Garlisch Farms: Rolling Through Hay Season with Case IH

Garlisch Farms

Rolling through hay season with Case IH

The Garlisch family of Mason county comes from a long line of hay and livestock producers in central Illinois. Today, Richard Garlisch and his son, Scott Garlisch, have continued that family tradition with their Case IH equipment.

Richard’s grandparents, Otto and Augusta Garlisch, started the farm around 1925. They left a farm to each of their five children, including Louis Garlisch, Richard’s father. From there, Louis worked to expand their farm ground and build up their cattle operation.

Scott and Richard manage Garlisch Farms today where they grow corn, soybeans, wheat, popcorn, hay, and green beans. With such a diverse array of crops, their crop rotation is important year after year. A field may begin in field corn, then be planted in wheat directly after harvest. Once wheat is harvested in July, they plant 15” soybeans, then plant popcorn the following year.

After wheat harvest, they also use their wheat stubble to bale straw to bed down their cattle. They run a cow-calf operation and raise Simental and Angus cattle as well as crosses between the two, which give them good mothers and feeder cattle. Additionally, they have a small show pig herd which Scott’s sons Cooper (5) and Barrett (3) like to take care of and show all around Illinois.

They take pride in their herd and work hard to develop good genetics and friendly cattle. Once they are born, they take the heifers and hand feed them so that they are all tame and halter broke. They have about 60 head in their herd which are at three different locations around their home.

The Garlischs produce all of their own hay to feed their cattle. Both Richard and Scott grew up bucking bales and spending their summer in the hay field, and now Cooper and Barrett are growing up with those same experiences.

It is important for them to have equipment they can rely on to continuously bale hay throughout the summer, especially with the small windows of time that mother nature allows. The Garlischs have always had red equipment on the farm and have continued that tradition with their hay operation.

Richard loves buying and fixing up older tractors and then using those with an open cab to mow hay with their two Case IH DC93 mower conditioners. However, bigger, safer equipment is necessary after mowing, which is where their newer Case IH tractors come into play.

They use a Farmall 75C to rake and ted the hay and pick up bales from the field, bale with their Maxxum 145 and RB565 baler, and then use a Farmall 95U to unload the bales into the shed back at home. They love the comfort and safety of the cabs, the power and agility of the Farmalls, and the great hydraulics they have.

“We need the extra power and the enclosed cab when baling and moving round bales,” says Scott. “The Farmalls are strong enough to raise a bale, and small enough to fit in tight spaces in the shed.” They have been pleased with all the hay equipment from Case IH and are excited for the new pieces they have ordered for next year. Scott and Richard are happy to work with Central Illinois Ag, from getting parts from Randy in Mason City, working with their hands-on salesman Austin Coers, to having Case IH reps on the farm teaching them how to run their new equipment.

“Austin will come out and spend hours showing us how to operate new equipment; the after-sale support is very important to us,” says Scott. “I can call Michael Schmidt up and ask him questions at any time too which we are grateful for,” says Scott.

The Garlisch family loves what they get to do each day and feel fortunate to have Cooper and Barrett to tag alongside them to become the fifth generation of the farm. “My favorite part of each day is waiting for the boys to get home from school so I can work with them outside,” says Scott. The family farm is near and dear to their hearts, and they would not trade this way of life.

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