To keep a family farm running successfully for more than 165 years, you must be true caretakers of the land, plan for the future and be flexible when a season takes an unexpected turn.
The Manchester family, owners of the sixth-generation Manchester Farms in west central Ohio, understand that better than anyone, having farmed their land since 1858.
"We've got a legacy to uphold," said Caleb Wilson, who along with his wife, Karen Manchester, now manage the farm after Manchester's parents stepped back from the day-to-day operations. "Generations before have done great things and kept the farm in the family. We aim to be good stewards of the land and the resources God's given us."
Sometimes the farm requires major changes, such as planting a different crop or looking into a new market to sell at harvest. Other times it's a bit simpler, like deciding what to do when a piece of equipment takes out your ag shop door. When faced with such a conundrum, Wilson found the answer with Schweiss Doors.
The shop had been part of the farm since the late 1990s and included two bifold doors. One of those bifolds was bent out of shape when a tractor and grain cart, with its grain auger fully extended, smashed into the door. Wilson called Elgin Service Center, the company that originally erected the building and installed the doors, to have a look at the damaged bifold door.
"They came out and looked at it and said it'll never close right," Wilson said. "The insurance company agreed to total the door and just reimburse us for what a new door was."
With the insurance money in hand, Wilson began looking for a replacement door. He's a fan of the bifold door design over the hydraulic one-piece option that is also popular for buildings like ag shops and aviation hangars. The main reason is Wilson doesn't want to risk the door hitting anything when it opens. A hydraulic door swings out as it rises, meaning a clear space the entire length of the door must be left open in front of the door. With a bifold door, the clear space is much smaller, as the door lifts directly up and folds in half.
While the former bifold door on the Manchester ag shop had performed well, it was an older model, using metal cables to lift the door. Wilson likes the fabric liftstraps of the Schweiss door, believing they would operate better over time, requiring less maintenance. The cost of the Schweiss door also was comparable to other bifold brands.
What really sold Wilson on Schweiss Doors was the delivery time it offered.
"The Schweiss door was available within six to eight weeks, while the other company was six months, their lead time was just really long," Wilson said. "I didn't want to wait."
Wilson ordered a new bifold, measuring 45 ft. wide by 15 ft. tall, with the automatic strap latch and remotes from Schweiss Doors. He also had two windows put into the door, to provide much-needed natural light.
"It was dark in there before and now we see daylight when you're working in the shop, even in wintertime," Wilson said. "It's nice to have some fresh daylight. It's a mood thing if nothing else.'
Wilson also has grown to like how one starts and stops the door. While the door can be set up for automatic open/close, it requires the door to have certain safety features, like photo eye sensors or a door base safety edge. The Manchester Farm doesn't have any of those extra features, so the door requires someone to always be present at the controls, putting constant pressure on the open or close button. Wilson already knows what happens when a door and a piece of farm equipment come into conflict, so he likes that there should always be someone watching as the door is operating.
"It is a safety feature that keeps us from shutting the door on something," Wilson said. "It slows you down for a minute."
The shop building did require modifications so the new bifold door would fit smoothly into the opening. Wilson said the header had to be raised, but once that was completed, the door mounted easily and was clad in metal siding like the rest of the building.
The hope is to one day clad the interior of the door as well, but Wilson said it's a project for another day. The to-do list on a farm never seems to end or get shorter, and with 15 years under his belt, Wilson has already been part of new developments at Manchester.
For more information, visit bifold.com.
