Landoll Tilloll: Tried and True

Jake Ralph, Landoll Territory Manager

Tilloll:Tried and True

“Tillage is a system; it’s not one piece here, one piece there,” says Jake Ralph, territory manager for Landoll. “There is no right or wrong way to do it, but you have got to have a plan and work your plan.”

Jake Ralph sees tillage as a systematic approach for each individual operation. With his confidence in Landoll equipment and his own knowledge of farming, he is passionate about what he can do to help farmers create their own system with Landoll equipment.

Growing up, Jake was always exposed to and interested in the agriculture industry. He went to college to become a high school ag teacher and FFA advisor but decided to take a different route and got into sales after graduating. A few years back, he also got the opportunity to buy out his grandpa’s grain operation and begin farming, which he believes goes hand in hand with selling farm equipment. In his role as a territory manager for Landoll, he enjoys getting to wear a lot of hats, whether he is with customers promoting sales, in the field turning wrenches, or visiting dealerships to assist salesmen. “This job complements farming well,” says Jake. “It allows me to be in the customer’s shoes, which I think provides a lot of value.”

Being an independent, family-owned company, Jake says that Landoll’s market penetration is very impressive, and that their vertical integration paired with the diversity of products they offer is what makes them unique. They manufacture trailers, tillage, construction equipment, forklifts, and even military equipment, but in the areas of Iowa and Illinois that Jake represents, one main tool stands out: the Tilloll.

“In an industry that has brought about a lot of different tillage pieces, we see a lot of success with a legacy product like the Tilloll,” says Jake. “People still stick with the tried and true because it is what their dad and grandpa ran.”

McLean county is home to the Tilloll as the original was created in Bloomington, Illinois in the 1980s. Today, Landoll is headquartered in Marysville, Kansas, with additional manufacturing locations in Beloit and Waterville, Kansas. Their intention is to keep all production within the US.

Even though the Tilloll has been around for decades, the resurgence of the tool in central Illinois recently has been a direct result of the necessary modernization of the 876 into the 877. “The rebirth of the Tilloll with the 877 was a way for us to keep the bones of the tool the same while modernizing what was already there,” says Jake. “It is pretty superior to what we see in the industry today.”

The leadership team at Landoll knew it was necessary for them to make some updates to the tool to keep up with the rapidly improving

Tilloll 877

technology in agriculture today to maintain its efficiency in the field. To represent this new generation of Landoll, the familiar Landoll yellow paint has been switched to blue.

Jake mentions that with the combination of Case IH increasing horsepower in tractors and farmers wanting to go bigger and faster when it comes to their equipment, Landoll had to adjust accordingly by making the Tilloll a heavier tool that can keep up. “Things have come full circle. The faster we want to plant and can plant with new technology, the better we need the seed bed and prep to be, which is where the 877 comes in,” says Jake.

The Tilloll is praised for being the true “one pass tool,” which is vital in increasing farmers’ productivity, especially here in central Illinois. “Here in black soil country, the Tilloll is beneficial the following spring after deep tillage,” says Jake. “The efficiency with a single pass in the spring makes the field that has been deep tilled more level, incorporates chemicals better, warms soil up, kills weeds, and overall, the process is more efficient.”

Although, the 877 is the number one selling Landoll tool in the area, Landoll tillage does not end there. Jake is confident that the 7530 Adjustable Gang VT is gaining momentum in the Midwest and proving to be a very crucial tool on operations today.

“The 7530 is the most versatile tool we sell,” says Jake. “It is efficient for soybean fields and very beneficial to warm the soil and leave residue on top, while still getting that incorporation in the soil as well.” He also notes that, while being considered a minimal disturbance tool, it has the ability to be aggressive and adapt to changing field conditions with its adjustable gang angles.

Central Illinois Ag is a proud Landoll dealer and with the help of Jake, will work to find the best tillage tool for your soil and your operation. Jake says that the most rewarding part of his job is being able to assist customers in establishing their own tillage system to make them more productive in the long run. “Seeing the salesmen I work with be successful and seeing happy customers buy into and be successful with the product that we believe in is what keeps me going,” says Jake.

He stands behind the quality of Landoll tillage, but acknowledges that at the end of the day, selling agriculture equipment goes deeper than that. “Being able to maintain the highest quality of products keeps us in the doors of dealerships, but it’s a salesman’s relationship with their customers keeps us in business.”

7500 VT Plus Adjustable