Traditionally based on old-school practices, the Barbers used to summer fallow about a third of their acres each year. "We thought it was the best method to conserve some moisture," says Jim.

It does conserve moisture, but not enough to justify taking so many acres out of production. So when the Barbers made the switch to no-till, they put everything into production at once. "It's all dryland farming here, so moisture is always an issue—we never seem to have enough," says Jim. "Zero-till is really good for conserving moisture. You don't dry the soil out when seeding, plus our input costs have gone down."

Because they are farming more acres, they have steadily increased the amount of equipment they run. This is where their careful balancing act really comes into play. Last year, they bought a new New Holland CX conventional combine. This harvest, they are using a new New Holland CR Twin Rotor™ combine and HW340 self-propelled swather. For next season, they are looking at a TJ500 4WD tractor and 57-foot SC440 shank-type drill. "You have to work at updating equipment to keep current with technology and to maintain equity. That's what we're doing, and it seems to be successful. You don't want one year where you have to trade everything," says Sam.

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True blue

Both a New Holland super-conventional CX combine and a Twin Rotor™ CR combine have their place on the Barber Brothers Farm.

Besides all of the big production agriculture equipment, Wendy and Deb use New Holland compact tractors with front-end loaders for yard work and odd jobs. "There's a lot of blue around here, because we have a good dealer," says Jim. "They have been good to us and the New Holland equipment has been good to us, too." Liking their dealer is just as important to the Barbers as liking their equipment — and they do. Wendy, who operates the CX840, likes not only the capacity but is impressed with how it handles tough conditions.

The Barbers also sell quite a bit of fall straw to feedlots and a conventional combine doesn't chop it up as much as a rotary. But, they also like the New Holland Twin Rotor combines. They traded their TR™98 combine for the CR model they are running this fall.

"We've had rotary before. It does a clean job, keeps the grain in the combine, and we like the capacity," says Jim. "We don't know what we will go with in the future, but we will have a good test with two new combines."

Also this harvest, they used a new HW340 swather that they purchased for its high clearance capabilities in canola. Jim explains that with canola, they have to swath it before it is ripe and then pick it off the ground with the combine. Good equipment is a must with canola because, "it's a pretty valuable cash crop," he says.

The Barbers have pre-ordered a TJ500 and an SC440 drill. They will use the big 4WD tractor to pull the 57-foot drill. They went with the shank-type drill because "we like a little bit higher disturbance, because we're planting straight into stubble," says Sam. This tends to warm the ground up faster in the spring for good germination.

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Custom work Despite farming more acres, the Barbers still have time to do approximately 1,000 acres of custom work each year thanks to their New Holland equipment and moving to no-till. "We seem never to have a shortage in custom work," says Sam. "It's an extra source of income, but there's a limit on how much we can do before we would have to get a second seeding system and hire help." It's all part of the balancing act that helps make Barber Brothers Farm, Inc., a success story.

Deb, Sam, Wendy and Jim Barber, with Wendy and Jim's son, Slade, work together on the Barber family farm.