In 2007, Glen Kadelbach was out harvesting conventional soybeans and he noticed his neighbor's soybeans. He noticed how tall, bushy and full of pods they were, while his beans looked terrible. Glen started asking questions. Who's running the field? Why do they look so much better than his? He found out they were Certified Organic beans. This got him thinking about other ways of farming. Glen connected with the grower and he became Glen's mentor.
2007
2008
The following spring (2008), Glen was gearing up to transition the entire farm to become organic. As part of the transition, Glen bought several pieces of new equipment to manage the crops: a tine weeder, rotary hoe, cultivators and a flame weeder to name a few.
2008
2011
In September 2011, the farm was officially Certified Organic. Glen saw great results with the flame weeder BUT from time to time one of the torches would go out. That left a row of weeds. Not good. Like a lot of farmers, he went to his farm shop to figure out how to eliminate flame outs.
2011
2018 / 2019
During the winter of 2018/2019 Glen and a couple retired engineers developed the first dual orifice torch for flame weeders. Glen proceeded to build his first 12-row flame weeder. Some of the area organic farmers noticed what Glen had built. They asked if he had ever thought about building units for other farmers. Glen gave it some thought, talked it over with his family, and started Kadelbach Manufacturing, LLC in August 2019.
2018 / 2019
Today
Since then, Kadelbach MFG has built and shipped flame weeders all over the country - helping organic farmers control weeds and in turn helping their operation become more profitable. Glen continues to innovate his flame weeding equipment. He listens to suggestions and ideas from current customers. He also believes that over time, every farm will need a flame weeder. It is an important tool to have when you need it.
