DECATUR, ILL. (DTN) -- It's easy to take an agricultural road trip this summer. Just follow along as this year DTN's View From the Cab series heads to Alabama and Nebraska to provide perspectives from these very different growing regions.

Contributors this year will be Stuart Sanderson, of Madison, Alabama, and Ethan Zoerb, of Litchfield, Nebraska.

This represents the 21st year that the View From the Cab feature has followed farmers to the field and beyond. This diary-like report covers current crop conditions, what's happening around the farm and tackles top-of-mind rural issues.

This year's View From the Cab farm correspondents grow primarily corn and soybeans. Water -- mostly getting enough of it -- is a common concern. So is the push to grow crops abundantly and efficiently. Both are multi-generational farmers passionate about educating others about agriculture. Zoerb and Sanderson even have similar side interests of hunting and golf.

However, there are some unique regional differences between their operations and the challenges they face. These are farmers with strong opinions that will offer readers fresh views throughout the 2025 season. Read on to learn a bit more about their respective operations and watch for the series to begin posting April 27.

SWEET HOME ALABAMA

Stuart Sanderson farms in partnership with his uncle, Mike Henderson, and his cousin, Chad Henderson. The fifth generation, a nephew, Jackson, and son, Spencer, are also involved in the farm.

Primarily rooted in Limestone County, Henderson Farms stretches into nearby Madison and Morgan counties, which are all part of the Huntsville Metropolitan Area in north Alabama. The region has a rich farming heritage, but urban sprawl and all the things that come with it make availability to land a challenge. The partners have been able to pick up parcels to offset the losses of leased land to developers, but that's getting more difficult as land gets eaten up by houses, distribution centers and industry.

The operation spans 9,000 acres with about 25% of that irrigated.

Cotton was once a mainstay, but the farm left it behind nearly 20 years ago to pursue more lucrative grain markets. Corn, soybeans and hard red winter wheat make up the current core commodities. The farm also plants a tract of federal land to millet, milo and other grains for the purposes of attracting waterfowl.

Proximity to pet food manufacturing, flour mills and poultry operations tightens basis and offers opportunity to add value. These are grain customers with exacting quality standards, and the farm has continued to expand grain storage and handling capabilities to meet requirements.

Stuart, 54, oversees the business aspects of the operation and Chad manages the field operations. "Grain marketing is something I really enjoy," said Stuart. "We have our specialties, but we all pitch in wherever we are needed." His wife Suzie works as an Information Technology Specialist for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The 2025 planting season has been underway at Henderson Farms since late March. That includes nearly 100 acres of on-farm research plots used to refine agronomic systems. The farm holds many state yield records, including the Alabama conventional irrigated corn yield record of 355.7 bushels per acre (bpa).

"Over the last few years, we've really started pushing bean yields," Stuart said, noting that 100-bpa soybean yields are consistently possible. "Last year (2024) we hit 90-bushel (per acre) on double-crop beans behind wheat."

MINDING NEBRASKA'S MIDDLE

Urban sprawl isn't an issue for Ethan Zoerb. His Litchfield, Nebraska, farm sits about 30 miles north of I-80 and smack in the middle along the longest straight stretch of the U.S. Interstate Highway System.

Travelers along that road might be lulled into thinking the area is all corn and pivot irrigation. "You don't have to drive far, and half the acres become rolling pasture," said Ethan.

Lack of cropland availability is one of the biggest challenges he faces as a young farmer. "There's very little tillable land that comes up for lease or rent here. If it does become available, it's typically a purchase big enough to make a banker's eyes roll," he said.

Although only 33, Ethan has been farming more than half his life. In 2006, he rented his first parcel of land at the age of 14. In 2020, he was able to harvest that 55-acre field as its landowner.

Ethan and his wife, Nichole, and their five children, farm with his parents Dale and Linda Zoerb. Multiple generations of his family have farmed, but he considers himself a second-generation farmer since his parents started from scratch in the 1980s.

Pigs helped build their family operation, but the swine buildings were idled years ago. Livestock hasn't totally disappeared on the farm though -- his father runs some cows, his mother has some chickens, and occasionally there's a litter of golden retrievers in the mix.

However, corn and soybeans are the main enterprise focus today. With average rainfall about 24 inches per year, irrigation is critical to making a crop and nearly every acre sports a pivot. The farm acreage sits in Custer and Sherman counties which contain pockets of Holdrege soils -- the fertile state soil of Nebraska that responds favorably to irrigation and management. With custom plant and harvest figured in, the farm covers around 6,500 acres.

"I'm constantly in the field scouting and pulling tissue samples. We can bring in some good yields here, but I'm convinced we can still do better and keep searching for ways to squeeze more from every input," he said.

He likes working with ag technology and there's a bigger drone on the farm ready to take flight this summer. "I'm looking forward to seeing what it can do in the way of finetuning applications, particularly with fungicides," he said.

Pamela Smith can be reached at pamela.smith@dtn.com

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