Who is Class XII?

By Mike Danna
Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation Public Relations Director

One of the downsides to many of these AgLeadership tours is the time it takes to get from one farm visit to the next.

The upside is that the hours spent on the tour bus, or waiting for the next flight, gives me an opportunity to visit with some of the class members to find out more about them, their families and their farming operations.

Since 2006 Jim Monroe and I have traveled with the international tours, producing stories for “This Week in Louisiana Agriculture” and documenting the trips in photos and video.  It’s also been a chance to really get to know the Louisiana farm leaders of tomorrow.

Since my class (Class 8) traveled to Chile and Argentina in 2005, the class members seem to be getting younger and younger.  Maybe it’s just that Jim and I are not as young as we used to be, but in visiting with the younger members of Class 12, I found them to be more competent and understanding of their profession than their years might let on.

And these younger farmers are hardcore.  For many of them it didn’t take long for the realities of the economics of farming to sink in.  But they’re not deterred.

Heath Morris, a 29-year-old sugar farmer from Port Allen, is a prime example of the kind of farmer Louisiana needs more of.  As president of The Morris Group, Heath farms cane and soybeans on 1,300 acres.  He said 2011 was a tough year for his operation.  Despite higher sugar prices, the cost of inputs has skyrocketed, tempering any real gains he might have made off the current price of sugar.

But Morris, who has a degree in public relations from Northwestern, won’t be denied his dream to farm the land his father worked for nearly 20 years.  He said he wants to expand his operation to about 3,000 acres in cane, hoping that an improved economy of scale will bolster his farm income.  His efforts to manage finances, people, equipment and fatherhood (he and his wife Jessica just had their first child, Addyson) give you the feeling things are about to get really interesting around the Morris household.

But in talking to Heath you get the sense that he fully understands the risks, and can look past them; way past them.  Keeping his eyes on the prize, so to speak, will undoubtedly help this young farmer and father continue to do what his loves most.

For 38-year-old Brandon McCartney it’s evident that while not young, he’s young at heart (by farming standards, anyway).  And what I mean by that is that after more than 20 years of working the land, Brandon admits it’s the only thing he’s ever wanted to do.

Moving with his family from Newport, Arkansas to Louisiana in 1977, he said he began farming with his dad when he was just a child.  He’s always loved it.

Today, with 3,000 acres of corn, wheat and beans in production in Caddo Parish, Brandon talks about farming like a proud grandfather talks about his new grandchild.  You can tell he really enjoys what he does.

While sitting in the airport in Miami waiting to board the plane for Santiago, Brandon told me his 10-year-old son Garrett was sad his daddy was leaving him for 12 days.  His 15-year-old son Tyler, however, not so much, Brandon joked.  It seems the young man recently got is driver’s permit and Brandon has been letting Tyler drive the truck whenever they’re together.  That means Tyler’s wheel time might be limited while dad’s away.

I asked Brandon if his sons have taken an interest in farming.  He thought for a moment and said he wasn’t really sure, but quickly added it would be something he’d let his boys decide for themselves.

“You’ve got to love farming,” McCartney said.  “If you don’t love farming you’d better stay away from it.”

Then there’s Kyle Dill, a diversified grain and livestock producer from Caddo Parish.  Dill, who was formerly a manager for Jimmy Sanders, Inc., but who now farms fulltime, left what he called the “corporate life” for a less structured, albeit more intensive work schedule.

Dill, who farms 1,400 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat, knows a thing or two about the challenges of farming.  This year his corn was hard hit by feral hogs and the drought in that part of the state took a toll on his crops overall.

But like Heath and Brandon, Kyle Dill knows there’s nothing else he’d rather be doing.  He’s at times a soft-spoken guy, but you can tell that he knows his stuff and, like Morris and McCartney, he’s willing to do what it takes to make his family farm profitable.

Until next time…