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Farmers are turning to Midland Radio for their two-way radio communication ahead of a busy planting season. Find out how these radios are continuallyimproving farming operations.
Midland Radio caught up with Kevin Morrow about how he's working to integrate Midland two-way radiosonto the operation he works on.
Kevin Morrow didn't grow up on a farm, but he's been interested in agriculture since he was young.
“My family is a bunch of mechanics. When I was little, the house that I lived at was next to a farm and I was always fascinated by the farming equipment. Also, my aunt and uncle rented a house that was on a dairy farm. Part of their rent was that they helped on the farm. When I was there, I was always helping out with milking the cows and field work."
Morrow was part of Future Farmers of America (FFA) throughout high school and worked on several farms while in college.
He now works a Clucas Farms in New Jersey. He's been there since 2012. The farmer he works for is a fourth-generation farmer.
For him, farming never gets old and that is what makes it special.
“I like the variety of things that we do. Right now, I’m out spreading some lime on the fields, but the next day I could be in the shop working on some stuff or doing hay deliveries. Whatever the boss man asks me to do, I’m there for it because I get to do a big variety of things.”
Efficiency is key to success on the farm.
“The more efficient you can be, the faster you can get things done, the faster you can get the crop in the ground.”
Communication is key to that efficiency.
“Being in communication allows us to stay ahead and keep everyone in the know about what’s going on, what we need to do,” Morrow said.
Morrow’s first introduction to two-way radios came when he was younger and hunting. He also works with the fire department so he understands just how efficient and reliable two-way radios can be, something the farm has worked to implement.
“Two-way radios are just so much faster than talking on the phone. Cellphones are great, but when you can just pick up the radio mic and push to talk, it’s much faster.”
He heard about Midland Radio through Instagram. He knew after seeing farmers he follows using them, they’d be a great fit on this operation.
The farm uses Midland's MXT500AGVP3 Farm Bundle, MXT115AGVP3 MicroMobile® Farm Tractor Bundle, and the X-Talker T71VP3 Two-Way Radio.
“We started with the handhelds. The first time they came in handy was when we were working on our corn planter. We had one guy in the tractor cab and one guy in the planter- instead of yelling at each other, we just used the two-way radios to talk. It was so easy.”
While the MicroMobiles aren't installed yet, Morrow is confident they'll go the distance.
“We’re excited to put the MicroMobiles in the vehicles to increase the range and our voice clarity. We know we will get a lot of use out of them for planting season.”
With planting season the horizon, Morrow said operations on the farm will depend on the weather. His work will include tillage and putting fertilizer on the hay.
“We’re also really trying to get the liming down and then I’ll be going out and doing some spraying. By the last week of April, we should be getting into planting corn and soybeans," he added.
With a rough 2022, Morrow is hopeful that 2023 will bring a successful year for the farm's crops.
“Last year was tough year for this area because it was so dry. We had a lot of crop burn up. After that bad of a year, we’re excited to try again. We’re hopeful 2023 is going to give us a good year.”
