According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, innovation is a new idea, method or device, whereas tradition is an inherited, established or customary pattern of thought, action or behavior. Innovation and tradition are often in juxtaposition … (cough, cough “that’s not how we’ve always done it”) … but what if that doesn’t have to be the case. What if innovation is forged from tradition?
What a year it has been for us. From reflecting on our roots and those who made this significant anniversary possible, to celebrating new milestones, 2024 has been both humbling and reinvigorating.
From one young man with a truck and a milk route to the Stutsmans of today, our vision has been the same: to serve customers like you for success through new opportunities, whether that’s products, services, or technology.
I grew up on a farm near Stutsmans. In 1980, I was 18 years old and looking for a job. Seeing the big applicators Stutsmans had, I knew I wanted to run big equipment. On my first day, after Ron Stutsman hired me, I gave a few details about myself to Larry Culver in the office and went down to the shop to start working. My first task was sweeping the welding rods out of a new nitrogen tank. A lot of various tasks followed in my early years: torching steel, cutting and loading scrap, running application equipment and building grain bins. Wherever we were needed, that’s what we did. One day I might be driving a straight truck and picking up a few cows to put on the semi, the next I would be helping repair fertilizer spreaders to sell. Salvaging and fixing up equipment was something we did a lot in the ’80s; it was one of the ways we were able to get through those tough times.
In late 2014, a seed was planted for the start of the wholesale hose and valve division, although it would be years before an actual division would form. Ryan McCarty came on to the team and brought his knowledge and expertise with all things hose. His previous experience gave us better purchasing power to offer more competitive prices on many of our product lines. He lined up the initial sourcing that was vital to the start of the wholesale hose and valve division. In 2015, Logan Stutsman (fourth generation) joined the team and added his entrepreneurial spirit to the venture. The team worked at a small desk behind the parts counter in the retail center for two years before outgrowing their space. The pair started by focusing on manure and sprayer-style products including valves, hoses, fittings and clamps.
With humble beginnings, two men and a small office rental space in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, led to a new business entity for us. Dennis Akers and Kirk Benidixsen worked with Scott Stutsman and John Mast over the years and had developed a great relationship when it came to trucking. The relationship made it easy to have a conversation with Scott Stutsman about starting a freight brokerage company. Dennis and Kirk were so committed and confident in the business proposition that they had already left their employer. With Dennis’ customer base and Kirk’s relationship with carriers, it was an easy decision to add Stutsman Logistics (SLI) to the service offering.
When thinking about the small, relatively rural town of Walcott, Iowa, many will think of the place known for bringing drivers from near and far, the Iowa 80 Truckstop, also known as the World’s Largest Truck Stop. What many don’t know is just behind the famous truck stop is a farming operation started in the mid-1800s when a man named Frederick Paustian ventured to the U.S. from Germany and landed in Walcott. It’s an operation that has remained in the Paustian family since.
Our very first dealings in field application equipment began when we became Hahn dealers in the ’60s. Although we enjoyed being a dealer, it became too much with the rapidly growing fertilizer business. Hahn sales and service responsibilities naturally overlapped with the busy fertilizer season. Although we dabbled in some sprayer and sprayer parts sales, the division truly started to form and diversify when agricultural technology came to the forefront in the 1990s.
Although we sold hog feed and Star Big Butch feeders early on, we spread our service to the hog industry in the early ’70s when we sold our first Better-Bilt manure spreader. In the thick of fertilizer season, Leland Pearson rolled into Hills with a Better-Bilt manure spreader hooked behind his Oldsmobile station wagon. Leland, the founder of Better-Bilt, asked Eldon if he was interested in becoming a dealer. Eldon agreed that if Stutsmans could sell this tank, they would buy a second. When Leland returned in two weeks, the tank was gone.
There is much to admire about those who work hard in silence. They’re guaranteed to be kind, humble and people you can rely on. What they probably won’t be is someone to jump into the spotlight. This rings true for the Waldschmidts; they exemplify the importance of family and working together toward common goals.
For the Waldschmidts, farming runs in their blood.
“It goes back clear to the beginning,” Ron Waldschmidt said. “We were always farmers. My grandfather, my great grandfather, both sides of the family, they were all farmers.”
Progress is impossible without change. Throughout our story, change sometimes came naturally as we found new ways to serve others. Other times, we had to be more proactive to adapt how we were doing business. Both types of change are woven throughout our agronomy story.
