“Happy customers are what drives us! Our customers are like family to us. We know the hard work and risk they are putting in every day and we pay them our highest respect. We love to work with our customers and are looking forward to making many more great relationships with hard working people around the world.”

We make your farming easier, safer and more profitable!

A Passion for Farming and Technology

Marcel Kringe’s background in Ag Engineering and Agronomy means he is always thinking about agriculture and solving the challenges ahead. While working as an Agronomist around the world, Marcel kept seeing large amounts of wasted grain; grain that farmers worked so hard to grow. But this waste wasn’t from poor storage or excess moisture, it was from the very equipment meant to capture it: the combine. Marcel, a German-born farmer, relocated to Canada and introduced the Bushel Plus Harvest Loss System to help farmers assess grain loss more safely and accurately during harvest.

FROM FARM BOY TO SERIAL-ENTREPRENEUR

Born to Farm Kringe, Marcel grew up on a family farm in the mountains of Germany. He describes the enterprise as “10 acres, five cows, 10 chickens and a goat.” Four generations lived together and worked the farm, which provided supplemental income, food, and an education. “I stood beside my great-grandfather, grandfather, and father and learned a lot,” Kringe said. “They could fix anything, and they worked hard. Growing up like that, you gain a different perspective on life.” Kringe knew from childhood he wanted to own or work on a farm, and he knew the family operation could never generate enough income to be his life’s work. He pursued an education in agriculture engineering and agronomy in a program that combined classroom theory with the American equivalent of a series of internships. Pursuing his dream, Kringe found a way to satisfy both his love for farming and his interest in seeing the world. His first internship in 2009 took him to Canada for harvest. “That was a 3,000-acre farm, and I thought, ‘This is it; I’ve seen it all,’” he said. “It was what I had dreamed of.” Until … “I went back to university and saw a job posting for a farm in Russia,” he said. “They were trying to build an 80,000- acre farm in three years. They were looking for combine drivers and supervisors for harvest and seeding. I thought, ‘Right on, this is right up my alley.’ Adventure. A different language. It was awesome.” Kringe spent two summers in Russia, another fall in Canada, and three weeks in Brazil working on farms while also completing his university work.

 

After Kringe earned his degree, he settled in Canada with “nothing but a bag of clothes” and an opportunity to “learn English on the go.” He worked on various farms and eventually was hired by Cargill to sell seed and serve as an agronomy consultant to farmers. Meanwhile, as a hobby, he and his team worked on designing a drop tray that would measure waste from a combine more safely. They developed a prototype, which Kringe gave to farmers to try. One of them called him after he had used the prototype for a week. “He said, ‘Hey, we did the math on this, and it saved us $60,000 to $70,000 Canadian,’” Kringe remembers. Things started to happen quickly then. Kringe refined the prototype and produced enough to meet the demand generated through farmer recommendations. He worked for Cargill by day and Bushel Plus at night. Kringe ended up leaving Cargill to focus full-time on Bushel Plus. At that time his goal was to sell 120 pieces of equipment; sales exceeded that goal by many hundreds.

Today, Bushel Plus sells its product on every continent and in more than 30 countries. In addition to being featured in the Ag Innovator magazine, Bushel Plus has created partnerships with combine manufacturers who are incorporating the drop pan into their products by utilizing the Bushel Plus technology in their R&D efforts to create new combines. John Deere and CLAAS recently released a marketing video of a new combine that shows the drop pan product in its field testing; and, in 2022, Case IH spent time with Marcel’s team learning about harvest precision during the 2000-mile USA harvest. Additionally, there isn’t a combine dealer demo in Australia now that doesn’t use the Bushel Plus system for set ups, regardless of the brand.

 

Kringe and the Bushel Plus team also presents to farmers, dealers and manufacturers about managing harvest losses. The Combine Clinics walk operators through
the process for proper combine setup; from header adjustments and concave and sieve readjustment to finally calibrating harvest loss sensors. Kringe has worked at Combine Clinics with some of the largest dealers in Western Canada, the Canola Growers of Canada, the Manitoba Soybean Association and provided harvest precision knowledge in many countries around the world. By sharing these recommendations with farmers, equipment setup becomes simple and quick, and ultimately farmers can save more money during the harvest season.

 

Bushel Plus is a proud member of Agricultural Manufacturers of Canada (AMC) and the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association (FEMA) which provides avenues to continuously promote agribusiness development and growth.

Kringe’s entrepreneurial spirit has led him to expand his business opportunities. He recently acquired Kinetic Ag, a high-speed conveyor company, and founded Freebird Digital Partners, an agribusiness-focused mobile app & software development, website design and high-end professional video production firm. On top of this, Marcel shares his experience

by providing motivational talks and discussing Ag Tech concepts. His entrepreneurial efforts were recognized at the 2022 Brandon Chamber of Commerce Awards Gala where Marcel was presented with the Outstanding Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. This award recognizes a person between the ages of 18 and 40 who has effectively created and managed a business while managing the dangers and rewards of the endeavour.

 

As Bushel Plus continues to expand its distribution network and refine its products and app, Kringe is grateful for his supportive, dedicated team as they remain focused on their mission: “Our number one priority will always be making farms more profitable. Happy customers are what drive us!” Kringe said. “We love to work with our customers and are looking forward to making many more great relationships with hard-working people around the world.”

Customer Testimonials