Jerrad Hoffman, Hoffman Farms

Jerrad Hoffman runs his family operation of corn, soybeans, and about 800 head of cattle alongside his dad Maurice and mom Shar, and with his wife Dani, son Sean, and daughter Kristen. The Hoffman Family Farm has been running since 1972 when Jerrad’s parents first started the operation.

Hoffman Farms is located in Bowdle, South Dakota – about 60 miles west of Aberdeen. Even with the distance, Jerrad and his team rely on the Innovation Center to make the trek and help them whenever they need it. As Jerrad says, “That’s not something just anyone would do. It’s not that easy to get people to come out 60 miles when you’re in a hurry to get your crop in or it’s during harvest and you break down.”

We’ve worked with Jerrad and his family on a number of different equipment issues and after-market upgrades. One summer, a problem occurred when the steering on one of Jerrad’s tractors was off. Jerrad explains, “The dealer in town had fooled around with it all Spring and never figured out what the problem was. I was so frustrated. Lance from the Innovation Center came out and figured out that when you tilted the steering wheel up, it drove straight and when you put it back down, it would wander all over the field.” Lance worked on the steering calibration and was able to get the tractor – and Jerrad – back up and running in no time.

Jerrad has learned he can count on Lance and the experts at the Innovation Center to help with the many needs on his operation. “Whenever you have a problem, you call them and they can figure it out pretty quickly. I would recommend them just for the simple fact that when you have something wrong with any make, shape, or color – they can get it going. That’s important to us.”