Merlin Schantz Farm in Oklahoma: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Merlin Schantz Farm is a family cotton operation near Hydro, Oklahoma. Merlin Schantz won the 2018 Farm Press and Cotton Foundation High Cotton Award for the Southwest Region, and his family farm traces back to about 1890.
| Location | Near Hydro, Oklahoma |
|---|---|
| Founded | Established around 1890 by Merlin's great-grandfather, a German immigrant |
| Sectors | cotton; peanuts; chile peppers; seed wheat; soybeans or cowpeas |
| Scale | Total acreage not published in the profile reviewed |
| Why it is notable | 2018 Farm Press/Cotton Foundation High Cotton Award, Southwest Region |
| Ownership | Family: Merlin and Lillian Schantz with sons Aaron and Ben, daughter Jana and son-in-law Matt |
| Official website | Farm Press profile of Merlin Schantz |
History of Merlin Schantz Farm
According to Farm Press, Merlin Schantz's great-grandfather, a German immigrant, established the farm around 1890. His grandfather began building terraces in the 1930s and 1940s, an early soil conservation step on rolling southwest Oklahoma ground.
The farm left cotton for five years because of the boll weevil, sending its equipment to Kansas. Merlin dug his first irrigation well in 1992. The profile also describes a hard stretch after his father expanded the operation in the 1980s, when Merlin and Lillian started a custom farming business to keep things afloat. The farm now includes sons, a daughter and a son-in-law.
What Merlin Schantz Farm Grows and Raises
Cotton is the largest acreage, grown both irrigated and dryland. Irrigated cotton is solid-planted on 36-inch rows at 46,000 to 48,000 seeds per acre. Most of it is planted no-till or Ro-till, and Merlin plants a cover crop on nearly every acre. Dryland cotton goes in with a two-and-one skip-row pattern, and irrigation comes from center pivots with nozzles set 5 to 6 feet above the ground.
He moved irrigated acreage to picker harvest to improve quality and harvests at about 12 percent moisture. He hosts Oklahoma State University Research and Extension trials, works with cotton extension lead Randy Boman, and tests many cotton varieties, sometimes more than 25.
Other crops include peanuts, chile peppers, seed wheat, and soybeans or cowpeas depending on markets. He has also grown vegetables.
How Merlin Schantz Farm Makes Money
Cotton
Cotton lint is the main crop and income driver. Yields and revenue are not published.
Rotation and specialty crops
Peanuts, chile peppers, seed wheat and soybeans or cowpeas diversify income and rotation, depending on markets.
Custom farming and research
The family has used custom farming to stabilize cash flow, and it hosts university variety trials that keep the farm close to new technology.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Merlin Schantz Farm
Protect soil and water first. Terraces, cover crops, no-till and low-nozzle pivots show a long chain of conservation decisions, the kind that High Cotton judges look for.
Keep a flexible crop list. Choosing between soybeans, cowpeas and other crops based on market lets the farm respond to price.
Partner with the university. Hosting trials and testing many varieties gives a grower local data on what works.
Cotton in Caddo County proves that the fields really can look like snow in October, which is a wonderful thing until someone asks about the forecast. For farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, stop by farm.FM, where every picker operator has opinions on module wrap. We joke with respect, because a grower who tests 25 varieties clearly takes the work seriously.
If the name is new to you, farm.FM is the nation's first satirical farm site, with Tractor Tunes country music for farmers on the side. One of its regular writers keeps a whole archive of stories like that.
How to Contact Merlin Schantz Farm
No farm website, address, phone or email was verified. The page above is the Farm Press High Cotton Award profile. Oklahoma State University cotton extension can help with industry contact.
Merlin Schantz Farm Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Farm Progress: Merlin Schantz profile - High Cotton Award feature on the farm
- Oklahoma Farm Bureau: cotton crop looks good - state farm organization coverage of Oklahoma cotton
- Oklahoma State University: SUNUP cotton harvest - university video on Oklahoma cotton harvest
- USDA NASS Census of Agriculture - national and state farm counts, acreage and sales data
- USDA Farmers.gov - federal programs for farmers and ranchers
Merlin Schantz Farm FAQ
Where is the Schantz farm?
Near Hydro, Oklahoma.
What does it grow?
Cotton, peanuts, chile peppers, seed wheat and soybeans or cowpeas.
What award did it win?
The 2018 Farm Press and Cotton Foundation High Cotton Award, Southwest Region.
How can I contact it?
No direct contact was verified; see the Farm Press profile.
Merlin Schantz Farm shows what long conservation habits, careful testing and a flexible rotation can do for a southwest Oklahoma cotton farm. For more on Merlin Schantz Farm and its region, read the state guide to Oklahoma farms.