The Everyday Banker

The Future of Farming

Boon Farms invested in 6 Lely milking robots and they came to State Bank to help with the expansion 

Taking your business to the next level, especially when it comes to technology, can take a lot of time and effort to get new processes rolling. But Brad Boon, from Boon Farms in Greenwood, WI, said working with State Bank made the transitions much easier.

“State Bank has been very easy to work with during our expansion,” he said. “The technology was a huge investment in the farm's future and State Bank realizes the benefits from that.  We have achieved a better return on assets along with a better quality of life.”

Brad’s dad Duane started the farm in 1976 with just a few heifer calves by 2006 he had accumulated 275 milking cows and over 1000 acres of crop land.  Even though Brad grew up on the farm, after he graduated from UW-Marshfield, he enlisted in the Army for 5 years before returning to run the family farm.  

“I really liked the Army but I learned that home was really where I longed to be.  I came back to the farm with my wife Kristine in 2010 and we had 3 children who are now 6, 8, and 10,” he said. “Over the last 12 years I am grateful I had the opportunity to grow into the management of the entire operation and then finally ownership of the LLC in 2020.”  

Brad says his way of farming is different because they are always looking for ways to be more efficient and integrate technology where there is a return on investment.  

“I try to give employees the flexibility to try new things and reward them when the results are good,” he said. “Without innovation the farm will eventually fail.” 

In 2020 Boon Farms, built a new robotic facility with 6 Lely milking robots that can milk 360 cows. 

“This allowed us to expand from 275 cows to nearly 500 and keep all of the original employees,” he said.” “Automation has greatly increased the quality of life for our family as well as the employees.”

Brad says automation has made it so none of his employees have to work a night shift anymore. 

“Once in a while I get a phone call in the middle of the night from the milking robots and its usually a simple 5-to-10-minute fix. So, with robots you can schedule your work during the day and it’s not necessary to have someone milking cows around the clock, because the robots do that for you,” he said.  “This technology will become more important in the future, so we attract high caliber employees and compete with other employers.”

Being able to invest in this technology allows Brad the freedom to work on his business instead of in his business.  

“Technology has changed the way I spend my time. I often check prices on commodities and supplies and try to get the best prices on my inputs,” he said. “I also can spend some time using the expertise of others such as the nutritionist, veterinarian, and agronomist in order to take care of the animals and the environment.” 

When working with State Bank, Brad appreciated that we treated him in an open and honest manner and that there were no "gotchya" type agreements in the loan process. It was important to him that the bank he chose was transparent about the process.

Brad see’s the ability to incorporate more technology into the farm as a way to be better caretakers of the animals and his people and State Bank Financial is proud to be a part of making that happen.

 “Our guiding principle in the farm is to be good caretakers of the animals and excellent stewards of the land but we also have a commitment to the community and are grateful to our employees as well as our neighbors for the privilege to do so,” he said.