From ‘nearly nothing’ to farm 9,000 acres

Over recent weeks, the newspapers and TV have been filled with awards of one type or another: best business man (woman), actor, actress, sportsman (woman), community worker, whatever.

In this respect, I came across a remarkably intriguing success story of Kentucky farmer, Keith Lowry, known for his high yielding corn and soybeans and for the many ways he supports his community.

He lives and farms in the western part of the state, in the Pilot Oak community near Water Valley. His modern shop building has become a popular gathering spot for charitable and social events in the community.

He started farming 40 years ago with 250 rented acres. From that, he built an impressive 9,000 acre farm. He rents 5,000 acres from 58 landlords, and the rest is family owned.

As a result of his success as a rowcrop farmer, Lowry has been selected as the state winner of the Farmer of the Year award. He joins nine other individuals as finalists for the overall award that will be announced later in the year.

GRANDFATHER’S SUPPORT

Lowry joined the family farm full-time in 1976. His family’s sixth generation is now living on the farm. During high school, his family lived in Birmingham, Alabama, where his father was a trucker. Lowry would get on his motorcycle and drive to Kentucky so he could spend his summer months working on his grandfather’s farm.

“My grandfather helped me buy my first farm,” Lowry recalls. “In 1980, I rented 80 acres, and grandfather put down $10,000 so I could buy that land. My grandfather also co-signed the note at the local Production Credit Association lender for the land.”

Last year, he produced 186 bushels of corn per acre from about 3,500 acres. On another 3,500 acres, his soybeans yielded 59 bushels per acre. His wheat yields from 2,000 acres reached 77 bushels per acre. He uses no-till planting on 75 per cent of his crops, and has had good results with no-till wheat.

He uses split nitrogen applications on his corn, and has used sat nav and other precision farming tools for about 10 years.

PREMIUM PRICES

“All of our soybeans and 80 per cent of our wheat are grown for seed,” he says. He grows soybean seed commanding premium prices, but it requires the harvested varieties to be stored and handled separately. He harvests wheat in June and it is gone from the farm by the end of August so he can then store soybeans.

In marketing his grain crops, Lowry subscribes to three professional marketing advisory services, and makes his selling decisions based on their advice. His corn marketing is aided by a strong basis, the difference between local and national cash prices. The basis is strong due to his close proximity to poultry production, ethanol plants and river shipping points. He’s able to store about 500,000 bushels of grain on his farm, which also aids in marketing for higher prices.

His plans call for expanding the farm’s fertiliser and grain storage facilities, and adding more centre pivot irrigation.

In addition, Lowry operates two other businesses, a trucking company and a construction company. The trucking sideline helps keep farm employees working full time. The construction business includes a bulldozer, dirt pan and track-hoe that are hired out for earthmoving jobs.

LIFE INSURANCE

“We have a 10-year farm succession plan in place,” says Lowry. “I lost my dad unexpectedly when he died in a 2001 plane crash, so I know how important that estate planning and planning for business succession can be.” He says he’s using life insurance to make sure his non-farming heirs will be treated fairly when his estate is settled.

His farm hosts a visit from Santa Claus for local children each December whose families are invited to donate toys to the Graves County Family Resources Centre.

Lowry has helped to auction University of Kentucky basketball tickets donated by local individuals to benefit the family of a neighbour who was injured in a tree felling accident.

He has also hosted Future Farmers Association (YFC) fundraisers and farm safety programmes. And he sponsors four scholarships each year for local students. His farm has also been the site of weddings and wedding receptions, and a government farm bill hearing.

OLYMPICS SPONSOR

Lowry is active in a number of organisations. He has been a local Farm Bureau board member for 20 or more years. He’s on the Graves County Economic Development Board, and he served on the local soil conservation district board where he was chairman for ten years. He is also active in FFA Alumni, and has been a Little League team sponsor and served as a mentor for Graves County youth.

On the state level, Lowry has been a Special Olympics sponsor and a member of state grower associations for corn, wheat and soybeans. He has also hosted a University of Kentucky winter workshop, National Wild Turkey Federation banquets and sponsored Wounded Warrior turkey hunts and banquets.

His wife Rita works for the local Heritage Bank in Fulton. Rita grew up on a small farm. Keith married her after his first wife who was the mother of his children died in 1993. Keith and Rita are active members of the Cuba Church of Christ.

Together, Keith and Rita have four adult sons, Brian and Jarrod McMillin, and Vincent and Patrick Lowry. Brian is a social worker and Jarrod teaches maths at the local high school. Both Vincent and Patrick work full-time on the farm, and are involved in all of the day-to-day farming operations.

FAMILY BUSINESS

Keith and Rita have two daughters-in-law who work on the farm. Brooke is married to Vincent and she works in the farm’s office. Stephanie is married to Patrick, and she helps to make sure that all of the equipment is kept clean. Stephanie and Patrick also raise money to help fund research on controlling type 1 diabetes. Vincent served as a Marine in Iraq and has taken the lead in inviting military veterans to the farm every year for a turkey hunting weekend. The weekend ends with a banquet to honour the veterans who came to hunt and the veterans in the community.

Keith and Rita also have five grandchildren, and they look forward to the birth of a new grandson later this year. “We hope that a few of them, if not all, will decide to stay on the farm when they are older,” adds Keith.

Keith has a great appreciation for his farming heritage. “I remember my great-grandaddy,” he says. “I know that if he and my grandaddy didn’t farm, then I wouldn’t be farming today.”

Nominated for the honour by a fellow farmer, Randall Heath, who says: “I’ve known Keith since he started farming. Through the years, he has shown great community spirit and is very concerned about the community around him. He does an extremely good job at his farming, at his marketing and in borrowing money.”

As Heath looks over Lowry’s long career, he adds that: “Keith didn’t start the farm from nothing, but it was pretty close to that. He has been able to grow and expand his farm without ever taking advantage of anyone in the community. He is just a hugely generous person - a giver.”

As the Kentucky state winner, he is now eligible for the $15,000 cash prize - part of some some $1,040,000 in cash awards and other special prizes since the award was initiated in 1990.

Quotes

Don’t worry about avoiding temptation, as you grow older, it will avoid you. - Winston Churchill.

Maybe it’s true that life begins at 50.... but everything else starts to wear out, fall out, or spread out. - Phyllis Diller.

By the time a man is wise enough to watch his step, he’s too old to go anywhere. - Billy Crystal.

May your troubles be less, may your blessings be more, and may nothing, but happiness come through your door and, finally, the cardiologist’s diet: - If it tastes good spit it out.