These lawn care tools Blew my Mind

All right, you guys. We're off to Iowa today where the women are corn-fed and the lawn care technology is absolutely cutting edge. We're going to check out the latest and greatest innovations coming down the pipeline for lawn care enthusiasts in 2026. Let's do this thing. All right. All right. Good enough, Corey. All right, you guys. I'm here with Corey from Ballard Products and this is your basically your gold standard of blades. Is that right? >> It's got the carbide titanium cutting edge on it. So, it's just going to last longer. It can take a beating. I know I hit right there in the middle, but we're smashing some concrete. And Stan, I think it's obvious that I don't spin or hit it as hard as a mower turns, but we're just showing you the strength of the cutting edge. >> So, you guys, I'm here in Iowa. What part of Iowa are we at, Corey? >> Granger, Iowa. >> So, this is your new corporate headquarters, right? >> been here about 2 years. >> And these are all of the blades that you sell? >> Uh these are our blades and then of course we've got an Oregon and an Exmark blade there that we were beating on earlier as well. So, we're always testing everybody else's blades. We also have a Rockwell tester inside that we test the hardness of all the competitors' blades as well as our own. >> And we're going to be looking at five or six brand new products that you sell through your online website, which is what? >> ballardinc.com >> All right. So, Corey, what you guys may not know about him, you started mowing when you were 14 years old and you're 51 now. >> Correct. Long time. >> And you started Ballard Inc., your products category, in 1999. >> Yeah, our first patent was 1999. So, we've been doing this 27 years. I know with social media, some people think we just maybe got rolling a couple years ago, but we've been doing this a long time. Um we've got several thousand products now and uh >> And a lot of them you invented yourself, which is what something a lot of people don't know is that you have you hold a number of patents for your own products that you invented because you started with perfect cuts and that was a that blew up. That was like a monster company, wasn't it? >> ended up having three locations and around 200 employees. So, we sold that to a national in October of '21. Still involved with it a little bit today, but yeah, we started creating products to make our lives a little bit easier and then we thought, well >> Show me Show me your next one. >> Yeah, so we got the super jack here. So, this was actually the second product that we came out with. I'll have Austin show you how that works. So, just allows you to get underneath your mower safely to change the blade, sharpen the blade, scrape the deck. Um So, Austin will show you this. Super simple. I think people think the hardest part is setting it down. You can see that it's easy to set down. Austin, go ahead and lift that back up and I'll show them how strong it is when it's So, when you we've got a break there right on the end. So, people always think that you're going to hit the you know, knock this out and it's going to fall out. When this is underneath there that mower's not going anywhere. So, you can get underneath there. There's about 24 in of clearance. You can get your impact underneath there. You can change the blade, you can sharpen the blade, you can scrape the deck, service the mower. >> Now, you patented that. Did you also patent the log? Cuz I I see you have that up on >> Yeah, this one's special though. Nobody else can have any logs in their facility. That's the hillbilly way. So, we have the log out here cuz I've seen guys do this and listen, it works. You can pull your mower up on your gate if you want, but the super jack is super nice. You can have it out in the field, you can have it in your yard, you can have it you can use it on gravel, rock your shop obviously. A lot of guys take them out in the field and you know, if they get if they catch something in the middle of the day and they want to change blades, they have the ability to do that. >> So, why do you have this one then, Corey? >> Yeah, so the easy pro lift allows you to lift from the front and the back. Also a little bit less physical, right? You've got to be in pretty decent shape. It's more technique with the super jack, but for guys that want to just be able to put this in here and crank this hydraulic jack, get underneath there safely, we've got this option as well. This also works on your lawn tractor. So, really the Super Jack's going to work on your stand-ons, your zero turns, your walk-behinds. But, if you've got a lawn garden tractor, you want to lift the front or the back. So, this one's obviously slower though. That's the difference with something like this. You know, when you've got a hydraulic jack, you've got a it's a little bit slower process, right? So, this is for guys that may have a bad back, a bad shoulder, a bad knee. They just don't want to put the effort in at the end of the day. They want the easy-peasy way of getting this up and down or versatility is what I'm understanding this. Right. This one takes up a little bit more room. So, if it's in your garage or your shop, it takes up a little bit more room. So, you've got to lift this up hydraulically though, but not near as physical. You can also lift this from the back. So, that's the unlike the Super Jack where you lift from the front of the deck. So, those are adjustable. Okay, so then after that, it's the same process. Now, if you have a mower like the cheetah over there, will it lift that up? Absolutely. It'll lift any of these machines. Lawn you know, big tractors, lawn tractors. Absolutely. Cuz I think people also get a little bit confused by the weight. So, you're not lifting the entire machine, obviously. You're lifting the back or you're lifting the front. So, guys will say, "Well, my Kubota weighs 1,500 lb. It says it's only rated for up to, you know, 1,000 lb." Well, you're not lifting the entire machine in the air. You're just lifting the back, right? Or just the front. different note, what are we looking at with this? Oh, so the T-Rex. So, this just allows you to carry a string trimmer with you. Um a lot of guys that do commercial properties, uh you know, their truck may be a quarter mile away, a half mile away. They're maybe around the back side of a HOA or a large commercial property. They can put their string trimmer right here. They get done mowing, they take the trimmer off, they trim, they put it right back on. So, it allows them to keep a string trimmer with them at all times. And I noticed you got something on the other side, but we're going to come back to that. come back to the Super Jack in a sec. we'll come back to that because you've got another really cool product that I think the lock picking lawyer will have a heyday with. >> can get into them. That's what we get every time. Like he can get into that. Well, he breaks into bank vaults. I'm pretty sure he can break into a trailer lock, but you know, we really created this for the guy that keeps his trailer and is maybe in his driveway, a small shop. I know you guys are going to tell me that you can cut through this with it with a cutoff tool or you can break it. You certainly can. I There's a bank right next door. Stan and you and I were joking like you can throw a brick through the front window of the bank, but they still set the alarm at night. So, when most low-level thieves when they try to get a trailer, they're looking for the path of least resistance, right? So, we've got our Ballard ax lock. It's the coupler lock and we've also got the padlock. They both have a 120 decibel alarm system on them. >> Uh yes, you can get them you can buy a combo or you can buy just a padlock or you can buy just a coupler lock. >> Okay. >> Um and they're fully adjustable. Um they've been knocked off by a few people on Amazon, too. But, so if you mess with this do you want the alarm to go off, Stan? >> Yeah, go for it. >> want to mess with this lock or you mess with this coupler, it's going to do that for a second and then this other one's going to kick on. So, 120 decibels. Most of your low-level thieves are going to hightail it, right? Cuz this is going off in a residential section, even a commercial I think even a commercial facility you're most likely going to take off. So, it just goes off for a short amount of time. That way if the wind catches it or something happens, it doesn't run your battery down as well. >> When you say that they're going to try to saw all it off, it's going to be going off the entire time that someone's trying to saw it off. >> When they're moving >> Even if they can saw all it in a minute and a half, you've got 120 decibels saying stop. >> Right. Well, yeah, as soon as they start to mess with it and you start fiddling with it, that alarm goes off. Most of the time your guys, again, your low-level thieves are going to take off. Can Can a locksmith get through that? Absolutely. Can you cut it off? Absolutely. >> tough is it? Just in standard everyday Yeah, let's see if Let's see if >> Oh boy, I don't know if I'm in shape for this. I don't know. I mean, I'm going to be winded now, Stan. And I'm sure someone's going to say you hit like a girl. Well, come on out. Let's do it. So, again, it's going to be strong. We've got this one screaming. We've got that one beat up. Again, you can cut that thing off, I'm sure, with the right tools, just like anything. But, you know, for a guy looking to spend 100 bucks, 100 and a quarter, to protect his trailer, I think it's a simple investment. >> You've got some more lawn mower accessories though that we have not yet seen. >> accessories. So, this is like a portable leaf catcher on steroids. >> Right. So, I'm looking at it right. >> Yeah, so any brand, whether you've got the Ballard Catch Pro, Accelerator, Rack'em, there's a bunch of different side catchers. What we've got here is the Bonus Bagger, and we've got a Bonus Bagger Junior that's a little bit smaller. It just allows you to get extra capacity. This is not for catching grass, it gets too heavy. This is for leaf removal, fall time only. So, it just allows you to get about 35 cubic feet additional capacity in there. So, for guys doing leaf cleanups, as you know, Stan, this thing fills up pretty quick, right? You're doing a leaf cleanup, you're going to fill that thing up, you're going to be dumping it non-stop. So, you can get this. We did launch this last year. We sold a bunch of them. We had a few, just full transparency, we had some zipper issues. We've strengthened it up. We've added some additional support on the bottom and we've also added a smaller size for guys that want something a little bit lighter. Maybe you're putting it on a 32 or a 36-in mower. So, the ventilation's absolutely important. We've got this window here so you can see what your capacity is so you're not always checking it and seeing how full it is. And then on the bottom, we've got the strong PVC plastic and we've also got the wear strips that allow it to drag a little bit. You're not going to You're not going to want to drag this fully loaded or fully filled across concrete for an extended amount of time, but you will cross over a driveway or a sidewalk. Um, but people have been doing this for 35 years. We were wrapping tarps around baggers in the '90s. Um, there's been several companies that have tried to launch products like this and have not been very successful, but um, we did really good with it last year. We've improved it. So, we've got the bonus bagger and then we've got a junior version, like I said, for guys with a little bit smaller machine that don't have quite enough um, velocity to fill it and also for people that, you know, it just It gets heavy enough when it's full of leaves and and you've got to carry maybe dump it in a dumpster. Um, just the other one's 28 cubic feet. So, it just allows you to maybe manhandle it a little bit better. >> Okay. Now, when we were over there, we alluded to something and that is like the Cadillac of the systems that are available, right? You've got What did you What did you call it? The Pinto? >> We had the Pinto, the I don't know. The we we got the Chevy and then >> The Chevy Cavalier and then the Cadillac, maybe? >> All right, let's go look at it. >> For sure. So, I think one of the first things people do when they buy a mower is look for a shoot blocker, right? And there's a lot of different versions of shoot blockers out there. There's electric ones. There's, you know, manual ones. There's all different price points, but I think most commercial guys and even residential people, um, realize the value of a shoot blocker. Um, it doesn't really necessarily make your machine a mulching machine. There's a little misconception there, but it does block the discharge from going where it doesn't belong. So, when we mow this facility, I don't want to blow grass into our rock beds or our mulch beds against our building on the backside there's windows. So it allows you to control the discharge and in the fall it really allows you to put mulching blades on. So this is our most simple version. This is our Go Guard Junior and we have a Go Guard that's just a little bit bigger than this for for guys that are looking for a cost-effective way just to cover. So this is stainless steel. Very simple. You've got the thumb tabs here. It also comes with bolts if you really want to leave it on more permanently cuz these will back off. They can loosen up over time. You can also use it just a dab of Loctite. >> Now would this be the Pinto? >> Well, yeah. For a guy that wants to spend 60 bucks and have a shoot blocker, a shoot guard on there that's simple, durable, does what it needs to do, but he also does not have the ability to open and close it as he's mowing. So if he wants to take it off, he's got to simply stop, pull it off, set it on the deck. It does come with magnets so you can kind of magnet to your deck if you really want to. >> you don't lose it. Now this is your next level up, right? >> Yeah, so this is the Chevy Cavalier. >> So this design has been around for a long time and so this is on a stand-on we've got the extended handle that comes with every unit. If it's on a walk or if it's on a sit-down you just use the regular handle. All steel. Just allows you to open and close the discharge here. Very simple. >> Does it give you any adjustability? Can you partially open it? Can you partially close it or is it all in or all out? >> It's all in. Yeah, so you open or close unless you had your hand on it when you're mowing. That's kind of one of the things that I don't like, you know, but shoot blockers typically you're going to mow with it open, right? So 90% of the time if you're out there mowing in this field standing or you're mowing most places you have it open, but when you get in those tight areas around houses, pools, people, courtyards, mulch beds, rock beds, and you want to control the discharge >> That's any bolts or that you ribbons on these. >> Yeah, so you've got the And see that just really adds a little bit of >> It really does. When you look at it I was like >> of looks Look at that Hustler. Looks pretty sharp, doesn't it? >> Yeah. All right, so but now this is the Cadillac. >> Yeah, so this is the Hex Factor and I don't believe there's anything like this on the market. Now, with this, there are some more moving parts, right? You've got cables and you've got springs. So, to make it do what this does, you've got a little bit more complexity to it. So, the reason it's called the Hex Factor is because it's got the ability So, if Austin's mowing, and he wants to just control the discharge a little bit, he doesn't want to leave a windrow cuz a chute blocker will leave a windrow, right? If you shut down the only escape for grass, >> Mhm. >> you know what happens, then it leaves a windrow. So, he has the ability to control this in five different positions. Also, though, all the way up Austin, go all the way back up again. It's completely up. So, if you've got to get through a gate, a fence, you're running it along something, it's completely up. So, it's out of the way. But, I use this one quite a bit. We use it on our Ferris as well. So, I like the ability to have it about a quarter of the way open. Um so, if Austin's mowing and he wants to let he just some of the grass escape, but yet not blow it recklessly against our cars and against our glass. >> Can you give me price points on this equipment, Corey? >> This one's around 300, 200, um and then like 65 if you need a bracket or not, 60 to 65. >> And go let's go back to the baggers real quick and let's go price point cuz I want these guys to know exactly what they're looking for. And while we're walking over there, what's the website, Corey? >> Uh ballard-inc.com. So, you can't miss this. ballard-inc.com. Um yeah, so the bonus bagger and the bonus bagger junior are around I think $69 delivered. Again, all of our products, the shipping's included. So, um we just tried to make it as simple as pro as possible, so you know the price includes the shipping. So, um these are around 69 delivered. Um and you're probably going to get, you know, two to three seasons out of it. It depends on how what kind of user you are. >> Now, what about the jack stands? The the two different jack stands? >> Jack is 289, and the Easy Pro Lift >> 319. >> 319. And then that's I mean, we just touched the the tip of the iceberg for all of the really cool stuff that you have there. And really, your website is is mostly designed for the lawn care professional. >> Right. I mean, we're really selling to the guy that you know, cuts grass for a living. But, we're finding that a lot of homeowners are buying nice commercial mowers as well. But, the really cool thing about our website that nobody else has is the ability to jump on and use our search by mower feature. So, you go in there and you have mower make, model, deck size, and it'll show you all the products that are compatible, including our seven different varieties of blades. And there's also a blade quiz. So, a lot of people stand and go, "I don't know what blade I need." So, they can go in there, they answer a series of questions, and when they do that, it tells them, "Hey, we think that the high rise blade is the best blade for your type turf type, soil type, the mower." And so, it gives you options on the best blade for your machine, and the ones that fit. Because most people, let's be honest, they're not getting underneath there measuring corner to corner. They don't know their arbor hole size on the center of the blade. So, we spent years and we stay up on this constantly. Every time a new mower comes out to make make our mower make model deck size the feature that really sets us apart. >> All right. Thanks, Corey. >> Yeah, that was a lot of information. >> Oh, yeah. >> [laughter] >> And I didn't even have that much caffeine today. >> I I know. I know. All right, you guys. Well, I came down here to Iowa just to show you the latest and greatest innovations that you are going to find in the lawn care industry. And Corey with Ballard has always been at the forefront of that in my two cents. So, anybody's got their finger on the pulse for the newest and best stuff, that's Corey. And if he's got more stuff than what we showed in this video. So, you go check out his website and it's going to be very helpful. I…