We'd Like To Mention

I'll admit: I didn't give two hoots about tractors until I had my son. We'd sit with this magazine, turn the pages and count the tractors, combines and sprayers. Through a child's eyes, a tractor is a mammoth machine capable of moving the earth, whether it has a manual clutch or autosteer. The wonder was contagious.

Sure, I'd driven vehicles other than a car. I enjoyed the John Deere riding lawn mower that made me feel rich in high school, and I got a thrill from utility vehicle ride-and-drive events. But horsepower? Torque? Payload? Absolutely beyond me.

I decided my ambivalence was a detriment in 2023, so I drove up to Louisville to walk the floor of the National Farm Machinery Show for a self-guided education. My respect for the variety and nuance of agricultural equipment grew, but shadowing Progressive Farmer Machinery Editor Dan Miller this spring opened my eyes to what I, as I non-farmer, couldn't see.

Every equipment manufacturer told us about the adjustments that made the 2026 model better than those that came before it. A little more power, a new attachment, a redesigned cab, all mixed with subtle technological evolutions.

Halfway through our walk-around, I knew I needed to get behind the wheel of one of these computerized, techno-wizard workhorses. Stacy Anthony, CEO of AgRevolution -- a wholly owned AGCO subsidiary operating 12 dealerships across Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio with a fleet of 61 service trucks offering Fendt, Massey Ferguson and PTx brands -- invited me to Hopkinsville, Kentucky, for a test drive.

First, he put me in a Fendt 728 Vario. I quickly learned that while you can drive it like a car, the joystick provides a lot more subtle adaptation and quick control. It also made it feel a bit like playing a video game.

It had the biggest engine I'd ever driven until I hopped into the cab of the Fendt 1162 Vario MT with twin tracks and its more than 600-hp engine. I did what any beginning driver who feels like they're in a video game would do: doughnuts. I hit it so hard out of the gate, I instinctively pulled back, but I'm sure that was just newbie nerves. I came nowhere close to testing its limits.

We all got a good laugh, but contrasting the different engines taught me about horsepower, something that, until early June, was just numbers on a page to me. It also gave me a deeper appreciation for the sheer amount of engineering and evolution behind today's farm equipment.

At the end of the day, though, it has a job to do. If it can't pull the planter, tillage tool, baler or grain cart, what use is it? Farm equipment must work, first and foremost. All the efficiency-driving technology comes second.

One thing I've heard repeatedly over the past year is that technology -- autonomous tractors, drones, AI-driven data analysis -- is what's attracting the next generation to the farm. I can see why. It's cutting edge. It's exciting.

The two must work together to make sure the work gets done, preferably before the next rain shower.

WELCOME JAKE ZAJKOWSKI

Ag Policy Editor Jake Zajkowski joined DTN in June 2026 as a Washington, D.C.-based correspondent covering political affairs and news in agriculture.

Raised in northwest Ohio, Jake got his start working in the horticulture industry and participating in FFA. He later moved to New York to earn a degree in agricultural sciences from Cornell University. He worked in farm broadcasting and turfgrass Extension communications before transitioning into print and digital journalism in 2023.

Jake has contributed to numerous agricultural publications, including Farm & Dairy, AgDaily, Offrange, Agri-Pulse and the Cornell Chronicle. An active member of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists, he has traveled and reported across four continents.

A SOMBER NOTE OF COMMEMORATION

Dan Crummett, a longtime contributing editor to Progressive Farmer whose journalism career spanned more than 40 years, died on June 23, 2026. He often wrote feature stories about conservation-focused farmers, and we at Progressive Farmer have several of his stories to publish. When we do, it'll be with fond remembrance of a man whose words explained so much of the world to so many.

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-- You may email Katie at katie.dehlinger@dtn.com, or follow Katie on social platform X @KatieD_DTN

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