7 ONTARIO GRAIN FARMER SEPTEMBER 2024 Unlike the Dietrich’s operation, the Mathesons don’t prepare for fall harvest during the summer; all the work is done after the fall harvest and during winter. Summer is their busiest time of year with barley and wheat harvest, cover crops and double-crop planting, sprayers running constantly, and the daily demands of their livestock. “By the time the fieldwork slows down in mid-August, everyone tries to get a bit of a breather before soybean harvest ramps up in September, although it’s still difficult to pull back,” says Ian. The demand for seamless operations is eased by the four full-time and five or six part-time workers they have. “We’re fortunate to have very qualified people who we’re able to delegate taking care of, not only a task but taking the lead amongst a group and are understanding of what the season can consist of.” As challenging as keeping machinery tuned and ready, there’s also the complement of precision ag machinery the brothers employ. They use a robotic milking system on the dairy farm, data-driven feed information on the pork side, plus yield monitors, variablerate applications, and satellite imagery, which makes for a very full plate, technology-wise. But Ian insists they’re still trying to maximize the data and information they can retrieve. As precision ag technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, it’s easy to become overwhelmed, if lost, altogether. And since they are not quite maximizing what they have in front of them – yet – they are not about to go looking for more. continued on p. 8
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