight! The new lights are awesome. Our John Deere track tractor doesn’t hold a candle to these lights!”

Road travel is better, too. The TJs get up to road speed faster and travel at 23 mph. The Indiana grower and his workers spend a lot of time on the road, between fields. ”We’re in a very populated area and there’s a lot of road traffic, so travel for us is safer and better than ever.”

Dave predicts the TJ will improve the farm’s bottom line. He observes, “Our fuel costs are going to be lower. These tractors are definitely going to be more efficient to operate. The service intervals are longer. And getting into a comfortable tractor to drive is important for getting someone to drive it. All that relates to savings.”


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