Why is AgDirect a good fit for your operation?
My AgDirect team has been really important to our growth. We’re a second-generation farm and a lot of the farms in this area have been around a lot longer and are more established. When I took over from my dad, we were still a relatively small farm, but we've been expanding and AgDirect has been really important in helping us grow. They know my business, my needs, where we came from and where we're headed.
How does AgDirect financing help you be a better farm manager?
Everything is expensive. We're a relatively new, growing farm and cash is important to keep on hand. If I can finance my equipment with AgDirect and they can make it fit my budget, my needs, and the payments are due when my revenue is the highest, it helps a new farm like ours. My AgDirect lender knows my business and is able to make our financing function best for our farm.
What is your philosophy about managing equipment?
I like to keep my equipment fairly new. I want to be efficient, so I don't want to be stopping for breakdowns and parts during critical times like hay harvest. You only have a certain window when you can actually harvest, so if you're running around getting parts instead of harvesting, you're not going to be efficient. Since I like to keep my equipment fairly new, that means I'm financing equipment more often than some would.
What keeps you coming back to AgDirect?
My dad always taught me to take advantage of opportunities. If there's ever land available, I want to farm it. If there's ever custom work available, I want to do it. Because of that, sometimes I need equipment on short notice, and AgDirect is really good about making a quick decision and finding a solution that's going to work for me. Sometimes I don't know when opportunities are going to come about and I need to take advantage of them, otherwise someone else will.
What is the biggest challenge ahead for your operation?
We want to grow and own more of our own land. But, land has tripled in price in a short amount of time and because of that, it's hard. We want to pass the operation on to our next generation, but that takes a lot of money. Financing my equipment with AgDirect makes it easier to reach that goal to expand our farm so there's something here for my daughter and for her kids, too.