PowerManager "Certified seed business adds value to South Dakota grain operation"

Certified seed business adds value to South Dakota grain operation

TR™ combines produce higher grain quality, better germination

Elmer Hamburger and his brother, Phil, farm 7,000 acres around Seneca, South Dakota. About half of the acreage is in beans, and the other half is either in winter or spring wheat. They market most of the wheat through their certified seed business, and sell the soybeans to local grain elevators.

Elmer and Phil switched to strictly no-till farming about six years ago. Longtime owners of New Holland combines, they’ve found that their TR™99 combines are friendly to both their no-till operation and their certified seed business.

You won’t find any tillage equipment on the Hamburger farmstead. “We’re religiously no-till,” says Elmer. “We have the basic philosophy that if we take care of the land, the land will take care of us.”

Living on the Great Plains, Elmer says, “the dust can really blow.” Extreme weather conditions, where temperatures can get as low as -20ƒ F and as high as 120° F, can also take its toll on the land.

Elmer Hamburger (left) and his brother, Phil.

“The grain from our TR™ combine had 2% more germination than grain harvested with a conventional combine.”
—Elmer Hamburger

“We’re close enough to the Rocky Mountains that they can really affect us,” says Elmer. “We’re right in the middle of South Dakota, about 400 miles from the mountains. To the east, it’s wet. To the west, it’s arid.”

According to Elmer, using no-till practices on their farm helps keep the soil from drying out. “We don’t have to worry about the extreme cold temperatures as much as we do the hot,” he says. “Those high temperatures can really rob the soil of its moisture.”

Using no-till has also required the Hamburgers to look at their cropping patterns. “For years we planted sunflowers, which did very well for us,” says Elmer. “But when we went to no-till, we found sunflowers and no-till don’t mix. So we switched to soybeans.” According to Elmer, soybeans are a relatively new crop to central South Dakota. “They’ve only recently developed a variety of soybeans that really works well in our climate.”

The Hamburger’s first try with soybeans about ten years ago ended in failure. “We had anywhere from 0 to 8 bushels per acre,” Elmer says. So when they switched to no-till and decided to plant soybeans, they made some changes.

“Soybeans and no-till are a good marriage,” Elmer says. “We now have yields of 40 to 41 bushels per acre.

Certified seed

The Hamburgers’ certified seed business began in 1987. In the mid-1980’s, they were having difficulty finding good seed wheat to plant on their farm and they found their neighbors were having the same problem. Seeing an opportunity to add value to their operation, the Hamburgers purchased some cleaning equipment and started the certified seed business.

The Hamburger family: Lin, Ashley , Doran, Cecelia, Elmer, Irene, Harvey , Phil, Barb, Charles, Melody and Rachael.

“We inherited a good working knowledge of making things work from our father, and we have always been innovators,” says Elmer. “So supplying seed wheat to neighboring farmers seemed like a natural for us.”

In any given year, the Hamburgers have as many as 200 customers for their certified seed wheat business. Last year, they sold 100,000 bushels of certified wheat seed. After it’s cleaned and conditioned, the seed is bagged and sold to farmers within 200 miles of the Hamburger’s farm.

“The certified seed business adds value to the products that we grow,” says Elmer. “During low price years, it really helps pull us through.”

Twin Rotor® combines

The Hamburgers have owned a lot of New Holland combines over the years. “We purchased our first two Twin Rotor® combines — both TR7Os — in 1977,” says Elmer. “Then we traded them on a TR95, bought another one, and then traded one of the TR95s off on two TR96s.”

After they stopped custom harvesting, they traded their TR96s on two TR99s. “We’ve stuck with New Holland over the years because they’re the best,” says Elmer. “They are very well built and our breakdowns are minimal.”

Because grain quality is so important for their certified seed business, the TR combine is essential. “The rotors on the TR combine don’t break up the grain as much as traditional combines,” says Elmer. “We get excellent grain quality. In fact, last year the grain from our TR combine had 2% more germination than grain harvested with a conventional combine.”

The Hamburgers grow about 10 different varieties of wheat that they market through their seed business. And, with so many different varieties, contamination is a major issue.

“Our New Holland TR99 combines are easier to clean out than other combines,” he says. “We can get all of the seeds out of the machine so we don’t have to worry about contaminating the next variety.”

According to Elmer, the TR combine is also friendly to no-till operations. “It has an excellent chopper on it and lots of rubber underneath,” says Elmer. “The dual wheels help prevent compaction.”

The Hamburgers only have one part-time employee outside the family. However, everyone in the family pitches in. Elmer’s wife, Cecelia, and his brother Phil’s wife, Barb, keep the books for the operation. “We have three children, and my brother has four,” says Elmer. “All of the children have their specific jobs. The younger ones clean out the grain bins, while the older ones operate the combine and trucks. Our family attributes our success not only to the choice of top quality equipment, but also to our faith in God, a wonderful country and good neighbors.”

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