Missouri Farmer Boosts Efficiency by Adopting Two-Way Radios
Fourth-generation farmer, Nick Kientzy has transformed his family's farmer operation by adding two-way radios to their tools for improved efficiency.
He shares his love of agriculture and how two-way radios are streamlining operations.
The Kientzy Farm
Nick Kientzy is a fourth-generation farmer. His family's farm is located in Silex, Missouri.
It's a row crop and beef operation so they're harvesting corn, soy, hay, and wheat.
His dad has been farming ever since he was born and at one point, almost ended up changing his path, but his passion has always been agriculture.
“When my dad was 15 or so he wanted to get into farming, but his dad wanted him to do something else. There was a big flood that came in and flooded 15 acres of corn. His dad said if he hand shucked all that corn so it didn’t go to waste, he would give him 30 hogs. He did it and his mom helped him.”
He farmed those hogs for 25-30 years and eventually took over the family farm. While his dad is in charge, Nick and his brothers work alongside him.
The farming way
Kientzy goes back and forth from his day job in St. Louis and Silex to help out on the farm.
“We all just work together on this family farm.”
Growing up on the farm meant developing a work ethic that was different than most.
“My fiancé’s family says that you can tell I was raised on a farm because I’ve got a different type of work ethic than most people do. I think there’s something to it. I also can tell when people have been raised on a farm.”
Breaking down misconceptions
To Kientzy, helping others understand agriculture is something he's dedicated to.
“I work with a lot of people who don’t know much about farming. Knowing what really happens behind the scenes, farmers can get a bad rap. There’s a lot of miscommunication.”
He even went to school for agriculture communication.
"We always talked about bridging the gap between those who know and those who don’t know. Being able to communicate with those who are uninformed is huge. I love being able to educate them that not all farmers are bad. It’s important for you to know.”
Kientzy wishes people understood just how deeply farmers care for their livestock.
“We don’t abuse our animals. That’s the number one I hear when it comes to beef farming is how we treat our animals. Our cows are basically a bunch of big dogs. They love us and we love them. We treat them well and they handle us well too.”
He said they don't use any type of negative reinforcement like prods and view their cows like their pets.
“They love seeing us come. They want us to scratch them just like a big dog. I think a lot of people think farmers are mean and aggressive with our cows. I’m sure there are outliers that are like that. At least from my experience, that’s just not how it is.”
Introducing two-way radios to the farm
Kientzy knew the farm needed something to improve communication, noting his dad was hesitant to make changes to the operation.
He looked into two-way radios and found Midland, learning about the brand's reliability and quality of products.
“Once we brought Midland two-way radios onto the farm, it changed everything. When you have so many acres of land, especially out in the country where there’s no cell service, you need something to communicate. All the gear we’ve gotten has just been so easy and it’s been connecting us.”
After testing out a few of Midland's two-way radios, the operation began running smoother so they continued to add more.
The Kientzy farm uses Midland's MXT500 MicroMobile® GMRS 50-Watt Two-Way Radio – MXT500, MXT115 MicroMobile® GMRS 15-Watt Two-Way Radio – MXT115, and T71 X-Talker® FRS Two-Way Radio – T71VP3.
“It’s revolutionized how we communicate on the farm. It’s so much easier than before. It’s not even close. For my dad, they’re so easy to use. He loves them because he checks in without even having to pull out a phone. These radios are popular with everyone in the family.”
Nick said his favorite products are the MicroMobiles because of the sound quality, but the handhelds are close second.
Improving efficiency with two-way radios
The two-way radios have directly improved how smoothly things run on the farm.
“Being able to communicate has directly impacted efficiency. There’s a lot of stuff that changes on the fly when you’re farming. Someone will go to check the field, it’s not ready to go, we have no cell service, that’s a lot of wasted time. Being able to communicate back and forth instantly, there’s virtually no time lost when we have our two-way radios on us.”
Kientzy chose Midland's two-way radios because he researched their reliability and so far, he couldn't be more impressed.
“They’re just super reliable and guaranteed to work for us. They’ve made it way easier for us to work fast and change things on the fly. We’re saving a lot of time because of these.”
During the busy season, Midland's two-way radios help get the job done.
“A lot of times, the radios keep us from staying up super late because of the efficiency.”
October on the farm
Harvest started a little later than usual for the Kientzy family, but they're working to catch up after a combine breakdown.
“It’ll be a lot of long days and a lot of long evenings working well past 9 some nights to get corn and beans to the bin and elevators. It also takes time to get everything put up for the next day because once the sun is up, it’s time to go.”
They'll also take some cattle to the market if they're ready to go.
He said Midland's two-way radios will help speed things up, getting the job done.
“The two-way radios keep us connected. Being able to use them speeds up the process. They don’t keep us out there as nearly as long."
