Episode 14 Around the Farm in Bourbon County
Join Caleb, Tom Zack, and Shelby as they talk with John Allen Mason from Meade Equipment and Jay Rankin of Rankin farms about markets, equipment, harvest, and the mighty Mississippi.
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Caleb (00:01)
Welcome to Beyond Agriculture, the podcast that takes you beyond the scope of AG and into the real life stories, conversations and events taking place in our community. Who we are and what we do is beyond agriculture. Hello. Welcome into Beyond Agriculture. Caleb Sadler back in the Paris office with us here today. We're also joined with Loan Officer Tom Zack Evans, Shelby Wade, and our special guest today with us in the studio here is John Allen Mason from over at Meade Tractor. John Allen, how are you doing today?
John Allen Mason (00:41)
Doing good.
Caleb (00:42)
Good. So we're kind of going to open it up a little bit. Tom Zack Evans kind of heads up the Farm Credit Express program for Central Kentucky Ag Credit, and I'm going to let him take over and kind of lead this episode or this segment of today's podcast.
Tom Zack Evans (00:57)
Yes, like I said, we have John Allen Mason from Meade Tractor here in Paris, Kentucky, with us today, and we're happy he could come and join us. John Allen, can you tell the listeners a little bit about yourself and your family?
John Allen Mason (01:10)
So, yeah, I grew up right here. Born and raised in Bourbon County, just right out the road. Born, raised on a cattle farm. Raised pigs, shows pigs all my life. Went to school at UK, got my Masters from Purdue in Swine Genetics. Come back here. I worked on a horse farm for a little bit. Worked on a cattle farm, ended up taking a job as a Salesman at that time, Bevin's Motors, a John Deere dealer. Bevins got bought out, Meade bought them out September of 17. Been there, been over there since then. Yes. So just a salesman. Salesman over at Meade Tractor, selling John Deere tractors, all kinds of aftermarket equipment. Hay, equipment, good deal.
Caleb (01:50)
I will say I'm going to pitch in here because we have two hog producers on today, which is kind of a rarity. I mean, you don't see any of those in our community.
Shelby Wade (01:59)
So, yeah, definitely unique. And that's actually how I met John. I don't know, we're not going to say how many years ago, but it was a long time. I bought some of my show pigs off of him, so it really comes full circle.
Tom Zack Evans (02:09)
We bought a pig from a baby pig from John Allen and his family. John and I were talking the other day, I don't know how many, maybe ten years ago, and it was actually for a petting zoo we had. And that pig is named Bacon, and he's got the best life. He's a barrel pig. I think the last time we weighed him, he was eight or 900 lbs. And lives the life of a king.
Caleb (02:41)
But I was going to say I've seen Bacon myself.
Tom Zack Evans (02:44)
What breed of pig was that?
John Allen Mason (02:46)
Just the crossbred. It was a Hampshire Yorkshire blue butt is what they call them. But yeah, just a leftover show pig that I had.
Caleb (02:52)
Now, are you still raising hogs?
John Allen Mason (02:55)
Not so much to raise them. My girls still show pigs. I don't have the time to raise pigs anymore. It's tough with all that going on, having kids.
Tom Zack Evans (03:03)
And what ages are your girls?
John Allen Mason (03:05)
They're 11 and 13. They go to school in Paris. They're in all kinds of sports and still want to do the show pigs. So I'll keep doing the show pig thing with them until they don't want to anymore.
Caleb (03:16)
I don't blame you there.
Tom Zack Evans (03:17)
Well, jumping into Meade Tractor here, John, I guess tell the listeners a little bit about what all you all have to sell at Meade Tractor in Paris.
John Allen Mason (03:27)
So we're primarily in the John Deere dealer. That's our bread and butter. We deal with John Deere tractors, lawn mowers. As far as the aftermarket, we've got Kuhn Krone, hay equipment, we sell Frontier pieces, Woods rotary cutters, sell some bush hogs, but mainly as John Deere and all the farm implements.
Tom Zack Evans (03:47)
Yeah. So hay equipment, obviously this is a big cattle area, so also grain equipment.
John Allen Mason (03:54)
Can you yeah, we can get some grain equipment. We're not typically the large Ag producer, so we don't have the combines sitting on the lots, but we have the availability of getting some of that type of equipment.
Tom Zack Evans (04:05)
Yeah. So what is the availability look like? I know during COVID the last two years it's been really hard to get really any equipment in and especially parts. How is that supply chain looking like now?
John Allen Mason (04:21)
So as of now, the tractors are probably the best I've seen them in three or four years. Like we've got more tractors on our lot than I know I've seen. I know in three or four years implements are still hard to get, but in the last two weeks I know Woods has gotten better with the rotary cutters, getting them delivered in a lot earlier than what they said. So we're kind of stocking our lots up a little bit right now.
Tom Zack Evans (04:42)
I know the Gators have been a hot commodity the last few years with all the enhancements and whatnot that they have on them. Are you able to get Gators and zero turn, mowers, that kind of stuff?
John Allen Mason (04:54)
Gators are the days of going to a lot. Picking out a gator. I think they're done for for the foreseeable future. We're marking everything sold. It's sold five or six months ahead of time. There's nothing that comes on our lot that's off a truck that's not sold. Had two come in yesterday and they were all excited, but they're both sold since March.
Caleb (05:15)
I was going to say that's something that's unique, too. We're all sitting here around the table and talking about this stuff and I think we all three have bought equipment from John Allen, so that's just a testament to him. But talking about the gator deal, I don't know what I'd do without it on the farm. I'll just be honest with you. I mean, that thing is the handiest piece of machinery and it's used daily.
Speaker 5 (05:36)
Yeah.
John Allen Mason (05:36)
You don't know how handy they are till you don't have them one day, and then you realize, man, I really need that.
Shelby Wade (05:40)
That's right. It's like, what did you do before you had them?
John Allen Mason (05:43)
Yeah, exactly.
Tom Zack Evans (05:44)
Yeah. So we were talking before the show started about prices, what's it looking like on equipment prices.
John Allen Mason (05:52)
So, Deere's fiscal year ends actually today at 05:00. And we've got the notifications that anything that it's not invoiced and on the lot after today will go up seven and a half percent. So that means every tractor is going up seven and a half percent. Everything is going up seven and a half percent. So Deere has kind of been the one to lag back on the raising their prices, but they're finally catching up. And they do every quarter is how they do their price increases. So this is kind of a big one at the end of fiscal year and end of quarter also.
Caleb (06:25)
Does that flat increase across the board? Would you reflate it kind of like an inflation increase, I think.
John Allen Mason (06:33)
Just catching up. Yes.
Caleb (06:34)
Okay. All right. That's what I was wondering. I didn't know if there was truly, from a production standpoint, if they were running into issues there.
John Allen Mason (06:41)
Yeah, that's part of the fact. And part across the board is they don't raise every quarter, so this is just their time to raise.
Caleb (06:49)
I will say this, though, in terms of financing wise. If you were looking dealership financing and actually looking through the actual manufacturer, John Deere actually offers some really nice financing through John Deere Financial as well.
John Allen Mason (07:02)
Yeah, like I said, we still offer the 0% on a lot of new equipment. I guess three months ago, a couple of pieces, like, kind of the bigger pieces, 0% went away. That's what everybody's talking about now, that once these new incentives come out Monday, that how long the 0% will go for or if it will be even intact in a lot of equipment.
Caleb (07:22)
Yeah, we were talking here right before the show started. I mean, honestly, the days of 0% are, unfortunately, maybe coming to a close in the grand scheme of things. When you look at prime today, the Fed is talking about raising rates again another couple of times before the end of the year. So, I mean, all that things or all those variables really go into that.
Tom Zack Evans (07:43)
Caleb Meade Tractor participates in the Farm Credit Express program that we offer at our local equipment dealers here in central Kentucky. And Meade is a big user of that program. And John Allen, especially, is a big user of that program. So when you're buying a new piece of farm equipment or used, you need to ask about Farm Credit Express for your financing. Those rates, especially on used equipment, are competitive. Obviously, if you can get a 0% deal or something on New, Deere might be the best way to go, but you need to check on the cash discounts because if you use Farm Credit Express, you would qualify for that. Interest rates are going up, and I don't even want to say here on the show because they, you know, they have been going up progressive every week. But ask to ask about Express because if the equipment is ten years or less old, it's zero money down, which is pretty attractive. Your loan gets booked locally here, so if you have an issue or you need to come in and talk to a loan officer, you can. And of course, these loans all pay back the patronage refund, like all of our other loans here at Ag Credit do.
Caleb (09:04)
And I would say that too, to the listeners when we talk about getting booked locally. It doesn't get booked in Paris itself, for instance, because that's where we're at today. But let's say that you're out of Stanford or out of Lebanon in those offices, those pieces of equipment, if you're doing business in that office, that loan gets booked there under the same loan officer that you have. So anything else, guys, as we wrap up here with John Allen?
John Allen Mason (09:28)
No, thanks. I appreciate you having me up here and talking today.
Caleb (09:31)
Yeah, we really appreciate you coming on and listening in on this segment of Beyond Agriculture. We're going to take a quick break and then we'll be right back, make a few phone calls, and we're actually going to get some producers that are actively working in the field on Today. I really appreciate our listeners and we'll be back right after this break.
Speaker 6 (09:50)
My name is Shane Turner. I'm the Chief Risk Officer for the association. I've been with Central Kentucky Ag Credit since 1987, going on 35 years. I've served in various roles in the association. I've been a loan officer, I've been a branch manager, I've been a regional manager, an appraiser, a vice president of Credit, and now a Chief Risk Officer. I've had the pleasure of working with a number of different employees over the year, some who are still here, some who have retired and moved on. One of the things that makes this organization so special is the culture. Anybody who comes to work here seems to immediately understand that this is a very unique organization. It's a family oriented company to work for. We're small, we've got just over 50 employees, but everybody knows almost by first name the kids and the spouses and things that are going on in the lives of each other. And that can be good or bad sometimes, but for the most part, it's always a good situation. The organization, the people who work here really believe in the mission, and that is to serve the farmers of Central Kentucky for their needs as far as financing, whether it be for cattle or equipment or for real estate.
Speaker 6 (11:25)
And I believe that we would not be as successful or have the culture that we have if our employees didn't buy into that mission. Most of the employees in the association are also farmers on the side, so I believe that brings some perspective to the job. And so it's just been a real pleasure to be here for such a long period of time. I'm kind of entering the twilight of my career, but still have a few more years in me, and I couldn't recommend a better place to work for than such a Kentucky AG credit.
Caleb (12:00)
Hello, and welcome back into beyond agriculture. Thank you for sticking with us. Now, we're joined this afternoon or this morning by Jay Rankin. He is a farmer here in Bourbon county, and he's actually out in the field, so we're joined first time for Beyond Agriculture via the phone. So, Jay, how are you?
Speaker 5 (12:21)
I'm good. How are you all?
Caleb (12:22)
Great. Doing good. Well, let's kind of open it up a little bit. How about you tell the listeners a little bit about yourself and your family and where you're located at here in Bourbon county?
Speaker 5 (12:33)
All right. I've lived in bourbon county all my life. I grew up on the farm. I'm married to my wife, Lindsay Hedges. She's the former Lindsay Hedges. She grew up in Bourbon county as well, on a farm. We've got three kids. Aubrey is 13 and an 8th grader at Bourbon county middle school. James is wait, this is bad. James is six, fixing to turn seven. He's a first grader at Bourbon Central elementary. And Bellamy just turned one last week. And for anybody who she took her first steps last night.
Caleb (13:10)
No joke. That's awesome.
Speaker 5 (13:11)
Good deal. We're all excited about that.
Caleb (13:14)
They always say it goes by fast. Mine's two and a half now, and it does not seem like that's possible.
Speaker 5 (13:20)
No, it's not. They're growing up. I try to stop and smell the roses, as they say, because you don't realize what you miss until it's already gone so there something else.
Caleb (13:41)
Yeah, that's exactly right. So as we carry on here, Jay, tell us just a little bit about your operation, and then we'll kind of feed off that and maybe answer or ask you a few questions and things along the way.
Speaker 5 (13:53)
All right, so we raised corn and soybeans and wheat. Those are our primary crops. We raise alfalfa, we raised rye the last couple of years, we've gotten in a program through American Farmland Trust, raising rye for grain. We do that. Like I said, we do custom hay bailing for two or three horse farms and anybody else, we do pasture innovation, custom corn chopping. This year we had three right at 3000 acres of corn and soybeans. And then I have approximately 225 commercial cows.
Caleb (14:38)
Needless to say, you're busy around the clock all the time.
Speaker 5 (14:42)
All the time.
Caleb (14:43)
I ulocation-wisBnderstand. That's awesome, though, in terms of location wise, us talking to you today, we kind of know where you're located at, but for the listeners. Where are your production locations at here in central Kentucky?
Speaker 5 (14:56)
Well, mainly in Bourbon County. Today I'm actually standing in Clark County talking to you. I've got farms in Clark County, of course, bourbon, Fayette a little bit in Scott and Nicholas. So we're spread I was talking to another friend of mine the other day and he said he was spread out 55 miles and I'm spread out 30, I think I figured it's 38 miles from one farm to the other. So we travel a lot.
Caleb (15:27)
Now. I was talking with having some little dialogue here with Tom Zack, too, while you were talking there as well. But from a management standpoint, do you have some guys that work for you at that point in time as well?
Speaker 5 (15:41)
Well, I've got three full time employees. I've got a couple of other guys that work other jobs and help at nights and on the weekends. And then, of course, we've got the family, dad, John. We all try to help each other when we can. Dad's actually calving some heifers for me right now. John is my brother. We kind of trade labor as far as things with the cattle. He's really good with cattle, so he does some stuff with heifers for me. We trade out some equipment and stuff like that and different things rent. So we try to play to our strong suits and what we like.
Caleb (16:41)
It makes it easier when it's a family operation and you can really depend on your family. That's the same boat with me.
Speaker 5 (16:48)
Yeah.
Shelby Wade (16:48)
And it's great having you on Jay, because a lot of our customers are family operations spread over a few generations and brothers and sisters and cousins and whatnot. So it's good to bring that perspective. We are here at Recording at the end of October, basically. So how is the 2022 harvest going for you?
Speaker 5 (17:07)
You couldn't ask for better weather as far as the harvest goes to cover the ground that we've covered with the equipment we've got, I feel very blessed to have gotten as far as we have, but we need the rain. I've got heat in the ground that really needs really needs a drink. The pastures need to drink. The cattle, not all the cattle are on city water. So ponds and creeks are starting to dry up.
Caleb (17:46)
We hear about it from ADM and things like that. And we monitor Mississippi river level right now. And that's a big problem just from the standpoint of getting grain down to Louisiana and down to the ports right now.
Speaker 5 (18:01)
Right. That's kind of been the biggest hold up. If ADM or the other graineries are shut down, especially on the weekends, then there's a lot of people that have to stop because they don't have storage. We've been lucky because we do have storage. We go to the bins and we're going to bag corn this week. The corn is as dry coming out of the field as I've ever seen it. And talking to some older farmers that I know, that's the driest they've ever seen it coming. And to have the yields we're having a drought year. Of course it'll be dry, but it wouldn't be any good. But we're seeing good yields, good test weights, very minimal damage. So the storage has been kind of a lifesaver for me and some others that I know as well that haven't had to stop on the weekends. We can just keep running.
Tom Zack Evans (18:57)
Jay, what kind of current yields and moisture are you seeing?
Speaker 5 (19:03)
The corn is making everything's making over 200. I've seen on my own some 240s, 250s. I've heard some others making 270 280. And the moisture, the load I just was looking before I got on the phone with you guys. We sent two, three loads this morning. All three loads were in the 13s on corn. And that's out of the field. That's drier than we even try to get it in a grain dent. So it's crazy that it's that dry. But the beans we're seeing, everything is above 60. Some farms are above 70, 70 to 75, but I'd call a good average 65, 68. And the beans are dry. They're starting to pop out. I mean, we've sold some loads that were eight and a half percent moisture. We're losing some money there on the weight.
Caleb (20:05)
Exactly right.
Speaker 5 (20:05)
In terms of so dry.
Caleb (20:07)
Yeah, I was going to say, too. It's gotten so dry and it's been so dry for so long. Now, if these guys haven't gotten, let's say they're beans out of the field or whatnot, and let's say it sits in rain, how bad do you think that we'll start to see those beans start to pop and crack and come out of the pod?
Speaker 5 (20:28)
Well, we used to worry that they would swell and pop out, but I think they're so dry it's going to take a lot of rain to get them to swell enough to cause them to pop out. We're seeing some popping, but it's not as bad. The worst part is not the pop and stand in the field. It's when the sickle on the Cutter bar or the head hits it. That's when they're shattering. I'll take the rain. Let's go that route. I would rather see it rain and lose some of the beans popping out and shelling out than not have the rain. A guy, I'll say this real quick, a guy told me one time when I first started farming. He said, you can farm in the mud, you can't farm in the dust.
Tom Zack Evans (21:15)
Yeah, that's true.
Caleb (21:17)
It is dry enough right now that we'll get five or six tentsix-tenthshs of rain. And by lunchtime, it doesn't seem like we got anything.
Tom Zack Evans (21:25)
We got what, three tenths this week. And you can't tell it?
Caleb (21:28)
Yeah, not at all.
Speaker 5 (21:30)
I'm standing here getting ready to move this combine, and it rained a quarter an inch here. Was it day before yesterday or two days ago? And the beans here on the edge of the beans here on the edge of the field that I just checked, I could be running here in the next hour or so, and the only reason they're holding on is because of the dew this morning.
Caleb (21:52)
Yeah. From a marketing standpoint, Jay, talk a little bit about that. Do you forward contract a lot or do you send everything basically to the river?
Speaker 5 (22:03)
No, we forward contract and it goes to the river, but it's through them. I do sell some corn to sell a lot of my corn to Rip's Farm Center in Tollesboro, and they buy pretty much all my corn that I don't sell during harvest that I can't store.
Caleb (22:23)
Got you.
Speaker 5 (22:24)
But as far as the marketing goes, I use a company, they're out of Indiana, and they do my marketing for me. I don't want to sit in front of the computer or sit here on my phone and try to guess, well.
Caleb (22:41)
At that point in time, your money ahead to pay somebody to market it for you, and you worry about the production level. That's right.
Speaker 5 (22:48)
And it was hard to the first year or two, it was hard to turn that over because that's our income, that's our livelihood. But after I saw the results, I don't even question him anymore. He'll call me and say, well, all he calls me for is he'll call and say, hey, are you seeing a bump in yields or a reduction in yields? I need to adjust accordingly. I'm going to sell this. And when he starts saying, well, what do you think, are you okay? I don't even question him. I just tell him, you take care of it.
Caleb (23:18)
Got you. And this is maybe getting in the tea leaves a little bit, but from a marketing standpoint of other producers here in central Kentucky, what percentage would you say would be like that? Use contracts or just deliver it when they get done running it?
Speaker 5 (23:39)
I would say most of your full time farmers, if that's what they're doing for a living, they all do that. Getting up there in acres, you've got to hedge your risk.
Caleb (23:54)
I got one more question in regard to the harvest this year. We talked about the Mississippi River level there, and basis has gotten a little bit better just from me knowing, but let's say three weeks ago or even four weeks ago, how bad was the basis on corn and beans at that point in time, if you weren't delivering on a contract, Jay?
Speaker 5 (24:18)
Beans got to, cash beans were a dollar i think, I could be wrong, but I think they got to I can't remember if they got to $2 under the basis, I honestly don't remember. I know we were sending to a different grainery because the basis, this was for some people, one farm in particular that I'm thinking of, we were sending across the river because they didn't have any contracts. And like I said, it was a partnership, but they hadn't done any contracting. But I sat down and showed them and next year that farm is going to contract.
Tom Zack Evans (25:02)
And you might explain to listeners that don't know what the basis is, what that means.
Speaker 5 (25:08)
The basis is what they're paying, what the grainery will pay under Chicago Board of Trade. And sometimes it's more than what they'll pay because they want the grain, if that makes sense. If the Board of Trade is paying $14 for soybeans and they've got a negative 50 cent basis at Adm, that.
Caleb (25:31)
ADM is paying 13.50, that directly correlates. Right. Now to the issue they were having getting barges to move. That grain down the river and not being able to not be able to load the barges near as heavy as.
Speaker 5 (25:45)
What they think they're loading them. I know two to three weeks ago they were loading what they call what I was told was 80% draft, which means they could load it 80% full. And I think they're down to maybe 60, 65%. Now, I don't know that, but I think that's what she was speculating the lady that I talked to up there.
Caleb (26:06)
We were talking here just briefly before we got started, and John Allen made the comment, or somebody did, that Mississippi River in Memphis was like 10ft deep and that's just unbelievable.
Speaker 5 (26:19)
Yeah, unbelievable. I haven't heard any numbers like that, but any number at all as far as that. But that's crazy. Somebody said one of the tributaries, you can walk across it. I did hear that. That comes into the river, but you don't know what normal level is on that tributary either.
Tom Zack Evans (26:37)
Jay looking at 2023 crop year, grain market and production forecast, what are your thoughts on fertilizer and fuel cost looking ahead for next year?
Speaker 5 (26:51)
Well, as far as the fuel goes, anybody turns the news on now is going to be scared about anything, but they're talking about diesel fuel and a shortage. And I was actually at the fuel station this morning and they were sitting there waiting because they bring fuel straight to the field force, straight to the combines. And he said, I'll bring you some when I get some. And he said, I don't have any. And we were talking and I said, well, when you get it, just come fill everything, fill the trucks, which he filled my bulk tank at the farm, at the shop. He filled it last week, but I've got him filling. I've got two fuel trailers and three tractors sitting with the one combine. I said, we're going to fill everything. And when I left, when I was getting ready to leave, the transport came in with fuel and it was like Christmas morning to them because they've been waiting since yesterday morning for fuel. So we're already seeing it's bad enough what the prices are, but if we're going to have a shortage that's even worse. As far as fertilizer goes. I haven't read a whole lot about that or seen anything.
Speaker 5 (27:57)
I'm sure it's like anything else, it'll probably get worse before it gets better.
Caleb (28:01)
Jay as we wrap up here, we really appreciate you coming on, and honestly, it worked out great being able to join via the phone, and this is something that we'll be able to do going forward. So we really appreciate you taking the time out of your busy day to come on and join us on Beyond Agriculture, and maybe we'll try to get you back on in the future here when we circle back around to Bourbon County and see for an update.
Tom Zack Evans (28:26)
Thanks, Jay.
Speaker 5 (28:27)
All right. Thank you all.
Caleb (28:29)
Thank you. Thank you for listening to Beyond Agriculture. Make sure you go out and, like, share and subscribe to our podcast. We'll be back on in the future with future episodes, so we really appreciate our listeners listening in, and thanks again for listening to Beyond Agriculture.
Speaker 7 (28:46)
This episode of Beyond Agriculture is brought to you by Central Kentucky Agcredit. Thanks for listening to the podcast. Be sure to visit Agcreditonline.com Beyond Agriculture, access the show notes and discover our fantastic bonus content. Also, don't forget to hit the subscribe button so you can join us next time for Beyond Agriculture.