WHY US
MULTIPLE EDUCATED & EXPERIENCED OPERATORS
All six full-time members of Sweeney Farms have degrees in various ag concentrations from universities well-known for their agriculture programs. Jerry, Mike, and Don have been farming together their whole lives: as kids, as employees under their dad, Jack, and as owners since Jack’s retirement in 2003. Drake, Kaden, and Kyler have been following their dads around on the farm ever since they could walk, and continue to gain more responsibilities as full-time operators. Having three equal owners provides a natural system of checks and balances and ensures that all decisions are well-informed and discussed, while also providing a level of financial security.
LATE MODEL EQUIPMENT & TECHNOLOGY
Our farm owns a late model line of John Deere equipment. Investing our own money in our machinery is important to us so that we are building equity in our own business. Operating newer equipment reduces time spent on breakdowns and repairs. We also utilize technology on all of our equipment, like RTK guidance, variable rate fertilizer application, swath control, yield and moisture monitoring, etc. (see more on these below). We don’t see our equipment as something to boast about, but as a necessary tool to farm as efficiently as possible and keep our landlords happy.
LANDLORD RELATIONSHIPS
One of the most important responsibilities we have is to keep landlords satisfied, and we take great pride in that. We currently farm for nearly 40 landlords in Coles, Clark, Edgar, and Cumberland counties. Several of these landlords participate in a crop share lease, meaning that they trust us to raise a crop for them. Our ability to attend to each of these farms in a timely manner, in addition to the ground we own ourselves, speaks to the efficiency at which we must operate in order to stay productive.
LAND IMPROVEMENT & CONSERVATION
Land conservation is very important to us, and we strive to improve as many acres as we can. This includes laying drainage tile, building terraces and waterways, and clearing brush and old fencerows. All of our equipment is laser or GPS guided to ensure precision and accuracy. We own an excavator, bulldozer, backhoe, dirt scrapers, trencher, and tile plow to do this work ourselves on land we own, land we rent, or for other people on land we aren’t even associated with.
SEED, CHEMICAL, & FERTILIZER PROGRAM
Our seed, chemical, and fertilizer program is set up so that the only question mark in a crop’s yield potential is the weather.
Seed: Our farm’s territory stretches 25 miles east to west, so we farm a lot of different soil types. We take time each year and utilize the latest seed genetics to select the best hybrid available for each farm based on its soil profile.
Chemical: Clean fields look better and grow healthier crops. We own our own sprayer, tanker, and chemical mix station, so we can mix, haul, and apply our own pesticides. This allows us to know exactly what chemicals are being applied to each field and at what rate. We never over-apply chemicals or add something in that the crop doesn’t need; only the amount prescribed on the label. The sprayer is also equipped with swath control, meaning that if it has already sprayed an area once, it will automatically shut itself off if it passes over the same area again, preventing double spraying. This protects the environment from excess chemical use and saves us money on wasted chemical.
Fertilizer: We never cut corners on fertilizer in order to save money. Every year we replace the nutrients that the previous crop used, and often can add a little extra to slowly build fertility up over time as soil type allows. We build our own prescription maps to have fertilizer variably-applied, so that different parts of a field receive different fertilizer rates, depending on what they need. We have each farm on a four year soil test rotation and own a dump trailer so that we can haul lime as needed.
HONOR & INTEGRITY
We pride ourselves on running an operation based on honor and integrity. We will always be honest, fair, and up front with those we do business with. We treat everyone we come in contact with kindly, whether it be landlords, neighboring farmers, ag industry employees, or the general public. We don’t work on Sundays, even during the busiest times of the year, in order to rest, relax, and worship with our families. We know how blessed we are, and make sure our actions reflect that.