Published 11:47 am Monday, December 29, 2025
By Brad Carlson
NAMPA, Idaho — Farmer Scotty Miller was more than happy to build a trailer.
“We just bought a new spray drone,” he said. “Some neighbors got them. I’ve been learning how to use it and building a specialty trailer for it.”
Also recently, Miller put in an Agrimaxx system that introduces electrical frequencies to restructure water molecules’ bonds toward a goal of making the water itself more efficient and effective. He worked with Agrimaxx president Mike Crist to learn the concept and put the system to use.
“He really kept an eye on what i was doing,” Crist said. “He was hands-on the whole way. You couldn’t ask for a better person to partner with … It takes a very special person to take to time to get to know what we are doing.”
From incorporating new technology to readily tweaking the crop mix on the approximately 1,000-acre Miller Farms, Miller strives to retain what has worked on the long-successful farm while keeping the operation nimble.
Farm owner Cleo Miller, Scotty’s grandfather, is widely respected. Scotty’s dad, Mike, worked on the farm for many years before going to work for his father-in-law in another industry. Scotty, who started working on the farm full-time in 2019, recently has been on a path to take over the operation eventually.
Scotty Miller tries do things a lot like his grandfather and father did, because “they were very successful at it,” he said. “But things are a lot different than they used to be.” One difference is substantially higher relative input costs.
Miller is mostly optimistic. The changes he has made on the farm — which grew with the recent addition of about 200 leased acres — “seem to have been successful for us,” he said. “Only time will tell if we’re able to pull it off while the market is still pretty bad. You can only handle so many poor years in a row.”
He expects an approximately two-year payoff on the investment in the spray drone, to be used starting in 2026. Not having to drive over crops to spray and not having to wait for irrigated ground to dry before spraying are among targeted benefits.
A field of seed beans on which the Agrimaxx system was used appeared to have more robust roots and plants, and more pods, compared to a field where the system was not used, Miller said. Post-cleaning yield results were pending as of mid-November.
“We’re looking for any way we can to save some money or to find an affordable way to get better yields out of them,” he said, referring to incorporating Agrimaxx system usage into seed bean production. “There’s a lot to it, but the box is easy to use.”
Miller Farms grows various seed crops — including carrot, pea and echinacea flower, with sweet corn seed to be new in 2026 — feed and silage corn, sugar beets and wheat.
Beans are mostly for seed, with some grown for restaurants.
“We tried to grow a lot more beans” in 2025, Miller said. The increase from 2024 was 35-40%, mainly because the crop paid more compared to crops such as grain corn and wheat.
“We’re trying to grow the crops that are worth more money,” he said. “Sweet corn seed and carrot seed are more of a gamble. If it hits, it pays more. If not, you can lose more.”
The farm in 2025 grew around 25% less wheat, Miller said. The price was low, but challenges associated with reducing wheat acres include that the crop is important for rotations and is a low water user.
He left mint on some of the ground he recently rented, and planted more mint. Though mint prices are favorable compared to prices for some other crops, Idaho acreage is up and prices could drop later — a built-in risk that comes with growing the perennial crop, typically grown for several years.
“You never really know,” Miller said.
Name: Scotty Miller
Title: Farm manager, Miller Farms, Nampa, Idaho
Age: 25
Home: Nampa
Family: Wife, Taylor
Hobbies: Farming, shop work, farm and shop mechanics
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Miller adds technology, new crops while keeping what works – Capital Press
