John Story, Missouri

“When I took over Wolf Island Farms in Wolf Island, Missouri from my father in 1994, I started with four combines. As header and combine technology advanced, I was able to reduce that to just two combines with the same performance – but I still was not satisfied.”

“I truly struggled over this decision I was about to make. There was something in me that drove me to maximum efficiency. I wanted to know if I could do it – could I pull in 700,000 bushels of wheat, corn and soybeans in one year with just one machine?”

“The answer, it ends up, was yes! I traded two other large combines with two 30' heads and two 12-row corn heads for just one LEXION 590R with a 40' head (F540) and a 16-row corn head (C516-30). I did so just before wheat harvest. It was risky, but I had to give it a try.”

“I not only saw positive results, but startling results. The capacity of a LEXION is truly unbelievable. You just can’t believe it until you see it perform in a field. My two 750 bushel grain carts and four Mack trucks couldn’t keep up with it. In fact, I even had to add another semi to my operation this year – going from four to five – and still couldn’t keep the corn away from this beast! It made a believer out of other local farmers too. They couldn’t resist parking on my end row to watch, mesmerized, as this machine shelled 240 bushels per acre of corn at over 5.5 miles per hour!”

“There are so many positives about this machine. The APS Threshing System is a key component to getting this much capacity. The JET STREAM™ Cleaning System is phenomenal. The Cat® engine has tons of horsepower and torque. You never hear groans or see black smoke. The expandable grain tank is easy to close up and take home if a shower blows up. It also makes the combine easier to get in the shed. And to top it all off – it burns less fuel than a smaller combine!”

John Story - Wolf Island Farms, Wolf Island, Missouri

- Owns a LEXION 590R, F540 flex head and C516-30 corn head

- Harvests wheat, soybeans and corn