The summer issue of the Custom News is here!

In this issue:

• Member feature: Schultz Bros. Forage Service 
• WCO auction reminder
• 2027 Safety event
• Policy updates
• Safety event recap
• Youth tractor safety

For WCO, promoting safety doesn’t begin when someone joins a custom crew. It starts much earlier — with young people learning how to safely operate farm machinery and understanding the responsibility that comes with working in agriculture.

This year, WCO continued that commitment by supporting tractor and farm safety certification programs through our mini-grant program. WCO helped sponsor five sessions at two locations, resulting in 80 young people earning tractor safety certification.

Mark your calendars! WCO and USCHI will co-host a hands-on Safety Training & Certification session on Thursday, March 18, 2027, at the UW Agricultural Research Station in Arlington, Wis. The event is designed for custom operators and crew members to sharpen their safety knowledge ahead of spring fieldwork.

Wisconsin’s August 11 partisan primary officially kicked off the sprint toward the November election. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley won the Democratic nomination for governor and will face Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany in November. Congressional, legislative, and other races were also narrowed during the primary, making the coming months an important time for agriculture to keep rural and farm issues in front of candidates.

By Mike Rankin, senior editor, Hay and Forage Grower

The large forage chopper roared to life. Viewing through the cab window, I watched as the machine gobbled standing corn like a Great Dane eating its first meal after two days of fasting. Sitting next to me and manning the controls with precision was Charlie Schultz, the co-owner of Schultz Brothers Forage Service LLC.

On this fall day, we were traversing cornfields on a dairy farm so close to Chicago that you could almost smell the deep-dish pizza. Schultz and his younger brother Dave started their custom harvesting business a little over 10 years ago. Even though they grew up working on both grandparents’ farms, there was metaphorically no room at the inn when they graduated high school. Dave eventually began hauling livestock across the country while Charlie, after graduating from Iowa State University with a degree in agricultural education, managed river terminals for a large grain exporter.