CY Farms – Dairy Cows, Turf, & Onions… One of the Most Diverse Farms in the United States
Started by Carl Yunker as a small dairy farm with 25 cows in 1951, CY Farms was formed when his oldest son, Craig returned home to the farm from college. Carl and Craig built a milking parlor, a free-stall barn, and the 1st bunker silo in New York State and grew the milking herd to 350 cows by 1985. In 1986, Craig and Carl decided to put in a high bid through a government program designed to shrink the U.S. dairy herd and they found themselves out of the dairy business. Over the next 20 years, the farm went through rapid growth. Throughout the years, CY Farms has grown processing tomatoes, thousands of acres of snap beans and operated a custom snap bean and green pea harvesting business. Craig’s son, Christian, returned to the farm in 2008 after spending 6 years working as a Loan Officer for Farm Credit in New Jersey. Currently Craig, Christian and 5 managers run CY Farms, Batavia Turf, CY Heifer farm with a staff of 42. Today the farm grows 6,500 acres of field crops and vegetables including corn, wheat, soybeans, and alfalfa are rotated with onions, green peas and spinach. The farm continues to grow and change every year, experimenting with new practices and new crops.
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Jorgensen Land and Cattle – Most BULLS Sold in the United States
Jorgensen Land and Cattle is a diverse cow/calf and bull development operation that is the largest seedstock producer in the world, which is located in Ideal, South Dakota. In 2021, the operation sold over 4,000 bulls. It includes a 12,000-acre no-till, diverse crop operation that produces feedstuffs, feed grains and certified seed. The family also operates an all-inclusive pheasant hunting lodge called the Lazy J Grand Lodge, which has over 20,000 huntable acres.
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Stutsman: Family Business Since 1934 with 400+ Employees
In 1934, Eldon C. Stutsman started a milk route, and his neighbors soon asked him to bring supplies back from town. As a farmer himself, Eldon was glad to oblige. The requests kept coming and soon a company was born. Today, Eldon C. Stutsman, Inc. is Eastern Iowa’s largest supplier of agricultural products, retail, and wholesale with over 400+ employees. Overall, the company divisions of agronomy, feed ingredient distribution, manure equipment, precision agriculture, field equipment, transportation, and logistics along with wholesale hose and valve distribution. This podcast features three generations of the Stutsman family including Ron Stutsman, Chairman; Scott Stutsman, CEO; Mark Stutsman, COO; Tanner Stutsman; and Logan Stutsman!
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LongView Farms: Honoring the Past, Stewarding the Present, and Looking to the Future
Longview Farms is a 4th generation farm in Nevada, IA currently owned and managed by Steve Henry, Laurie Henry, Scott Henry, and Eric Henry. The farm started all the way back in 1955 when Kenneth and Louise Long moved from their farm in Illinois to Central Iowa in search of more productive ground and more aggressive farming opportunities. Over 65 years later, the farm now stretches across 10,000 acres and includes a couple of new livestock feeding ventures, LongView Pork and Grand River Cattle Company. This podcast features Steve Henry, CEO, and Scott Henry, Managing Partner, at LongView Farms!
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Joe Nichols: How This First Generation Farmer Built A Huge Ag Business
Joe Nichols is a 1st generation farmer from Cadiz, Kentucky and is currently the managing partner at Seven Springs Farms. It’s worth noting, Seven Springs Farms was established in 1994 with just a mechanic and his toolbox after working for Robinson Implement, a local John Deere dealership located in Princeton, KY. It was that same year Joe planted his first crop and through many calculated decisions as well as relationships, he has grown his operation into a huge ag business. It now includes 25,000 acres of corn, wheat, barley, soybeans, tobacco, cattle, crushed rock sales, crop insurance and an erosion control blanket business. Overall, Joe leads a team of 46 full-time and 45 part-time employees. The farm team also includes Joe’s daughters and several other family members.
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Johnny Hunter: My Crop Is Now In Walmart, Whole Foods, and 2,500+ Grocery Stores
Johnny Hunter II is a 3rd generation rice and soybean farmer from Southeast Missouri. In addition, he is currently the President and CEO of Castor River Farms. His family roots on the farm in Dexter, MO started all the way back in 1954, but Johnny began his regenerative farming journey in 2012 and continues to innovate his practices today. Beyond production agriculture, Johnny and his family own and operate their own rice mill as well. At the facility they mill, package, and distribute the rice they grow in SEMO to thousands of retail locations across the country. As of right now, his rice is currently sold in Walmart, Whole Foods, and 2,500+ grocery stores across the United States. It’s also worth noting, he is currently continuing to scale the business as he has many other deals in the hopper!
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Lucy Stitzer: History of Cargill and Becoming the Largest Private Company in the US
Guest : Just a little background… Lucy Stitzer‘s great-great-grandfather W.W. Cargill, founded the business as a single grain warehouse on the end of an Iowa railroad line in 1865. Today Cargill is our nation’s largest private business and the largest food company in the world. Lucy and her cousin were the first of her generation to sit on the Cargill Board. And Lucy served as a Director of Cargill from 1992-2010. Since 2011, Lucy has been chairman of Waycrosse, Inc., the family office of the Cargill and MacMillan families, where her primary focus is to ensure a successful future for both Cargill and the family. In 2016, Lucy founded “Dirt to Dinner” where she and her team are committed to helping consumers learn more about where their food really comes from, as well as highlighting the hardworking farmers who provide it. Lucy and her team are trying to help all of us in agriculture battle the onslaught of misinformation circulating amongst our consumers. This is a great conversation that touches on so many hot topics.
What’s the Podcast About:
Kevin & Jordan Van Trump sit down with Lucy Stitzer, founder at Dirt to Dinner, to talk about what it was like growing up in the Cargill family, being the first of her generation to sit on the Cargill board, flying airplanes, working on ranches, driving motorcycles, consumer misinformation, rural America’s future, women in ag, how Wall Street money can affect agriculture moving forward, and some of her best advice as well as life lessons. Enjoy!
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