North Carolina Farmer Grounded in Faith, Family, Farming
Fourth generation farmer relies on quality equipment to help maintain profitability amid hurricanes and challenging commodity prices.
John Duncan wakes up each morning thankful he is a farmer. He loves his family, the soil he works each day, and harvest at the end of the growing season. He has always been able to recognize and appreciate things of quality, a trait that has stood him in good stead his entire life.
John and his wife Jackie have been raising the family’s 5th generation farmer – their son, Mack. At 29 years old, Mack has been beside his father learning and working on the farm since he could walk. The Duncan’s have two cousins that also work on the farm, but the patriarch of family is John’s 84-year-old father, James.
“We are so fortunate daddy is still with us. He shows up every day and works until the noon-day heat forces him inside for a short rest,” explains Duncan. “He helps drive us from field-to-field when we have to move equipment to a different block. He continues to be an inspiration to me, Jackie, Mack, and our daughter, Jenna Floyd.”
Land and Equipment
Shawboro is a 30-minute drive from the beach and 10 minutes from Currituck Sound, a shallow, island-filled body of salt water which is part of the Outer Banks connected to the Atlantic Ocean.
Dryland farming over 3,000 acres of row crop ground, a consistently adequate rainfall pattern somehow continues to provide enough precipitation to keep the crops from becoming water stressed. In fact, one of Duncan’s most valuable pieces of equipment is a drain digger he uses to create concave ditches that help move water off the flat ground where he and Mack produce soybeans and corn.
“Without that machine we couldn’t farm as effectively,” says Duncan. “Standing water can lead to increased disease pressure, nutrient loss, and root rot. The drain digger is one of two indispensable pieces of equipment on our farm.”
Extreme heat slowed corn pollination this year. He is still hoping for 200-bushel yields but will not be surprised if the yield monitor pings lower than that during harvest. Rain delayed planting for many farmers in the area.
“Believe it or not, and I don’t know why, but some farmers are still planting,” says Duncan. “My soybeans are blooming and it’s the middle of August, so I feel good about my crop right now.”
Old Flail Not Up to Scratch
Duncan starts prepping fields for the next growing season not long after harvest is complete. He was previously using a flail-type mower to chop corn stalks so they could decompose more quickly over the winter. He ran into a problem with the flail mower, but more importantly, found an equipment solution to it with multiple benefits.
“My old flail mower was leaving behind two windrows of debris which slowed the decomposition of corn stalk material. I was having to run two tractors and plows to break up last year’s residue and get the field in shape for planting,” remembers Duncan. “My dealer at Quality Equipment in Fairfield, North Carolina, told me about an MJ30-920 Cyclone cutter.”
Duncan liked that the four blades on all ten rotors on the cutter are made from high-grade hardened steel which delivers a fine mulch and evenly distributed pattern of material behind in its wake. Manufactured with high performance Strenx® 700 MC structural steel, the Cyclone has become the second indispensable piece of equipment on the Duncan and Son Farm.
Cyclone Delivers Time and Fuel Savings
“It actually saves me money,” admits Duncan. “Once I saw how well it mulched corn stalks without windrowing – which leads to faster decomposition of foreign matter, I found I didn’t need to make another pass with a plow to prep my fields for planting. Eliminating that tractor pass continues to save me money by using less fuel, putting less time on the tractor, and not needing a person to drive it.”
Duncan bought his first Cyclone, manufactured by Major Equipment, four years ago. The family-owned equipment company stands behind their products and works to maintain a stellar reputation with their dealers and farmer customers. Duncan recently added a second MJ30-920 Cyclone Cutter to his equipment line up. The Cyclone’s 30-foot swath allows him to cut 12 rows on each pass, compared to 8 rows with his previous machine.
“It’s not just the cost savings I appreciate. We farm small blocks so we’re moving equipment at least twice a day,” says Duncan. “Once I’m out of the tractor cab, I flip the Cyclone’s safety bracket, pull the hydraulic lever and it folds into a 13’ 9” width for a much faster, easier, and safer transport and storage. It took me 20 minutes just to swing that flail mower around for transport.”
Easy to Operate and Maintain
Duncan finally replaced the blades on his first Cyclone, but only after getting two years of service from the first set. Another advantage Duncan values on the Cyclone are the rear rollers that help stabilize the machine when going over drainage ditches made by the drain digger. The rear rollers also do a superb job breaking up corn root balls.
“It’s also one of the easiest cutters to work on – if you even have to work on it,” says Duncan. “The blades are driven by a reliable gear system. It’s great not having to replace broken belts like I had to do on previous mowers.”
Major Cyclone Stands Up to Hurricanes
With a 6 mile per-hour working speed, Duncan has gotten a 50 percent savings on power consumption and fuel costs. That working speed really comes in handy during hurricane season.
“Hurricanes are a nightmare,” says Duncan. “Their unrelenting winds lodge corn stalks, which can double harvest time. In 1999, when hurricane Dennis passed over us packing 100 mile per-hour winds, we were lucky that we only had another 300 acres of corn to cut. I’ll never forget it, that was the longest 300-acre harvest I’ve ever experienced.”
Many farmers have hobbies they enjoy when time allows. Duncan’s hobby is farming. He has an ongoing goal of searching for ways to be more efficient and economically sustainable.
“Along with the drain digger, my two Cyclone mowers allow me to meet both of those goals,” says Duncan. “Now if we can just avoid the hurricanes this year!”
