For new farmers looking to invest in land, the task can feel daunting. Pressures abound, like finding the perfect plot, the purchase price, competing with those who have deeper pockets in a volatile market, creating a solid business plan to gain financing and how to engage with consumers to move the needle towards profitability. Now, consider the growers speeding towards retirement. The average age of the US farmer is 58. Close to 60% own their property and are 65 years or older. While many lease their acreage to others for farming, some continue rolling up their sleeves daily out in the fields. The face of agriculture is changing over the next few years and the dance between transfers of knowledge, skills and––lest we forget––land means everything. Whether discussing legacy farmers or white-collar workers ready to ditch the rat race, they’ve shown up ready to go, right on time and with methods and measures a little different than their predecessors.

for participants and fans. Not every weekend in the stands is filled with sunshine. Rain delays happen, but canceled events due to water-logged fields don’t have to. From iconic stadiums to Little League baseball diamonds, having the right pipe in place means standing water, torn turf and Mother Nature won’t dominate on the field.

When you work in manufacturing, adding extra sunshine into the day makes everything brighter. That was one of the ambitious goals Fratco brought to the design table when planning the new employee break room at its Francesville location. Wrapped in windows, the break room is warm and inviting with thoughtful touches throughout. New tables and chairs, a big-screen television, vending machines and a large refrigerator to store lunches are just a few of the amenities you’ll find.

Farming seems like a pretty simple process, right? Till the soil, plant seeds, nurture plants and, finally, it’s harvest time. If farming were that easy, growers would be delighted, and their yields would thrive no matter the climate, weather or terrain; a little piece of heaven on earth.

For decades, Hollywood has shaped our view of agriculture through their storytelling lenses of what rural farm-living looks like. If you loved Eva Gabor and Eddie Albert’s 1965 sitcom Green Acres, then you witnessed a socialite uprooted from NYC when her lawyer- husband yearned for a simpler life. Children of the 1970s were convinced Little House on the Prairie was the real deal: outhouses, Nellie Olson- types and lemon verbena perfume. In the 1990s, we lived vicariously through Kevin Costner’s film Field of Dreams with the infamous line: “If you build it, he will come.” Life on the farm seems easy when storylines tie neatly into a bow at the end, don’t they?

When it comes to golf course planning, a developer’s focus is location, location, location. For landscape architects and contractors creating a scenically manicured 18 hole experience, their mantra is drainage, drainage, drainage.

Agriculture’s influence is global. Local and international growers and producers have a strong voice that sets the industry’s tone for the year. From career changes to choosing new crops to invest in, here are trends to keep an eye on in 2021.

The UC 5XX is a marvel in corrugated pipe manufacturing. Compatible with the wide range of products Fratco offers our customers, this machine can pivot production quickly and easily, cutting turnaround time in half. It also gives Fratco total control of pressure and temperature, making it energy and time efficient.

Within our global economy, proximity partnerships have always been an agribusiness mainstay. Remaining hyperlocal doesn’t apply just to restaurateurs seeking freshly-sourced ingredients for an authentic farm-to-table experience. The same benefits apply to brewers desiring the only best ingredients for their craft beers. When it comes to hops—a key component that keeps beer fresher longer and adds to the aroma and taste—the demand is high for this crop’s accessibility within a brew master’s zip code. When the best of locally-grown ingredients meets neighborhood crafters, economies flourish, microbreweries produce quality products and beer lovers keep buying.

Farmers feed the world. From sunrise to sunset, they care for the land, tend to animals, and work hard to maintain what they steward. Pressures can mount when you consider what providing food for the planet means. From readying crops for harvest and keeping livestock healthy to looming drought and wringing hands over commodity prices at the market, these concerns barely scratch the surface of what growers and producers face every day. Is it any wonder that those responsibilities can feel, at times, like carrying 100 yards of pipe alone?

Fratco is pleased to announce our manufacturing capacity has reached new heights with the addition of a second Unicor UC 1800 corrugator to our production line. Unicor’s UC 1800 produces corrugated pipe with an inside diameter between 18” and 60”. Adding a second UC 1800 corrugator has helped ramp up fabrication of Fratco’s trusted, durable and dependable pipe like never before.

Farmers feed the world. From sunrise to sunset, they care for the land, tend to animals, and work hard to maintain what they steward. Pressures can mount when you consider what providing food for the planet means. From readying crops for harvest and keeping livestock healthy to looming drought and wringing hands over commodity prices at the market, these concerns barely scratch the surface of what growers and producers face every day. Is it any wonder that those responsibilities can feel, at times, like carrying 100 yards of pipe alone?

Recently, ASTM International announced that F3390 is the new standard for 3 through 24-inch lined, flexible, corrugated pipe used for land drainage applications. This specification covers all requirements and test methods. The importance of our products exceeding expectations and regulations is forefront in our minds. That’s why FlexCorr has always exceeded this standard. The requirements are intended for all manufacturers to provide non-pressure, or gravity flow, lined flexible annular corrugated polyethylene pipe for subsurface land drainage systems. This news is of great benefit to contractors and customers in the agriculture and construction industries.

We are the caretakers of our natural resources; they’re essential for survival. The two at the very top of the list are soil and water. Let’s talk about soil for a moment. It’s what we move to install pipe, enrich it to grow food, and soil also holds within its layers the foundation of the places we call home. We also source materials from the ground to generate energy. Without it? Well, oxygen, heat, and water in our ecosystem would alter and drastically tailspin the world as we know it. Speaking of water, that lands at the number one spot of significant, all-natural resources. Life wouldn’t exist without it. We drink it, utilize it to grow food, and we’re also depleting it faster than it’s being replenished.

In a world where the conservation of resources is becoming increasingly important, supporting the mission of experts is going to be the key to ecosystem productivity, wildlife survival, environmental biodiversity and, in the drainage realm, farming success. The Agricultural Drainage Management Coalition (ADMC) was established to promote this exact mission, and Fratco is proud to be an active member in supporting this important cause.

Constantly striving for innovation involves more than developing new products on the market. It also means frequently reviewing current processes and analyzing what improvements should be made in all areas of business. For Fratco, the most recent update comes in the form of streamlined communication with customers.

Coronavirus, shifts in climate, and trade disruptions have not steered Fratco drainage systems provide uniform field conditions across your farm earlier in the year. you can get in, plant and get out before winter takes over. Research suggests proper drainage can get you in the field a month ahead of schedule.