South Dakota Agri-Business Association Applicator of the Year: Kobus Langenhoven
Jun 07, 2023
Every year, the South Dakota Agri-Business Association awards an Applicator of the Year to a South Dakota applicator who goes above and beyond to care for crops, customers and their community. Agtegra applicator Kobus Langenhoven was recognized as the 2023 award recipient.
“When I was hired at Agtegra, one of the goals I set was to work towards becoming Applicator of the Year,” Langenhoven said. “It was a big accomplishment for me to achieve and to see my hard work pay off.”
Langenhoven grew up on a vegetable farm by Mossel Bay in South Africa. Coming to the U.S. on a work visa in 2014, Langenhoven worked at a farm near Huron where he gained five years of experience working with equipment, spraying and other farm labor.
“I've always been in agriculture,” Langenhoven said. “Running equipment is what I have always liked doing, and becoming an applicator has always been something I wanted to do.”
Langenhoven became a certified applicator in March 2019 and started working at Agtegra’s Carpenter location later that fall. He now covers 45,000-47,000 acres annually with a strip tiller, spreader and sprayer.
“Kobus goes over and above with the service that he provides to our customers,” Jared Madsen, Carpenter Location Manager, said. “He treats every single field that he is in like it is his own and always makes sure the customer is happy.”
In addition to his applicator duties, he also drives truck, performs maintenance on equipment and helps other locations as needed.
“Kobus cares so much about the work that he does and pushes himself to be better every single day by learning and growing in his field,” Madsen said.
“When I was hired at Agtegra, one of the goals I set was to work towards becoming Applicator of the Year,” Langenhoven said. “It was a big accomplishment for me to achieve and to see my hard work pay off.”
Langenhoven grew up on a vegetable farm by Mossel Bay in South Africa. Coming to the U.S. on a work visa in 2014, Langenhoven worked at a farm near Huron where he gained five years of experience working with equipment, spraying and other farm labor.
“I've always been in agriculture,” Langenhoven said. “Running equipment is what I have always liked doing, and becoming an applicator has always been something I wanted to do.”
Langenhoven became a certified applicator in March 2019 and started working at Agtegra’s Carpenter location later that fall. He now covers 45,000-47,000 acres annually with a strip tiller, spreader and sprayer.
“Kobus goes over and above with the service that he provides to our customers,” Jared Madsen, Carpenter Location Manager, said. “He treats every single field that he is in like it is his own and always makes sure the customer is happy.”
In addition to his applicator duties, he also drives truck, performs maintenance on equipment and helps other locations as needed.
“Kobus cares so much about the work that he does and pushes himself to be better every single day by learning and growing in his field,” Madsen said.