In Germany on a rye research trip and able start Geneva in Kentucky to plant double crop beans into our harvested rye. The Sabanto global landing page tells a story unimagined 12 months ago. A lot can happen in a year. @SabantoAg

A lot of great people at working hard to usher in the future of agriculture. It’s been a fun 9 months working with them to bring this to life.

“In the promise of better days through better ways” Corn planting has officially started at AF and for the first time there will not be an operator in the cab for spring planting. It’s been an incredible journey getting here and I cannot thank everyone enough for the late nights, brainstorming and problem solving to bring this to life. #plant26 #pirateplant26 #kentucky #bourbon

Kentucky autumn on the farm is a beautiful dance. Just like any good dancer you need to throw in a few new moves to keep the dance fun and entertaining. When the beat of the music changes, you must adjust to the rhythm to keep pace, even if it means throwing in a couple of new moves. Corn harvest 2025 is finished!! Just ahead of the rain too. Wheat and barley are in the ground. Our autonomous tractor planted farms in the wee hours of the morning this week to get us down to the last few acres of rye. Cheers!

It’s been five days since we brought automation to the farm. Harvest season is always so busy and when winter crop planting starts it’s hard to figure out where one day ends and the next begins. What you thought was Tuesday is actually Saturday. Margins in farming are so tight that we have to time the weather to get the crop in and get the next crop started to maximize our yield. It’s hard to step back and breathe, but when the leaves change in Kentucky it’s worth being still and enjoying the view. Automating the planting process has done more than increase efficiency. This week I was able to go to a fundraiser for my niece, attend my other niece’s birthday party. Leah and I went on a rare October date, and I was able to spend some quality time with a few friends and family. Not to say I never would do that, but my mind wasn’t wondering on timely things that need to be done. Able to be present. Come up and smell the fresh crisp fall air. Today Geneva(our automated tractor) finished planting wheat. When the weather clears we’ll be able to switch to rye!

Today we start a new chapter at Affinity Farms. I always remember my dad talking about grandpa bringing home the first tractor on the farm 75years ago and his dad telling him, standing behind a horse drawn plow, get that thing out of here you’re going to tear down every piece of corn in this field. I always wondered what it was like seeing that transformation, living in a time where machinery replaced horses on the farm. Today we started what I think will be transformational not just for our farm, but for so many. We parked our big planters and tractors in the shed and set loose autonomy on the farm. Handing over all of our fall seeding for cash crop barley, rye and wheat. And planting all of our corn and soybeans next spring. While far from full autonomy on the farm it’s a giant leap of faith in that direction. There will be many hiccups along the way, but it’s something worth trying! Huge thank you to AIT, Precision Planting, and Sabanto for helping bring autonomy to row cropping. And a huge thank you to the farm team for the trust and commitment as we steer through the coming challenges and opportunities! Can’t wait to see what the future holds!