A “bad cup of coffee and good conversation” are the two things a group of farmers look forward to nearly every morning in Granger, TX. Jason Schaefer’s article in the Taylor Daily Express reports that as technology continually changes and prices shoot up in a rapidly advancing ag industry, farmers find familiarity and advice through each other at the local Precision Ag Repair.
“You’ve got to have some fun sometime,” Mike Hajda, corn and milo farmer, said in the Precision Ag office Wednesday morning.
Expenses have skyrocketed, evident in the price per ton of fertilizer — up to as much as $460 this year from $150 two years ago, according to Melvin Marek, corn and cotton farmer….
The farmers agree the best prices, the most honest workers and the best repair advice come from Precision Ag, the only place Repa, along with the others, brings his equipment.
“The owners get a lot of business from all over the county,” he said. “They’re good and honest, and they always have decent prices.”
According to Repa, big-business farm equipment dealers charge more for equipment and repair due to increasing overhead costs.
Vrabel said he sees customers from not only all over the county, but also from over Central Texas.
“Word of mouth has been good to us,” said co-owner Tommy Filla…
The group began meeting in the Precision Ag office instead of at the Blackland Co-op Gin down the street about three years ago, Fill said.
“I don’t remember if the gin shut down for a year or something,” Filla said. “It’s still open to them, and a few guys still go over there, but for some reason, they just started coming here.”
A Precision Ag staff member opens the doors at 5:30 a.m. every morning to make the coffee that keeps the farmers going, and the owners give advice and answer repair questions as well as trade their own fair share of jokes and stories…
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