Two Farmers Win Contest With 50-Year-Old Kinze Grain Carts


Williamsburg, Iowa - Two farmers from Kentucky and Ohio are co-winners in a national contest conducted by Kinze Manufacturing to find the company's oldest grain cart that is still operating.

The Oldest Running Cart Contest was offered to mark the 50th anniversary of Kinze's first grain cart. After building a prototype cart in 1971, company founder Jon Kinzenbaw manufactured the first production run of eight, 400-bushel grain carts and quickly sold them all.

The contest winners - Michael Douglas from Henry County, Kentucky, and Jeremy Smart from Peebles, Ohio - both own carts from that historic first run.

Douglas, who farms with his dad and operates a welding and repair shop, found his cart at a Kentucky dealer. The family had just purchased a semi to haul grain, but it was getting stuck in the field. Finding a solution for getting grain to the road was important for a successful harvest, so they obtained the Kinze cart.

"Only had the one breakdown," Douglas said. "Other than that, I check the oil in the gearbox, hook onto it and go, that's about it. I've got a grain cart that's 50 years old and it's still in the field, so it's pretty high quality. It's a piece of equipment you can appreciate knowing 50 years later it's still just as good as the day it came off the line."

Smart's grain cart somehow made its way to Ohio where his brother-in-law purchased it at a farm sale about 10 years ago. After a few years, however, he needed a cart with a hydraulic auger fold, so he sold it to Smart.

"Apparently my ship has finally come in and they give out awards for keeping old equipment running," Smart quipped. "Obviously, it was manufactured well, and I am quite certain the original augers were in it until three years ago when I re-flighted them."

The two-wheel cart established Kinze as a leading innovator in grain handling technology. It included larger tires to help prevent it from getting stuck in wet fields and a high-speed auger enabling the cart to be unloaded in just three minutes. It was the first of many Kinze innovations over the years to help farmers make planting and harvesting more efficient.

As the grand prize contest winners, Douglas, Smart and their guests traveled to Kinze's corporate headquarters in Williamsburg, Iowa where they enjoyed a private meet-and-greet with Jon Kinzenbaw, toured the Kinze Innovation Center and factory, and were treated to a private tour of Jon's tractor collection. In addition, they received a signed copy of Jon's book, 50 Years of Disruptive Innovation, and a promotional card to the Kinze store. A video featuring the winners' visit to Kinze can be accessed at www.kinze.com/gcvideo.

"We're pleased to congratulate both winners," said Kinze president Susanne Veatch. "The contest was not only meant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Kinze grain cart, but also a way to show appreciation for our customers and demonstrate the durability and longevity of Kinze products."

For more information about Kinze grain carts, as well as planters and tillage equipment, visit www.kinze.com.


About Kinze

Founded 57 years ago on the premise of innovation, Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. markets its planters and grain carts globally and is known for a number of industry "firsts." Kinze operates with core values of integrity, customer focus, excellence, innovation and mutual respect. Kinze Manufacturing is the recognized technology leader and innovator of planters for row-crop production, grain auger grain carts, high-speed tillage equipment and technology offerings. Kinze employees spend their nights and weekends farming, putting them in a unique position to be both manufacturers and customers of the planters and grain carts they build. Copyright 2022 by Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. All rights reserved. Kinze and the Kinze logo are trademarks owned by Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. Kinze Manufacturing, Inc. reserves the right to make changes in engineering, design and specifications, or add improvements at any time without notice or obligation.