By Suzannah Schneider, Communications Manager and Certification Coordinator
BCS America’s GM Larry Seymour breaking ground with the Rotary Plow attachment
If you’re a Certified Naturally Grown farmer, you’re probably already pretty well-versed in this Business Ally’s work!
BCS America’s two-wheel tractors bring tilling to a more human-sized scale for the direct-market farmer. The company’s walk-behind tractors and myriad attachments help make essential farm tasks like breaking ground, clearing pathways, and throwing snow simpler and faster so you can “plow” through your to-do list at lightning speed. Plus, these lightweight and effective machines mean less compaction for better soil health.
We caught up with BCS America‘s General Manager Larry Seymour to learn all about the origins and mission of this essential small farm company.
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Certified Naturally Grown (CNG): How did BCS get started?
Larry Seymour (LS): In 1943, BCS was founded in a village near Milan, Italy with the design and manufacture of one of the world’s first self-propelled mowing machines. Soon, it relieved regional farmers from the hard labor of mowing hay with scythes and enabled them to take multiple hay cuttings each year from their fertile fields. From that humble beginning, BCS has grown and increased its product offerings to include two-wheel tractors and attachments that are enjoyed and utilized in 100 countries around the world.
CNG: What are BCS America’s core values?
LS: Since the early 1970s, the distribution of BCS two-wheel tractors and attachments in North America has pursued these same two goals: to help minimize the back-breaking elements of physical labor while increasing the enjoyment and productivity of avid gardeners, homesteaders, and commercial farmers.
CNG: How did you make the decision to support CNG as a Business Ally?
LS: BCS’s light-weight, small-scale farm equipment is perfectly suited to those of us who want to build our soil, avoid the compaction of heavy equipment, and maintain close personal contact with our crops. With interchangeable and nimble attachments to mechanically control weeds, build raised beds, and incorporate organic matter, the two-wheel tractor serves as a valuable ally for those of us dedicated to minimum tillage and non-chemical approaches that do right by all involved – the grower, the consumer, and the environment.
CNG: How does Certified Naturally Grown support BCS America’s customers?
LS: CNG can facilitate needed networking between growers and those who design and manufacture their tools. With feedback from its customers, BCS can refine its existing products and design new ones that will contribute to the growers’ needs.
CNG: What are some exciting developments at BCS America our CNG community can look forward to in the future?
LS:An example of such communication is our development of a precision depth roller for the rotary tiller that enables a limited tine penetration of 1”-2” – perfect for mixing a compost amendment between succession plantings, without the negative effects of mixing soil layers or bringing dormant weed seeds up into the germination zone. The full-length roller that follows the tines lightly compacts the soil for better germination of directly seeded crops and increases the efficiency of ground-driven seeders.
CNG: If you had a magic agricultural wand, how would you use it to improve farm systems in America?
LS:My magic wand would wave in the direction of food-eaters. If an increasing percentage of our population become aware of the nutritional and flavor value of fresh, locally-produced, organic foods, I am confident that the consumer demand will create the supply systems (including CNG, its members, and BCS) needed to fulfill it.
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