Green Field Ag acquires precision ag equipment, precision tillage machinery side of Widmer & Associates.

Jack Zemlicka, Technology Editor

February 28, 2013 — With an eye toward the future, Widmer & Assoc., in Gibsonburg, Ohio, sold its precision farming business this month to two employees who formed Green Field Ag (GFA).

Matt Liskai, a precision farming specialist with Widmer & Assoc., and Travis Harrison, salesperson for W&A’s line of precision equipment, partnered to purchase the exclusive rights to sell and service precision ag and precision tillage equipment from majority owner Les Widmer, who formed the company in 2000.

“Les wants to see the business continue and thrive after he retires and we want to move forward with that plan,” Liskai says. “Rest assured, although under new ownership and name, we have retained the same great team of precision ag employees to help serve customers. Our name on our door may have changed but our dedication to your farm will be the same.”

GFA operates out of the same building as Widmer, but solely focuses on the sales and service of precision ag and precision tillage products, which includes Ag Leader and Trimble, along with Orthman products.

The partnership of precision products with the Orthman equipment made sense, Liskai notes.

“They complement each other well,” he says. “We have yet to sell an Orthman with row markers. Usually, the first step for strip-tillers is they invest in RTK or high accuracy guidance. Then there needs to be a display or control for fertilizer rate.”

Harrison is responsible for getting the Orthman units ready for the field and Liskai says he and his precision specialists add the technology to control fertilizer rate.

“When we sell the Orthman units, it’s with two quotes,” Liskai says. “One is for the technology and another for the unit itself.”

Widmer continues to sell Stoller USA and DeltAg fertilizer product lines and offer agronomic services to farm customers.

In the future, Liskai says he doesn’t expect GFA to acquire Widmer’s fertilizer business, but there could be interest in expanding into agronomic service.

“We’ll have to see. We do offer some data analysis and organization for customers,” Liskai says. “I could see us moving more in to soil sampling and collecting data for customers in the field.”