AGRICULTURE
theart of agriculture country …urkeys, grain and a Bobcat skid-steer loader
In the
NORTH CENTRAL IOWA FARM FAMILY APPRECIATES THE ONGOING COMPACT EQUIPMENT IMPROVEMENTS, HELPING IT SUCCEED AS IT REACHES ITS THIRD GENERATION.
Farming in north central Iowa is a way of life for the Jans family. Dale Jans and his wife Jane live in Stanhope, amidst some of Iowa’s most fertile farm land. The Jans family operates a successful grain and livestock business, and their son Kevin is an Iowa State graduate and third-generation farmer. Together the father and son have a partnership that carries on the tradition of family farms in Iowa.
Roots in agriculture
Taking a step back in time, you may recall that agriculture is where compact equipment got its start. The roots of skid-steer loaders trace back to a Minnesota turkey farmer named Eddie Velo. He faced similar challenges as turkey farmers do today, namely removing manure from barns. Blacksmiths Louis and Cyril Keller forever changed history when they built the world’s fi rst compact loader for Velo. Cleaning barns wasn’t — and still isn’t — a fun job, but thankfully compact equipment has made it much easier, and Velo’s fi rst compact loader has evolved into today’s industry-leading Bobcat®
skid-steer loaders.
After 55 years since the fi rst compact loader was invented, livestock producers like Dale and Kevin Jans are still reaping the benefi ts of the invention. One could argue that the invention is one of the most signifi cant in agriculture in the past 150 years. Dale and Kevin raise turkeys, and a Bobcat skid-steer loader and attachments make their daily chores much easier.
6 WorkSaver | SPRING 2012
ABOVE: A Bobcat S750 helps Dale Jans haul manure to his spreader. BOTTOM LEFT: Eddie Velo and the world’s fi rst three-wheeled loader, built by Louis and Cyril Keller, that led to the Bobcat skid-steer loader.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32