For the past 5 decades, Ricky Brown has built more than just innovative farm equipment — he has built a reputation that will outlast him. Known throughout the ag equipment industry for integrity, leadership and a commitment to doing things right, Brown has helped shape the industry through products that solved challenges and relationships built on trust.
“Ricky Brown is one of the kindest, most humble men we have ever met,” says Benjamin Land of Atlantic and Southern, a large multi-store AGCO dealer based in Tifton, Ga., that also carries Brown Mfg. equipment.
That sentiment is repeated by many throughout the industry. Dealers, suppliers and fellow manufacturers recognize Brown not only for how he grew Brown Manufacturing, but also the way he conducts business.
Following his parents, Paul and Sara, Brown has spent his career advancing the family business while leaving his own mark on the industry. He became a respected industry leader, developing products that helped to reshape the market and was an integral part of the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Assn. (FEMA, serving on its board from 1998-2010 and its president from 2008-2009)
Strip-Till Contribution
One of Brown’s early contributions to agricultural innovation came from working with Leo and Jerril Hardin, who wanted a better way to protect their soils. This led the pair to develop what would eventually be one of the first commercial strip-till machines. The Hardins had discovered that crops grew better where the soil was loosened only where the seed would be planted, creating a need for a machine that did not till the entire field.
Ricky worked with the Hardins to turn their idea into equipment, building a two-row strip-till unit in 1972 and a four-row version the following year. In 1980, Brown redesigned the machine, developing a system that Ricky says was about 20 years ahead of its time. Ricky also partnered with Auburn Univ. to demonstrate the system through research plots and grower meetings throughout the Southeast.
Although Brown Mfg. eventually moved away from producing the equipment, selling the patent to Bush Hog Corp. in 1981, the work helped lay the foundation for modern strip-tillage practices. Today there are 26 wholegoods manufacturers supplying a practice whose time is arriving after relatively small acreages to date.
“We were the pioneers,” Ricky says. “You can always tell the pioneer because he’s the guy with his face in the mud and the arrow in his back.”
Ricky is quick to recognize that the creation of the product was a team effort, giving “eternal thanks” and credit to the Hardin family for their vision.
“They built the first prototype," Ricky says. “They helped us build prototypes for years. I can’t thank them enough for what they did.”
Click here to read the full story on Ricky Brown's Hall of Fame career.
