New life for old wood - Our CO-OP

February 2015
New life for
old wood
Young entrepreneurs
transform dismantled barns
into rustic masterpieces at
Orlinda Furniture Co.
Also inside
Industry analysts share outlook for
agriculture in 2015 - p. 8
Land rollers provide innovative solution
for solving rock problems in fields - p. 22
Preconditioning calves pays off for
Cumberland County couple - p. 24
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February 2015
Cover Story
18
New
life for old wood
Through their Orlinda Furniture Co., Harris Green, right, and Curt Chaffin are recycling history by transforming dismantled barns and discarded wood
into beautiful and useful home furnishings — beds, tables, hutches, chests, desks,
benches, and more. With a nod to traditional woodworking techniques, the Robertson County friends and business partners started making furniture in 2011, first with
only a few products, and soon crafted their part-time venture into a full-time career.
ON THE COVER: Old barns, like this one in Franklin, Ky., are given a rebirth by Harris Green, left, and Curt
Chaffin, who turn the wood into rustic and attractive furniture.
— Photos by Allison Morgan
News and features
5
8
12
22
24
26
Valley, Foothills consolidate
22
Merger of two successful East Tennessee Co-ops is the result of “looking to the future.”
Beans could beat corn in 2015
Analysts say crop prices and profitability factors are likely to dramatically shift acreage.
The weather does the work
Frost seeding clover is a cost-effective, time-saving method for renovating pastures.
Rocks? Then roll
Land rollers provide a solution for farmers plagued with rough soil surfaces.
Good to gain
Preconditioning calves pays off for Cumberland County’s Preston and Toni Loshbough.
24
Goats and guts
Wayne Barnes takes a courageous leap by opening a buying station for goats and sheep in Smithville.
TenneScene
In every issue
4 As I Was Saying
Jerry Kirk and family mourn the sudden
loss of beloved dog, Barley, owned by son
Chris and his wife, Anna.
4 Our Country Churches
Northcutts Cove Chapel in Grundy County.
14 New at Co-op
Learn about six new products available at
your hometown store.
Restoring this 1968 Ford 3000 tractor was an FFA chapter project with a personal connection
for Grant Towns, a junior at Macon County High School. It was the first tractor his
grandfather, Roy, seated, bought when he started farming in Lafayette. Years of work and
wear had taken its toll on the machine, but Grant and his fellow FFA members brought the
tractor back to its original glory over a six-month period last year. — Photo by Royce Towns
15 Neighborly Advice
Burndown programs, preventing grass tetany.
30 What’s cookin’?
Sweet potato recipes for every season.
34 Every Farmer Has A Story
Meet the Gentrys, who opened their hearts
and created a home for adoptive son Austin.
February 2015
3
As I Was Saying
Barley lived to brighten lives
A
s our son, Chris Kirk, slept in on New Year’s Day at their Brentwood
home, his wife, Anna, noticed that when she got up, Barley, their beloved
mixed-breed dog, stayed in their bedroom instead of following her as he
would have normally done. He didn’t eat breakfast that day, either, choosing to
lie on the floor at the foot of Chris and Anna’s bed.
Though concerned, they didn’t let on to their two little girls — Caroline, who
turned 2 on Jan. 13, and Sloan, who’ll be 5 on St. Patrick’s Day (March 17).
“The next morning [Friday], when Barley wasn’t his happy, energetic self and
again didn’t eat, I took him to the vet where he was diagnosed with pancreatitis,”
Jerry Kirk
Chris says. Allowed to go home, Barley did eat some food that night, but Chris
Contributing Editor
and Anna became more concerned when he later threw up.
Though showing some improvement on Saturday by appearing to move around a little more, Barley
also seemed to be getting weaker. “When he laid down next to his water bowl after getting a drink,
something he had never done before, I got worried and took him to the animal hospital where he was
admitted so they could give him fluids and medicine via IV and monitor him,” Chris says.
Sunday passed with little improvement,
and on Monday, after consulting with an
internist and learning that Barley was experiencing more pain, Chris and Anna made
a drastic decision: “Our gentle pup doesn’t
deserve to suffer a second more of discomfort.” So, on Monday afternoon, Jan. 5, they
had their beloved Barley put down gently and
humanely via a painless injection.
Anna and Chris were right there with
Barley as he peacefully slipped away. “We
wanted to be there rubbing his head when he
passed because we knew he would, without
hesitation, do the same for us were the situa- Barley and Chris Kirk enjoyed a strong, loving bond from the moment the mixed-breed gem was adopted in 2008 from a Rutherford
tion reversed,” Chris says.
County shelter. — Photo by Anna Kirk
Though Barley’s death has dimmed the
happiness of a new year for the entire Kirk family, our fond memories of this kind, gentle, loving,
and playful dog make us smile and thank God that we had him for as long as we did.
Chris and Anna adopted Barley in October 2008 as a 4-month-old puppy through Rutherford
County’s wonderful P.A.W.S. (Pet Adoption & Welfare Services) organization. And it’s significant
that perfectly placed freckles played a part in Barley being selected to go home with the Kirks.
“When we were at the shelter to pick out our dog, I walked into the kennel run where Barley was
with several of his sisters,” Chris says. “I grabbed a different dog, but Anna told me to get Barley because he had pronounced freckles. We took him out in the shelter’s yard, and though he was timid,
he tried to climb up in my lap while I was crouching down beside him.”
At Barley’s passing, Chris posted this message on Facebook: “Anna Bergman Kirk and I — as
well as Sloan and Caroline — are devastated with the passing of our beloved Barley. God blessed
us with a more loyal, loving companion than we could have imagined, and his sudden passing
makes the loss more heartbreaking. I know the thoughts that cause the pain we feel now will
someday be fond memories, but right now it feels as if you’ve spoiled us to other dogs, Barley. We
miss you and love you very much.”
Our Country Churches
Northcutts Cove Chapel in Grundy County
Northcutts Cove Chapel in Grundy County is
the oldest standing meetinghouse of the Church of
Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) in the Southeastern
U.S. Located eight miles from Altamont in Grundy
County and the same distance from the Irving
College community in Warren County, the chapel
was dedicated on Oct. 24, 1909. The building was
constructed and paid for by local members, friends,
and missionaries. The land was donated by the
Tipton family, and though services are no longer held
at the chapel, Tipton heirs continue the upkeep of
the property. The church was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places in 1979.
4
February 2015
236th in a series to show where our
rural Co-op friends worship
February 2015
Volume 56, Number 2
Published by Tennessee Farmers
Cooperative in the interest of better
farming through cooperation and improved
technology, and to connect the Co-op
community through shared experiences,
common values, and rural heritage.
Editor: Allison Morgan
[email protected]
Assistant Editor: Chris Villines
[email protected]
Communications Specialist: Sarah Geyer
[email protected]
Contributing Editor: Jerry Kirk
[email protected]
Senior Graphic Designer: Shane Read
[email protected]
Graphic Designer: Jason Barns
[email protected]
Layout & Production Coordinator:
Travis Merriman
[email protected]
Editorial Assistant: Polly Campbell
[email protected]
Advertising Information: Keith Harrison
615-793-8585, [email protected]
The Tennessee Cooperator is distributed
free to patrons of member Co-ops. Since
each Co-op maintains its own mailing list,
requests for subscriptions must be made
through the local Co-op. When
reporting an address change, please
include the mailing label from a past
issue and send to the following address:
Tennessee Cooperator
P.O. Box 3003
LaVergne, TN 37086
Phone: (615) 793-8339
E-mail: [email protected]
Guest Subscriptions:
Guest subscriptions are available for
$12.95 per year by sending a check
or money order to Tennessee Farmers
Cooperative at the above address.
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TnFarmersCooperative
TFC Board of Directors:
Chairman — Larry Paul Harris,
Wildersville, Zone 1
Vice Chairman — Johnny Brady,
Riceville, Zone 3
Keith Fowler, Martin, Zone 1
Richard Jameson, Brownsville, Zone 1
Clint Callicott, Only, Zone 2
Kenneth Nixon, Carthage, Zone 2
Stephen Philpott, Shelbyville, Zone 2
David Sarten, Sevierville, Zone 3
Mark Thompson, Cumberland Gap, Zone 3
Chief Executive Officer —
­­ Bart Krisle
NOTICE: This publication is for
informational purposes only. Tennessee
Farmers Cooperative, its affiliates,
subsidiaries, and member Co-ops are not
responsible for any damages or claims
that may result from a reader’s use of this
information, including but not limited to
actual, punitive, consequential, or economic
damages. Tennessee Farmers Cooperative
makes no warranties or representations, either
express or implied, including warranties of
merchantability or fitness of any product/
material for a particular purpose. Each
article, document, advertisement, or other
information is provided “AS IS” and without
warranty of any kind. Tennessee Farmers
Cooperative reserves the right to alter,
correct, or otherwise change any part or
portion of this publication, including articles
and advertisements, without detriment to
Tennessee Farmers Cooperative, its affiliates,
subsidiaries, or member cooperatives.
®
Valley, Foothills consolidate
Merger of two successful East Tennessee Co-ops is a result of ‘looking to the future’
By Chris Villines
I
n a historic move that its
respective leaders believe
will pave the way for longterm success, the memberships of two highly successful,
neighboring East Tennessee
farmer-owned cooperatives —
Valley and Foothills — have
voted to consolidate.
The new entity, AgCentral
Farmers Cooperative, officially begins operations Feb. 1.
Headquartered in Athens and
covering McMinn, Blount,
Loudon, Monroe, Roane, and
Meigs counties, AgCentral
employs 200 people and serves
some 3,100 members. Sales
are projected at $90 million
annually.
“The reason for this merger,
plain and simple, is to best
prepare our business for the
future,” says John Walker,
AgCentral’s chief executive officer who was formerly general
manager of Valley Farmers. “As
we move forward, being together
as one Co-op will help us do
things more efficiently for our
members. That’s important in today’s ever-changing agricultural
industry.”
farmers and reduce the expenses
that we acquire every day.”
When Walker and Best
introduced the idea to their
boards, there was “naturally
some skepticism,” says Meigs
County dairyman and beef
Walker and Foothills Farmers Co-op General Manager
Brent Best, now chief operations
officer for AgCentral, began seriously discussing the possibility of
a merger a little over a year ago.
“Our thought was that the
timing was right to merge while
we were still two strong Co-ops,”
Best says. “We were just trying to
figure out a way to stay in business for our children, grandchildren, and the next generation of
cattle farmer Howard Hornsby,
newly elected president of AgCentral Farmers Co-op’s board.
At the same time, he says, the
possibilities were exciting.
“I have been in favor of [merging] for years,” says Hornsby.
“Monroe County lies dead center
between McMinn and Loudon
counties, yet it was a separate
Co-op. It just didn’t make sense.”
Because of their close proximity to one another, Hornsby says
Valley and Foothills trucks were
“crossing daily.”
“You would see a Valley feed
truck going north and a Foothills
feed truck going south,” he says.
“With AgCentral, we can be
more efficient and serve the customer better. My single biggest
expense is my Co-op bill, so the
stronger and more efficient my
Co-op is means more money in
my pocket as a farmer-owner.”
In examining their sales
strengths, Walker says the
two Co-ops complement each
other nicely.
“When you look at different
areas, Valley was heavier in feed,
while Foothills was heavier in
agronomy and fuel,” he explains.
“You put the number together,
and it balances out nicely as far
as diversification goes.”
Including Hornsby, AgCentral’s new board of directors has
10 members with representation
(See AgCentral, page 6)
News briefs
TAEP updates ‘master’ producer
qualifications for 2015
Producers who wish to qualify for 50-percent cost-share
funding through the 2015 Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement
Program (TAEP) may need to complete advanced continuing
education through the University of Tennessee Extension.
For example, farmers who completed the Master Beef Producer program from 2004-2007 will need an “advanced” certificate this year, and dairy producers with Tennessee Quality Milk
Initiative (TQMI) certificates must recertify by participating in
the UT Master Dairy Producer Program.
More details and a schedule of current certification renewal
deadlines by program are available at www.tn.gov/taep under
Master Certification Information in the TAEP News section or
by calling the TAEP information line at 1-800-342-8206.
Farmers Market Boot Camps this month
Six “boot camp” workshops to be held across Tennessee in
February will focus on regulations and other topics to help producers who plan to sell at farmers markets.
Farmers Market Boot Camps will be held Monday, Feb. 16,
in Cookeville; Tuesday, Feb. 17, Alcoa; Wednesday, Feb. 18,
Greeneville; Tuesday, Feb. 24, Covington; Wednesday, Feb. 25,
Clarksville; and Thursday, Feb. 26, Franklin. Check-in begins at
9 a.m. local time, and sessions last from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Preregistration is required at least five days prior to the
workshop and may be completed online at tiny.utk.edu/fmbootcamp. There is a $20 fee, which includes lunch.
For more information, click the link listed under “Educational Events” at the University of Tennessee’s Center for Profitable
Agriculture’s website at ag.tennessee.edu/cpa.
February 2015
5
AgCentral
(continued from page 5)
from each county that the Co-op
services. Walker says the criteria
for selecting the board was carefully thought out.
“It was important that board
representation be done fairly,”
says Walker. “There were several different parameters that
we looked at to make sure the
distribution of the 10 members
was fair and accurate. We went
the extra mile, because if you’re
on one side you want to make
sure that side is properly represented. In the end, it worked
out well.”
After the Foothills and Valley
boards approved moving forward with consolidation talks, a
merger committee made up of
four members from each Co-op
was formed and met for the first
time in March 2014. In addition,
Best, Walker, and TFC Regional
Manager Ronnie Millsaps were
involved with the meetings.
“The first meeting was more
of an exploratory session just to
gauge interest and the mutual
benefit for both parties,” says
Millsaps, who moderated the
proceedings. “From the outset,
there was open, honest com-
6
February 2015
munication and a lot of respect
between the two groups.”
Millsaps points out that because both Co-ops were on solid
financial footing, the decision to
come together was distinctive.
“They didn’t have to do this to
succeed,” he says. “Both Co-ops
were very strong and sound with
good balance sheets. But they
were looking ahead and saying
they want to be viable today and
20 years down the road. I think
it will generate conversation
among other Co-ops about doing
something similar or at least
challenge them to consider their
particular situations.”
In addition to the membership
of each Co-op, the employees
were also vital in making the
merger work.
“We tried to keep them up to
date as much as possible while
things were moving along,” says
Best. “After the boards met and
decided there was interest, we
had employee meetings to talk
about it. We actually got key
employees from Valley and Foothills together to openly discuss
things, and in my opinion it was
one of the best meetings we had.
It settled any tension that might
have existed.”
Greenback beef cattle producer Tom McCall, who was
president of Foothills’ board and
a member of the merger committee, says the consolidated
Co-op will have increased buying power and efficiencies that
will benefit the customers.
“We’ll be able to do some
things together that we weren’t
able to do separately,” McCall
says. “We can combine our
facilities and equipment and
not have so much duplication.
It’s going to be good for the
small farmer because there’s
going to be machinery and other
items that can be bought that
wouldn’t have been if we had
still been operating individually.”
The potential of the new venture has Brad Black, a Foothills
Farmers board member who
raises row crops and beef cattle
in Vonore, “really excited.”
“I think we needed to do this
to compete against some of the
independent farm supply stores
in the marketplace,” Black says.
“By being together, we can
invest in more technologies than
we could if we were still separate, like variable-rate spreading
and GPS-driven equipment.
I know some people are still
skeptical and don’t like change,
but I feel strongly that this is a
change for the better and a heck
of an opportunity.”
Walker says that in the coming weeks, work will be under
way to rebrand to AgCentral at
each of the nine retail locations
— Athens, Loudon, Decatur,
Harriman, Maryville, Greenback, Madisonville, Sweetwater,
and Tellico Plains. Walker will
continue to work out of Athens,
as will AgCentral Chief Financial Officer Jeff Crisp. Best will
be located in Maryville through
the transition period.
The name may be changing,
but AgCentral customers can
still expect to work with the
same key personnel and experience the same level of hometown service present under the
Foothills and Valley banners,
Walker adds.
“The Co-ops will still look
the same, and the relationships
the farmers have with the Co-op
employees will remain intact,”
he stresses. “And we have
created a schedule to pay off
our allocations in a systematic
manner where nothing is lost
— it’s all there in full. You can’t
change too much too quickly.
That would be a big mistake and
a disservice to our members.
“After all, it’s their business.
None of this would be possible
without member support and
buy-in.”
SPECIAL FEATURE
As Co-op in Tennessee celebrates its 70-year anniversary in 2015,
the Cooperator proudly highlights monumental moments and
milestones that paved the way to our becoming one of the
nation’s strongest federated cooperative systems. Look for seven
facts in each issue from now to December for a total of 70.
1
2
3
In 1965, TFC joined Cooperative Research Farms (CRF), which
conducts research on animal nutrition and practical feeding problems at member facilities as well as through external
contracts with various universities and private research farms.
Headquartered in Richmond, Va., CRF continues to be a world
leader in feed research, with owners from the
U.S., Canada, France, and the Netherlands.
The “Little Co-op Man,” right, first appeared in a January
1962 advertisement for Co-op plant food. He was a marketing icon for our Co-op system through the late 1960s,
and his red Co-op cap was a real trendsetter.
4
Some 2,000 people — about double the number expected
— showed up for the first Milan No-Till Field Day on July 23,
1981. Co-op was an exhibitor that year and is still a strong
supporter of the event, now held every other year. The next
field day is scheduled for July 2016.
5
Fort Loudoun Terminal, Inc., located on the Tennessee River in Lenoir City, was bought
in 1995 by TFC to enhance fertilizer service to member Co-ops in East Tennessee. With
a barge-unloading capability, the facility provides both river and rail access and additional storage of product. It operates today under Ag Distributors, Inc. (ADI) wholesale
division.
6
The “Co-op Radial Wide” tire was introduced to
Co-op customers in 1970. Radials — designed for
the rugged, high-speed driving in parts of Europe —
promised up to 40,000 miles of tread wear.
7
Tennessee Farmers Cooperative was
chartered on Sept. 27,1945, in Nashville
with 33 member Co-ops. At 1:05 p.m.
that day, the first TFC board of directors was elected, and the cooperative
became a reality.
Regional Accounting was launched
by TFC in 2005, altering the way
bookkeeping is done at some member Co-ops. Under the program, TFC
accounting staffers do all the tasks
that in-store bookkeepers once handled. Currently, 39 member Co-ops
plus TFC subsidiaries use this service.
February 2015
February 2015
7
7
Beans could beat corn in 2015
Analysts say crop prices, profitability factors likely to dramatically shift acreage
Story and photos by Allison Morgan
I
f early January forecasts
prove true, soybean plantings could be near or equal
to corn in the upcoming crop
season — a balance that hasn’t
been experienced since the
mid-1980s.
That’s what two industry
analysts predicted at the Co-op
Winter Managers’ Meeting Jan.
12 and 13 in Murfreesboro.
Addressing the more than
250 Co-op managers and key
employees in attendance, Dan
Kowalski, senior manager for
CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange,
and Mark Wilson, Tennessee
area vice president for Farm
Credit Mid-America, shared a
common outlook for agriculture
this year.
“This is the big story for
2015 — for the first time in 30
years, we might have the same
amount of corn and soybean
acres out there,” said Kowalski.
“Of course, that could change
as we digest some of the new
data from the U.S. Department
of Agriculture and see how
production turns out in South
America, but the numbers
are definitely going to be a lot
closer than they have been in
recent memory.”
Based on December projections, USDA expects farmers
to plant 88 million acres of
corn in 2015, down from 90.9
million this year, and 84 million acres of soybeans, down
from this year’s 84.2 million.
However, private analytical firm
Informa Economics puts those
numbers much closer, with an
early January survey of producers showing intentions of 88.6
million acres of corn and 88
million acres of soybeans.
“The idea that soybean acres
could get close to corn is based
on prices on the board for
November-December contracts
and the potential for higher
profitability when input costs
are considered,” said Kowalski.
“Soybeans, up until this point,
8
February 2015
In an agronomy breakout session at Co-op Winter Managers’ Meeting Jan. 12 in Murfreesboro, Dan Kowalski, senior manager
for CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, shares an outlook for row-crop and animal agriculture industries in 2015. The big stories
for this year, he said, are lower commodity prices, acreage shifts bringing soybeans closer to corn, and falling oil prices.
have offered a really good opportunity.”
In the final tally of the 2014
crop year, USDA’s Jan. 12
World Agriculture Supply and
Demand Estimates showed that
farmers harvested a record 14.2
billion bushels of corn, 3 percent more than the 2013 crop.
Soybean production also set a
record at 3.97 billion bushels,
up 18 percent from 2013.
As a result, grain supply is
outpacing demand, and the
markets are responding accordingly, said Kowalski.
“Commodity prices have
already come down quite a
bit, and we’re going to see a
softness in the market across
agriculture,” he said. “There
is plenty of corn, wheat, and
soybeans, so it’s going to be
tougher to sustain rallies in the
markets. It’s going to take discipline and good risk management on the part of farmers to
take advantage of those rallies
and make good decisions on
their marketing.”
Farm Credit’s Wilson sees
a similar situation, with crop
farmers moving from a time
of “great prosperity to a time
of very tight profit margins or
break-even years,” he told the
Co-op audience.
“This will be a new experience for a lot of the younger
farmers who haven’t lived
through a ‘boom and bust
cycle,’” said Wilson. “It will
challenge them and require a
different mindset and skillset
than they’ve had to use before.”
The decline of oil prices,
on the other hand, will be a
welcome change for producers
who can expect lower fuel bills
in 2015, both Wilson and Kowalski pointed out. Going into
spring, the price of crude oil has
dropped tremendously, trading at less than $50 per barrel
in mid-January — half its July
price — and is likely to keep
falling, they said. Since fertilizer
input costs are also tied closely
to energy costs, that provides
some potential for optimism
longer-term, added Kowalski.
“It’s a new paradigm for crop
production,” he said. “Even
though farm income will likely
be down in 2015, oil prices
will have ramifications that we
don’t even know yet because we
haven’t seen the bottom.”
Although planting intentions
are not yet solidified for many
producers, Kowalski said he
doesn’t expect much change
in predictions for the 2015
season.
“I think we have a lot of the
information we’re going to have
and can make these estimations,” he said. “South America
remains a question mark —
how big the soybean crop is
going to be and how much corn
they’re going to plant. We’ll
have a better feel for that in
the second quarter, but deci-
Mark Wilson, Tennessee area vice
president for Farm Credit Mid-America,
shares his view of the industry from
a lender’s perspective. In 2015, farm
income will be down for row-crop
growers, he predicted, while livestock
producers should continue to prosper.
sions for a lot of producers will
already be made.”
With lower farm income
expected in the row-crop sector,
Wilson suggested some steps
that producers can take to mitigate the impact:
l Build working capital —
Liquidate any unused assets,
postpone capital purchases,
and take other measures to
build cash reserves.
l Fix long-term interest
rates — If necessary, refinance
long-term debts to get a fixed
rate. Producers can do this
now, he said, with the past few
years of good earnings history.
They may not be able to do this
after a year or so of losses.
l Reduce expenses and land
rents — Cut costs where possible. Land rents must come
down to more sustainable
levels.
l Purchase crop insurance
— Not having crop insurance
is simply not an option. There
is too much risk with today’s
input costs and price outlook.
l Market wisely — Knowing the costs of production
and having a strong marketing
program will be essential.
l Plan for contingencies —
Look ahead and use multiple
scenarios to know what to do in
different situations.
l Stay in close communication with lenders — It is essential for the lender and customer
to have a good working relationship and talk about present
and future plans, with updates
along the way.
EVERY CROP
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who trusts field-proven technologies to more effectively feed
crops, save time and boost the bottom line. Be a superhero.
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Analysts see
bright outlook
for animal ag
Animal agriculture has a
somewhat brighter outlook
than row-crop production
in 2015, agreed Dan Kowalski, senior manager for
CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, and Mark Wilson,
Tennessee area vice president for Farm Credit MidAmerica, in their presentations at the recent Co-op
Winter Managers’ Meeting.
Beef producers should
continue to benefit from
higher market prices as
demand outpaces supply,
said Kowalski. The U.S.
cattle herd has reached its
smallest size since the early
1950s, and numbers are
expected to decline another
2 percent to 3 percent.
“The cow/calf producer
loves it; packers hate it,”
Kowalski said. “There just
isn’t enough supply of beef
out there. We are seeing
signs, however, that we’re
starting to rebuild the herd.”
As alternatives to beef,
both pork and poultry
industries are poised for
an expansion of about 3 percent to 4 percent, said Kowalski. Lower feed prices and
higher consumer demand
are factors in this trend, he
explained.
Dairy production may
also expand, spurred by
higher milk prices and
profitability in 2014, said
Wilson. Even though prices
are expected to be lower in
2015, he said they’re still
favorable when compared
historically.
“Last year was one of the
best years ever for many
dairymen,” said Wilson.
“High milk prices and falling
feed costs in the second half
of the year drove profit margins to nearly record levels.
We should be experiencing a
herd expansion, even though
that’s not happening at the
moment. Poor profitability in
2012 and early 2013 created
a lack of replacement heifers, and that appears to be
holding producers back.”
February 2015
9
Plan A.
Plan B.
Keeps diesel fuel
from gelling.
In case you
forgot Plan A.
Depend on Power Service to keep your diesel equipment running strong all winter long.
Diesel Fuel Supplement® +Cetane Boost® is
a winterizer/antigel that prevents gelling and
protects against fuel-filter icing.
Diesel 9•1•1® is a winter rescue formula that
restores flow of fuel to engines caused by
gelled fuel or frozen fuel-filters.
www.powerservice.com
PSP1-25114 TN Farmers CO-OP Half-Page Ad_V1.indd 1
February 2015
om
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PUB. ISSUE
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INITIAL SETUP
DESKTOP ARTIST
PHONE
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James
817.335.1373
February 2015
11
Story by Sarah Geyer
Greg Aston, center, Southern sales representative for Allied Seed, discusses recent pasture renovation with Springville farmers Adam Taylor, left, and his father, Bill, who
plan to frost seed clover at the end of February on 50 of their farm’s 270 acres. The Taylors have a small cow/calf operation and grow soybeans.
T
ypically, February and
early March aren’t
ideal for planting anything — unless it’s pastures.
Fluctuating temperatures
this time of year create optimum conditions for frost seeding clover, a quick and inexpensive method that capitalizes on
the cold nights and warm days
of late winter and early spring.
As the ground expands and contracts from repeated thawing
and refreezing, the broadcast
seed is buried in the soil. Existing grasses in the overseeded
pasture aren’t damaged, though,
and can still be grazed.
A hardy seed like clover is
the ideal choice for the frost
seeding technique and can
enhance a pasture’s existing
grasses, stresses Greg Aston of
Allied Seed, a forage production company of which Tennessee Farmers Cooperative is
part owner.
“Clover, because it provides
nitrogen and reduces toxicity in
other plants, is a great way to
increase yields, produce higher-quality forage, and improve
animal health,” Greg says.
Bill Taylor of Lexington
planned his most recent pas-
12
February 2015
ture renovation project with
frost seeding in mind. Last
spring, the part-time farmer
waged war on rampant pigweed
that invaded some 50 acres of
the family farm, where he and
son Adam, 33, raise cattle and
soybeans on 270 acres of rolling
hills in Springville.
l
Springville
“If pigweed goes to seed,
you’ve got a mess,” says Bill.
“I hated that killing the weeds
meant sacrificing the clover I
had, but I read that weeds use
like 10 times more moisture
than other plants, so they had
to go.”
Because forages and hay are
the primary sources of nutrition
for their small cow/calf operation, Bill, a customer of First,
Carroll, and Henry Farmers
Cooperatives, says he is conscientious about his pasture
management.
“I believe in the philosophy
that quality forages build quality animals,” he says. “We have
to put a lot of thought and care
into our pastures to make that
happen.”
The father-and-son team
rotates 30 head of Herefordcross cattle among six 25- to
30-acre paddocks. Their
pastures are 20 percent to 30
percent clover and fescue, with
the rest of the grazing area in
Bermudagrass and ryegrass.
The Taylors also harvest hay
produced from Benchmark
Plus, Allied Seed’s Farm Science Genetics brand of orchardgrass, to help supplement
the winter feeding.
“Since both Adam and I
work full-time jobs, we’re
dependent on quality pastures
and hay to take care of our
cattle,” says Bill. “So, when I
can, I’m renovating and staying ahead of the weeds, and
overseeding in February is a
relatively easy way to do both.”
Because it was spring when
Bill applied the herbicide
Grazon — which, because of
its residual effect, has a suggested nine-month waiting
period before seeding clover
— he knew February would be
the perfect time to gently reintroduce the legume through
frost seeding into his weedfree fields. With 200 pounds
of Farm Science Genetics’
Will Ladino clover waiting in
A small but hardy seed like clover makes an ideal choice for frost seeding and also
benefits existing pasture grasses through the addition of nitrogen.
their shed, Bill and Adam are
ready for the small window of
fluctuating temperatures that
precedes spring.
“I’m a big fan of Will Ladino
— it’s a real good clover with a
great bang for the buck,” says
Bill. “You just can’t beat it. It’s
recommended that you use
about two pounds of clover seed
per acre, but I’m going to spread
four. When you’re talking about
$18 an acre for seed, it’s worth
it to me to add a little more on
the front end.”
For other livestock producers considering frost seeding
clover this year, Greg has these
tips for a successful application:
l Select the ideal site. Frost
seeding is a good choice for
areas that need to be renovated
with little disturbance or simply
thickened up. However, because this technique requires
the land to heave and contract,
it’s not as effective on sandy
soil. Grasses not only benefit
from the extra nitrogen released
by clover, but the legume also
helps dilute endophyte issues
often found with fescue.
l Test the soil. Testing the
LEFT: Clover provides extra nutrition for cattle, improves forage yield, and dilutes the effects of endophyte in fescue. RIGHT:
Adam, left, who lives near the family farm, and Bill, who lives and works in Lexington, enjoy the convenience of working with
three Co-ops, First Farmers in Lexington, Carroll Farmers in Huntingdon (on the way to the farm), and Henry Farmers in Paris.
soil’s nutrient levels and pH prior to planting is always a smart
idea. Ideally, pH levels should
fall in the 6.0 to 7.0 range.
l Prepare the site for planting. Existing grasses should be
grazed or mowed close to the
ground to ensure proper soilto-seed contact.
l Select the best seed. Your
local Co-op carries these topyielding varieties of clover:
Will Ladino white clover and
Cinnamon Plus and new
401RC red clover. These products are pre-inoculated and
coated to ensure the best possible seedling survivability. White
clover’s persistence makes it a
good choice for grazing, and a
mixture of red and white clover
is popular for hay.
l Plant and protect the
new stand. A Herd seeder, also
available from Co-op, is ideal
for broadcasting smaller-sized
seeds such as clover. Cattle
can graze on the overseeded
pasture immediately after application, but the animals need
to be removed once clover is 3
to 4 inches tall and not reintroduced until the clover stand
is established.
For more information about
frost seeding clover or pasture
renovation techniques, contact
a livestock specialist at your
local Co-op.
February 2015
13
New at Co-op
Handi-Heat Magnum
Magnetic Heater
The Handi-Heat Magnum Magnetic Heater (#168999) provides
300°F to 400°F heat for heating or thawing engine blocks, oil
pans, and transmissions on trucks, tractors, and other large vehicles. A magnetic heater is an electric unit that heats the engine
or transmission of a vehicle to give quicker starts and protects
your engine from damage that can occur during cold-weather
starts. Warmed engines also deliver better fuel economy with improved oil flow to provide better lubrication to the engine, which
reduces wear and increases engine life. Oil and transmission fluids
thicken and do not circulate well at cold temperatures. HandiHeat Magnum transmits heat continuously to keep oils fluid, giving
you instant lubrication when starting your engine. It features two
powerful magnets and expanding heating surface. Its larger size
makes it ideal for use on trucks, diesels, and farm machinery.
Little Giant Deluxe Incubator
With Egg Turner
With updated digital technology, the
Little Giant Deluxe Incubator With Egg
Turner (#6808876) sets the standard
for incubating and hatching eggs. A
built-in fan continuously circulates the
air to maintain a proper temperature
throughout the incubator, eliminating
harmful hot and cold spots. Durable
styrofoam retains warmth, generated
by a gentle heating element controlled
by a highly dependable, digital control
board. The LCD display with LED
light shows accurate temperature
and humidity readings instantly. A
self-regulating control board adjusts
the temperature to suit varying environments. The built-in digital hydrometer and moisture channels
help maintain humidity, a key factor in egg health. A plastic mesh
screen safely supports eggs during the hatch period and is also dishwasher-safe. Two 4-by-8-inch viewing windows allow monitoring of
the hatching process and are great for educational purposes. Holds
41 large chicken eggs or up to 120 bantam or quail eggs when used
with the Little Giant Automatic Egg Turner, which is included with
this incubator. This product is intended for general poultry hobbyists and is not recommended for professional or commercial use or
for incubating exotic birds or reptiles.
14
February 2015
®
Little Giant Chick Brooder Kit
Little Giant Chick Brooder Kit (#6808878) comes with a washable and reusable plastic corrugated wall and stand that includes a
hook for a Brooder Reflector Lamp (sold separately: lamp #444580,
red bulb #18039) to be hung. The circular design prevents corner
crowding, which can result in baby chick injury and/or suffocation.
The lamp stand can be secured to the wall for added safety with the
included cable ties. This stand is also adjustable, allowing the height
of the lamp to be modified as chicks grow. Enclosure measures approximately 3 feet in diameter and 16 inches tall when assembled
and is suitable for up to 15 chicks, depending on breed.
FSG 428 RR Alfalfa
428RR is one of the latest generation Genuity® Roundup Ready®
alfalfa varieties that lets you produce cleaner, higher-quality alfalfa for
greater profit potential. The simplicity and improved crop safety of
using one herbicide with the widest window of application available
enables you to be in control instead of Mother Nature. 428RR alfalfa
performs well over a wide range of environmental conditions and
is adapted to all areas where 3, 4, and 5 fall dormancy varieties are
planted. 428RR alfalfa also features a disease index rating of 30/30
and high multifoliate leaf expression for improved forage quality.
Whether it’s for great forage yields, superior forage quality, or very
fast recovery after cutting, 428RR alfalfa is the choice for commercial
hay, beef, and dairy producers who want to take advantage of Genuity Roundup Ready technology.
FSG 401RC Red Clover
Developed from plant selections made near Franklin, Tenn.,
FSG 401RC is an elite new generation diploid medium red clover
developed for higher forage yields, improved stand persistence
and greater field resistance to black patch (Rhizoctonia). FSG
401RC performs extremely well over a wide geographic area
and under variable growing conditions. It has a 50-percent bloom
approximately one day later than Arlington, four days earlier
than Marathon, and one day earlier than Kenland in the spring.
FSG 401RC is the ideal choice for new pastures, overseeding
established grass pastures, and hay production.
Neighborly Advice Crops
Burn down fields to improve emergence, early crop growth
F
or
growers
in the
Mid-South,
planting is
just around
the corner.
It’s a good
Darrin Holder
time to
decide on a
WinField Regional
Agronomist
burndown
program, especially if you have
no-till or minimum-till fields,
to allow the crop to establish
under weed-free conditions.
A burndown application
should be done 14 to 21 days
before tilling and at least 14
days prior to planting a no-till
field, unless the product label stipulates a longer period.
Familiarizing yourself with your
weed spectrum and the expected response to the herbicides
is one of the best management
practices. Depending on location, hard-to-control weeds to
target include Russian thistle,
henbit, marestail, giant ragweed, lambsquarters, amaranth
species, and various grasses.
When applying glyphosate,
use a tank-mix partner to help
target resistant weeds. A 2,4-D
ester type of herbicide like WinField Shredder® E-99 herbicide
or a dicamba type like Sterling
Blue® herbicide will help control hard-to-kill broadleaves.
To get the most value from
burndown application, include
a residual herbicide in the tank
mix to keep further infestations
at bay. Research shows that
corn seedlings detect the presence of weeds at emergence and
will change their growth pattern
at the switchpoint — an interval
that occurs before competition for resources begins.1 This
can result in corn growing 17
percent taller and developing
45 percent more leaf area and
a root system that’s 10 percent
to 15 percent smaller. All of this
can lead to less energy being
dedicated to yield production.
Using residual herbicides
prior to crop and weed emergence prevents the development
of weeds before, during, and
after the crop’s switchpoint,
eliminating competition for water, nutrients, and sunlight. This
gives the crop its best chance
to start off on the right foot and
set the stage for optimum yields.
Using the correct adjuvants is
always a good idea. Including a
high-surfactant oil concentrate
in the mix can increase efficacy
by burning through the thick,
waxy cuticle layer of many weeds
and grasses. WinField’s Superb®
HC and Destiny® HC adjuvants
are crop oil concentrate or
methylated seed oil adjuvants
compatible with glyphosate and
combinations. The use rate is
usually half that of conventional
types of these products.
Adding WinField Class Act
NG® adjuvant to your tank
mix helps improve efficacy and
provides enhanced control by
reducing the antagonism from
1
hard water cations and increasing absorption of the herbicide
into the weeds. It’s also a good
idea to use InterLock® adjuvant
by WinField in every tank mix to
reduce drift and help with overall deposition and coverage.
Coverage is essential when
using contact herbicides with an
active ingredient like paraquat,
such as Gramoxone® SL. It
should be applied in a minimum
of 15 gallons per acre (GPA).
Systemic herbicides should be
applied at 8 to 12 GPA. Proper
tip selection is also important;
an XR TeeJet® tip at very low
pressures or an AIXR TeeJet® tip
works well when spraying contact herbicides. An AI or AIXR
TeeJet® tip is effective when
spraying systemic herbicides.
No matter the crop, I always
advise following a burndown
program with a pre-emergent
residual herbicide treatment.
For customized assistance in
choosing a burndown program,
consult your local Co-op.
www.syngentacropprotection.com/assets/assetlibrary/canada_WhitePaper_weedcosts2_Jan_05.pdf
February 2015
15
Cattle
Neighborly Advice
An ounce of prevention ...
T
he old
adage,
“an ounce
of prevention is worth
a pound of
cure,” has
numerous
Royce Towns
applicaTFC Nutritionist
tions in
livestock production, but none
more so than when dealing with
grass tetany in beef cattle. Also
referred to as hypomagnesemia
or grass staggers, grass tetany is
a complex metabolic disorder of
cattle associated with a deficiency of magnesium in the blood
and spinal fluid. This disorder
can occur at any time of the year
but is most often seen in early
spring when periods of warmer
weather cause rapid growth of
cool-season grasses. Cool soil
temperatures impair the plants’
ability to absorb magnesium,
resulting in lush, green forage
16
February 2015
lacking in this vital mineral.
Cattle then eagerly consume
this new growth, increasing
their potential for magnesium
deficiency.
Despite research efforts since
its discovery more than 80 years
ago, grass tetany still claims
a number of cows annually.
Symptoms include interrupted
grazing, nervous appearance,
and sensitivity to touch and
sound. In advanced stages,
affected animals may exhibit
twitching skin, convulsions,
and staggering, eventually lying
down and “paddling” with the
forelegs. Death usually occurs
within a few hours. Many times
animals are found dead without
any indication of illness other
than marks on the ground that
indicate convulsions.
Treating grass tetany through
intravenous administration of
magnesium by a veterinarian
can be effective, but due to the
relatively short time between
diagnosis and death, this is not
a very practical method of managing the problem. However,
there are a number of preventive strategies that can be used
prior to an anticipated threat.
When possible, graze cattle
that are less susceptible to grass
tetany on higher-risk pastures.
In general, heifers, dry cows,
and stocker calves are much less
likely to develop the disorder
than mature, lactating cows.
Another option is to wait until
pastures are 4 to 6 inches tall
before grazing because immature plants tend to have the
lowest magnesium levels.
Providing cattle with supplemental magnesium just prior to
and during grazing of high-risk
forages is one of the most effective means of preventing grass
tetany. Magnesium oxide is an
efficient source of magnesium
but by itself is not palatable to
cattle. That’s why it is typically
included as an ingredient in
“hi-mag” mineral supplements,
blocks, or tubs. Providing
supplemental magnesium by
feeding any of these products
requires the producer to ensure
that supplements are always
available to cattle and that
intake meets label recommendations. Since stored magnesium
is not easily mobilized by the
body, beginning supplementation more than a few weeks
ahead of an anticipated challenge is neither necessary nor
cost-effective.
Deaths from grass tetany
can be minimized, but to do so
producers must have a basic
understanding of the disorder
and a management plan in place
before it strikes. Prevention is
generally much more successful
and less expensive than treatment after the fact. Visit with
the beef cattle specialists at your
Co-op to determine which grass
tetany prevention strategies are
right for your operation.
February 2015
17
W
hen most people look
at a dilapidated barn,
they see an eyesore, a
safety hazard, a bonfire waiting
to happen.
Harris Green and Curt Chaffin see potential.
Through their Orlinda
Furniture Co. in Robertson
County, these longtime friends
turned business partners transform dismantled barns and
other repurposed wood into
high-quality home furnishings
with historical significance.
Old planks, posts, boards, and
beams are reincarnated as
beds and benches, tables and
chairs, chests and hutches, bar
stools and bookshelves, and
much more.
In the process, the 29-year-old
entrepreneurs are not only making fine, functional furniture, but
they’re also reclaiming the past.
l
Story
Orlinda
“What we make will last for
generations,” Harris says. “We’re
saving this wood from being
burned, wasted, and gone forever.
Now, it’s in somebody’s house
and will be handed down. It’s
neat to be able to capture something like that and pass it on.”
Launched in 2011, Orlinda
Furniture Co. began with a
single product — an Adirondack
chair. Harris built one for his
own front porch, made from
red oak planks cut from a fallen
tree in one of his hay fields.
Then, the Robertson Cheatham
Farmers Cooperative member
was farming full time, raising
tobacco, fruits, and vegetables.
He never thought that making
furniture would be more than a
hobby.
Robertson County’s Harris Green, left, and Curt Chaffin give old barns, like this one in Franklin, Ky., a rebirth through
their Orlinda Furniture Company. With an appreciation for preserving the past, these friends and business partners turn
discarded, unwanted wood into a wide range of beautiful and useful home furnishings with rustic, historical appeal.
When Curt, a childhood
friend and fellow graduate of
East Robertson High School
and Western Kentucky University, moved to Orlinda from
nearby Cross Plains in 2010, he
stopped by Harris’ house to visit.
He saw the handmade chair and
was intrigued. At the time, Curt
was working as a supervisor for
a concrete company.
“One rainy day when he was
off work, and I wasn’t doing
When farmer John Crafton, left, wanted to outfit his family’s “party barn” in Portland,
he called on Harris and Curt to craft the kitchen cabinets, island, and bar and
bathroom vanities and doors. The barn is rented out as a distinctive event space.
18
February 2015
much, Curt said, ‘Let’s build
some more of those chairs. We
could sell them,’” Harris says.
“So we did. We built five that
day and sold them almost immediately. Then we built five more
and sold them.”
The taste of success whet
their appetite for more. So in
the spring of 2011, the pair set
up a booth at the huge Nashville
Lawn and Garden Show with
just a few product samples.
“I told Curt that it would be
a good way to figure out if this
is what we need to do, or if we
just needed to start fishing in
our spare time,” Harris says. “So
we went and just got flooded
with orders. It was crazy! We
would build furniture at night
and started making more money
than we were during the day.”
Word spread. Customers
came. Confidence grew. A year
and a half later, Curt quit his
job, and Harris reduced his
farming operation to just a small
cattle herd along with hay and
blueberries. They incorporated
their furniture business as a
limited liability company
in 2013, and now both
consider themselves fulltime woodworkers — even
though neither has any
formal training in the profession.
“I’ve always had a creative
mind,” Curt says. “I can see
what I want to do before I
do it, and then my hands
make it happen. Harris is
the same way. And we like
to be challenged. You can
never be a ‘good enough’
At the hands o
woodworker. There’s always solid, sturdy fu
someone who is just a little and for sale at
bit better, so you never really
get complacent.”
Most of their materials come
from old barns that have fallen
or otherwise need to be torn
down. After making arrangements with the owner, Harris
and Curt salvage the structure,
taking time to appreciate its
architecture. They marvel at the
carpentry and craftsmanship of
hand-hewn beams, wooden pegs,
and dovetailed joints. Some of
Orlinda Furniture’s most popular
y and photos by Allison Morgan
of Harris and Curt, repurposed barn wood becomes
urniture like this buffet table, which is on display
t Davis & Co. Mercantile in Portland.
products, such as the Adirondack
chairs and porch swings, are also
made from discarded tobacco
sticks once used in the crop-drying process by area farmers who
have now exited that business.
“The timber that used to
build those barns was so much
better than the timber we have
now,” Harris says. “It’s from bigger, old-growth trees — yellow
poplar, white oak, and occasionally chestnut — and you can’t
replace it today.”
The furniture-makers keep
the wood safe and dry in sheds
beside Harris’ distinctive 1900era farmhouse and work out of
a small shop behind the house
Curt shares with wife Sarah and
16-month-old daughter Caroline.
“We’ll bring the wood in to
our shop — rough as a cob —
and plane it just a little bit,”
Harris explains. “Then we sand
the fire out of it, leaving a touch
of the saw marks — just enough
to give the wood a look that
people really like. Then we’ll
assemble the piece and coat it
with stain and polyurethane, depending on what the customer
wants. We like a matte or satin
finish; it just looks better.”
In this unique style they
describe as “country class,” the
craftsmen strive to retain the
rustic beauty and “character” of
the wood, Harris says. They use
traditional techniques and hand
tools as much as possible. Each
piece is made of solid wood and
designed for both eye appeal and
durability.
“Curt and I say we are old
souls,” Harris says. “We have an
appreciation for antique furniture and the way things used to
be done. We’re trying to get back
to that. These days, a lot of people don’t want something that’s
mass-produced or stamped out.
When our pieces are finished,
you know we’ve been there.”
Lisa Davis, owner of the
new Davis & Co. Mercantile in
downtown Portland, says Orlinda Furniture’s products fit well
with her shop’s atmosphere of
“Western elegance.” That’s why
she included a buffet table,
bar stools, and several pieces
of home décor made by Harris
and Curt as part of her offerings when the store opened in
mid-January.
“Their furniture is easy to sell
because it’s so well made,” Lisa
says. “They don’t take shortcuts.
Every piece is solid and one-ofa-kind. No one else is going to
get anything like it.”
Indeed, each piece of Orlinda
Furniture is made to order for
customers or inspired by something Harris or Curt imagined.
Some of the more unusual
requests have been a birdcage,
a rocking horse, and a kitchen
island with a hidden gun compartment.
Prices range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand,
depending on the type of wood
and amount of time and labor
that goes into each piece, but
Harris and Curt say they can
accommodate most any budget.
For example, dining room tables
start just below $1,000, and a
set of Adirondack chairs and
small table sell for $500.
Their handiwork extends
beyond furniture, too. When
John Crafton and wife Sara
decided to renovate a 65-yearold barn into an event space on
their farm near Portland, they
called on Orlinda Furniture
Co. to outfit the kitchen and
bathrooms. Harris and Curt
repurposed wood from the barn
to build the kitchen’s bar, island,
and cabinets and the bathroom
vanities and doors.
“They made it great!” says
John, who raises row crops,
cattle, strawberries, and sweet
corn. “Everybody loves the
kitchen and wants to know who
did it. We wanted to use everything we could that came out of
the barn and needed someone
who could work with this old
wood. I knew these guys would
do a good job, and they did.”
As word-of-mouth testimonials like this spread, the fledgling
furniture company has been
steadily growing, with sales
doubling every year. In fact,
Harris and Curt recently hired
another full-time employee to
help keep up with demand for
their products.
In the future, Orlinda Furniture’s owners say they’d like to
further expand the business and
eventually move into a larger
shop and showroom. For now,
the enterprising young men say
the chance to craft their own
careers has been rewarding on
many levels.
“I like creating something
from nothing — something
that will be here long after I’m
gone,” Harris says. “I’m leaving
something in this world that’s
tangible, real. That’s doing
something that’s bigger than
myself.”
For more information, visit
orlindafurnitureco.com or call
615-477-6308 or 615-268-6045.
LEFT: Curt smooths the surface of a dining room tabletop with a plane. He and Harris
use hand tools and traditional techniques when possible. ABOVE: Harris notches a
joint in what will be part of a four-poster bed made of red oak tobacco barn tiers.
Inside Orlinda Furniture Company’s workshop, new employee Rex Summers puts
the finishing touches on a desk he crafted under Curt’s supervision.
February 2015
19
20
February 2015
February 2015
21
Story and photos by Allison Morgan
Tim King jokes that his Lawrence County farm seems to grow rocks, but he’s found a way to alleviate the problem — a Mandako land roller from Tennessee Farmers
Cooperative’s Ag Equipment USA. Purchased through his local Lawrence Farmers Cooperative, the land roller allows Tim to push rocks into the ground and out of his way.
T
hey’re just rocks, right?
Harmless enough. But
in a soybean field, even a
small rock swallowed up by a
combine at harvest can damage or destroy a high-dollar
investment in an instant.
Tim King of Lawrenceburg
has experienced this problem
firsthand. He says rocks are a
serious issue on about two-thirds
of the 3,500 acres he farms in
Lawrence and Wayne counties
and have often caused him costly
downtime during harvest.
Lawrenceburg
l
“All my life, I’ve lived with
rocks,” says Tim, a longtime
member of Lawrence Farmers Cooperative. “This area is
bad about that. We’ve picked
up rocks, we’ve hired people
to pick them up, but you
just can’t get rid of them all.
There’s no consistent size either, from golfball- to softballto football-size. If we do any
tillage, we basically bring up
a new crop of rocks. And even
with no-till, the planters and
grain drills will flip them back
on top, too.”
In researching ways to
combat this problem, Tim kept
seeing magazine articles and
online forums in which farm-
22
February 2015
ers discussed using land rollers
to push rocks into the ground
and out of harm’s way. This
soil-finishing practice has been
used for decades in alfalfa and
grass seed production to improve germination and manage
rocks, but it is relatively new
for row crops.
Pioneered in Canada, land
rollers have recently made
their way to farms in the upper
Midwest but were unheard of in
this part of the country, so Tim
turned to Ag Equipment USA,
Tennessee Farmers Cooperative’s
farm implement and machinery
division, for help.
“I could just see the benefit from past experiences
with rocks in my fields, but
I couldn’t find land rollers
around here at all,” he says.
“That’s when I decided to get
in touch with the guys at Ag
Equipment. I’d bought one of
their BBI fertilizer spreaders a
few years back, and they had
the best help and service. I
knew I could count on them to
find what I needed.”
As a result of this interest,
Ag Equipment USA became a
dealer of land rollers made by
Mandako, a company based
in Manitoba, Canada. Available through Co-op in 30-foot
and 45-foot widths, Mandako
land rollers are designed to
press rocks into the ground,
level fields, and smooth out the
planting surface. Rolling a field
improves harvest efficiency by
reducing the chance of picking
up rocks or corn root clumps
that can damage the machine’s
guards, sickle sections, or expensive internal parts.
“Cutting beans is the big
thing,” says Tim. “You don’t
know the rock is there until
you come along and hit it.
Then the combine will pick it
up, and you’ll have some kind
of issue — bending something, breaking something, or
just choking the feeder house.
Where I’ve used the land
roller, harvest is safer and
faster. It just gives me peace
of mind.”
In addition to ridding fields
of rocks, Tim has found several other effective uses for the
land roller since he purchased
the 45-foot implement in the
fall of 2012.
Though few farmers in this region use land rollers, Ag Equipment USA’s Trey Hodge,
left, says producers like Tim can justify the investment when considering the cost of
damaging combines and the down time it takes to make repairs.
“If it looks like it’s going to
turn dry, we’ve actually rolled
after planting beans to help
get the ground firmed up and
conserve some moisture,” says
Tim. “Another place I’ve used it
is where I’ve cleared some land
for crop production. We cut
the timber and went in with an
excavator to dig out the stumps,
but that left tree roots and limbs
behind. I took the roller and
got those pressed down in the
ground. Eventually, they will rot
and won’t be an issue. It speeds
up the decaying process.”
Land rollers can accomplish
all this without causing compaction problems, says Trey
Hodge, outside salesman for Ag
Equipment USA.
“Even though the roller
weighs 22,000 pounds, that
weight is spread across such a
large area that it’s actually less
pressure than a 200-pound guy
walking on the field,” Trey explains. “But when it does come
to a rock, it basically puts all
the weight of the machine
on that one point to press it
down. It’s pretty innovative
how this thing works.”
Tim says he’s
mainly used the land
rollers in soybean
fields, where the
combine header
needs to be close
to the ground, but
he’s also rolled some
of his rockier corn
ground “just to be on
the safe side.”
“Farming as
many acres as we
do, I’ve got enough
to do without
watching for rocks,” LEFT: In addition to rock removal, Tim found the land roller to be helpful in pressing tree roots
says Tim. “Most of and limbs into the ground after clearing a portion of this field for crop production. RIGHT: Tim first
learned of the land rollers from magazine articles and online forums in which the implement was
the time, you won’t touted for helping farmers in Canada and the upper Midwest solve rock problems in their fields.
see them until you
Tim. “It’s one of those tools
hear them. They’re an aggrava- before the third trifoliate stage
you may not use in every field
to minimize plant injury. Rolltion as much as anything, but
every year, but I’ve felt it was
ing
in
the
afternoon,
during
the
there’s always the possibility
useful where I’ve run it. Some
heat
of
the
day
when
plans
are
of breakdown. I’m not having
of the new equipment that
flexible, is recommended.
that kind of issue nearly as
comes out turns out to be just
Despite these precautions,
frequently now that I’m using
a fad, but, for me, this isn’t
Tim says he’s found the advanthe land roller.”
tages of the land roller to be well one of them. I’ve seen the benExperts advise farmers not
efits to prove it.”
worth its cost and the time and
to use land rollers on erosionFor more information, check
fuel it takes to make an extra
prone fields since smoother
with
your local Co-op. To see
pass
over
the
field.
surface conditions can lead to
the
Mandako
land roller in ac“Rocks
are
a
difficult
probrunoff and loss of topsoil and
tion, visit mandakoagri.com/
nutrients. Plus, if soybeans have lem, but the simple solution
products/land-roller.php.
emerged, rolling should be done for me is the land roller,” says
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enable the product to be placed directly with the seed at planting
time. Placement with the seed allows the available phosphorus to
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potential.
Distributed by: Tennessee Farmers Cooperative
www.ourcoop.com
February 2015
23
Story and photos by Chris Villines
Beef cattle producers Toni Loshbough, left, and husband Preston of Crossville have found a more profitable formula for their cow/
calf operation: preconditioning. The couple originally got into the feeder hog business after marrying but soon switched to cattle.
A
group of calves huddle
together on a frosty January day, awaiting their
afternoon feeding at Preston
and Toni Loshbough’s farm just
outside of Crossville. Though
these young ones have been
weaned, they’ll spend a couple
more months on the Cumberland County farm.
Retaining and feeding their
calves in a preconditioning program just makes good monetary
sense, the Loshboughs say.
Crossville
l
“It works great for us,” says
Toni, who works part time as
bookkeeper at Cumberland
Farmers Cooperative in addition
24
February 2015
to helping Preston, a full-time
farmer, with their operation.
“By starting our calves on feed
a couple of weeks before they’re
weaned, we hear very little bawling, especially if we fenceline
wean them so they can see their
mamas.”
With preconditioning, producers veer from the more traditional route of selling calves at
weaning. Instead, they keep the
calves for a minimum of 45 days,
vaccinate them, and provide
them with high-quality feed. As a
result, the preconditioned calves
usually fetch more money for the
seller because the animals weigh
more, have better health, and
are prepared for the daily feedlot
ritual of eating from a feeder.
“Preston and Toni do as good
Crossville area. They say Co-op
14% Pelleted Beef Developer
with Rumensin (#94176) is the
key to putting weight on the
calves in their preconditioning
program.
“We keep records of our average weaning weights, and each
year they’re improving,” says
Preston. “The calves have done
really well on the Co-op pellets,
and we feel good knowing that
we’re giving them a high-quality
feed that’s putting the gain on
them. Ultimately, a cheaper feed
costs you more money because
the calves are having to eat more
of it and in the end are gaining
less weight. That’s money out of
your pocket come sale time.”
Co-op 14% Pelleted Beef
Developer with Rumensin
provides energy through highly
digestible fiber sources rather
than starches like wheat or corn.
These sources, Denny says, help
explain why the Loshboughs’
cattle have been able to gain
weight effectively.
“Producers who precondition should avoid any setbacks
that will result in lower daily
weight gains,” the feed specialist explains. “An example would
be the high fats and starches
that are often the main energy
ingredient found in lower-quality
feeds. These starches can upset
the digestive process. The 14%
Developer feed has energy from
the right sources as well as vitamins and minerals that fuel the
growth process.”
And this feed isn’t just putting
pounds on the calves — it’s the
“right kind” of weight, says Toni.
“They’re heavier with more
muscle and not just a big gut like
some feeds give them,” she says.
“I’ll contact the TFC nutritionists each fall before we get ready
to start feeding and ask, ‘What’s
your recommendation?’ They
always respond with the 94176.
It’s worked out really well for us.”
a job as anyone I know with their
preconditioning program,” says
Denny Sells, Tennessee Farmers Cooperative feed specialist.
“With commodity prices as high
as they were in previous years, a
lot of producers were reluctant
to go the preconditioning route.
But the Loshboughs have stuck
with the program,
and it’s paid off for
them in terms of
efficiency and production goals.”
Preston and
Toni currently graze
some 120 mama
cows of varying
breeds on seven
different leased
The Loshboughs keep cattle at seven locations and employ
tracts of land in the a rotational grazing system at each to maximize forages.
Denny adds that he has been
touting the benefits of preconditioning to cow/calf operators for
several years.
“More and more producers,
to their advantage, are weaning
calves on the farm and putting
some additional gain on them,”
he says. “The ones who aren’t
doing it are giving up an opportunity for profit. They’re letting
someone else put on that gain
and take advantage of the extra
weight. If a producer is set up
to precondition, it’s absolutely
the right thing to do.”
With their mama cows, the
Loshboughs employ a triedand-true formula of combining
on-farm forages with Co-op
Supreme Cattle Mineral (#678)
to cover the nutritional bases.
Each of their seven cattle fields
is set up for rotational grazing.
“Our cows solely exist on a
diet of grass and Co-op mineral,” says Preston. “We try to
maximize the forages we have at
our disposal. We soil-test every
year and fertilize by those tests.
The way we manage our forages, our hay ground has been
producing more rolls each year.”
Toni says she is a “firm
believer” in the Co-op Supreme
Cattle Mineral, which the
Loshboughs offer in every field.
“We have a good breedback rate with the [mineral],”
she says. “Everything cycles
quick. I like that the Supreme
contains a healthy balance of
vitamins and minerals along
with selenium and vitamin E,
which are essential in attaining high conception rates and
faster breed-back as well as
solidifying the overall health of
our calves.”
Indeed, this kind of approach has added up to success
for the Loshboughs. And with
favorable cattle prices, they
say they’ll stay the course with
their preconditioning program.
“The last four or five years
have been a great time to be in
the cattle business,” says Preston. “We try to stay as educated
as we can about things, and
from everything we’ve learned,
preconditioning is the right way
to go. It’s worked for us, and I
would encourage other cow/calf
producers to try it, too.”
For more information about
preconditioning practices and
Co-op beef cattle feeds, visit
with the professionals at your
local Co-op.
Toni and Preston talk with Tennessee Farmers Cooperative feed specialist Denny Sells,
center, about the positive results they’ve achieved by preconditioning their calves.
The Loshboughs feed Co-op 14% Pelleted
Beef Developer to their calves to give
them a high-quality, high-energy ration.
February 2015
25
Story and photos by Sarah Geyer
The 22,000-square-foot feedlot is the latest addition to Wayne and Abby Barnes’ O’Possum Hollow Livestock buying station in Smithville, which also includes a
21,000-square-foot shipping barn. The feedlot, with 30 outside pens and an automated feeding system, allows Wayne to feed, grow, and add value to less-marketable goats.
W
Wayne wanted to create
his own goat-buying station
to give farmers a fair market
price for their animals.
See, he’d just experienced
firsthand how much of an afterthought goats were at sale barns
that were geared toward cattle.
Wayne had taken 15 goats to the
market that morning and was
offered $20 each for them — $1
less than he’d paid six months
before at the same livestock auction. He’d originally purchased
the goats to help clear 20 acres
of land where he and wife Abby
planned to build a house.
“I thought, ‘This ain’t gonna
work!’” says Wayne, who had
experience working
at livestock barns
as a teenager and
newlywed. “It seemed
that goat farmers,
me included, weren’t
getting the best price
they could, and I decided to change that.”
In response,
Wayne and Johnny
established O’Possum
Hollow Livestock in
1993 and began buying goats and sheep
from local producers.
Acting as brokers,
they would sell those
animals to a dealer
Wayne Barnes and his wife, Abby, ship as many as
who, in turn, delivered
100,000 goats a year from their small family farm in
Smithville. Wayne decided to start the business after them to customers
a disappointing day at a livestock auction.
across the region.
hen Wayne Barnes
left the local livestock
auction on a crisp fall
day in 1992 and walked toward his brown Ford pickup,
his brain was buzzing with
excitement and purpose, a
stark contrast to the disappointment he felt earlier that
Saturday morning.
Pulling into the gravel
driveway of his family’s small
Smithville farm, he couldn’t
wait to tell his dad, Johnny,
about his bold business idea:
a venture that would combine
Wayne’s livestock trading
background and his entrepreneurial spirit.
26
February 2015
Wayne, far right, hand-feeds goats inside his feedlot with Co-op employees, from
left, Mack Willhite, eastern regional manager of Rutherford Farmers Co-op; Tammy
Smith, DeKalb branch sales manager; and Derek Pack, DeKalb branch manager,
In 2014, the company
reached the million-head
milestone, with the Barnes
family annually buying and
selling as many as 100,000
animals, making it the largest sheep and goat shipping
operation in the Southeast.
“It’s all about quantity,”
says Wayne. “I can offer a fair
price, even though it means
I’m making less money on each
goat, but with the number of
animals I move each week, it’s
a win-win for everyone.”
Smithville
l
When their dealer retired
in 1998, the Barneses decided
to expand into the shipping
side of the business, too,
selling directly to customers across the eastern U.S.
With only a chainsaw and
two mules, Johnny, a former
DeKalb Farmers Cooperative
director who died in 2003,
built the 21,000-square-foot
shipping barn from the farm’s
felled cedars. The barn houses
registered scales and holding
pens for up to 4,000 animals.
“When we started, we only
had a couple of people we
shipped to,” says Wayne. “As
word got out and people heard
about us, I began getting
more and more calls, and it
just grew from there.”
Wayne currently ships
goats and sheep on a tripledecker, 42,000-pound-capacity
18-wheeler to his Northeast buyers on Saturday afternoon, with
stops in Maryland, Pennsylvania,
and New Jersey. Two more trucks
leave Sunday for Chicago and
Georgia, and the final shipment
on Thursday or Friday goes to
Florida. Wayne’s brother Joey
helps with smaller deliveries.
Abby, Wayne’s wife of 28
years, is the office manager
and his “right hand.” When
the company started, she
maintained a website, but the
family soon realized that most
of their business came from
word-of-mouth advertising from
customers who bragged about
the fair prices and exceptional
customer service they received
from O’Possum Hollow.
Every week, Wayne spends
hours researching market reports
and prices so he can let his producers know not only about the
market rate but also the best time
to sell, since demand reaches
its peak at Muslim and Jewish
holidays as well as Christmas and
Easter, when ethnic populations
consume more goat meat.
“I tell farmers to call me
before they come on Saturday,”
explains Wayne. “If it’s a couple
of weeks from a holiday and I see
the prices are getting better, I’ll
tell people, ‘Whoa! Don’t bring
them this week! Wait a week
or two.’ Or I may say, ‘Hey, this
thing is fixing to drop. You better
get them on in here this week!’”
The Barneses, members
of Rutherford Farmers Cooperative, spend most every
Saturday buying goats and
lambs from farmers, some of
whom travel more than 150
miles to bring their animals
to O’Possum Hollow. Wayne
is not only known for offering
market value, but also for refusing to turn any animal away.
“I’ll buy any-sized goat a
farmer brings me,” says Wayne.
“Because I have enough customers with different needs, I
can find a place for anything,
basically.”
However, after the drought
of 2007 and the handful of dry
years that followed,Wayne noticed that many farmers were
forced to sell their goats because they didn’t have pastures
to feed them. Often those
animals were small and thin.
“I didn’t want to turn anyone
away, but I was seeing animals that weren’t marketable,”
Wayne says. “So that’s when I
came up with the idea about
building a feedlot, where I can
feed and grow those less-desirable goats for six to eight weeks
and put some value on them.”
Wayne turned to Gilbert
Martin of Rutherford Farmers
Co-op’s DeKalb County location for advice in designing his
feedlot. A project that took three
years from inception to completion, the 22,000-square-foot
building has automatic feeders
and 30 outdoor pens and can
house up to 4,000 animals.
Dr. Paul Davis, director of
feed and animal health for Tennessee Farmers Cooperative,
also formulated a specialized,
medicated starter feed and a
protein- and energy-packed
finisher for the undernourished
animals.
“I get goats in and out, and
they come from all over, so I’ve
gotta have a high-powered
feed to get them straightened
out,” says Wayne. “But most
healthy goats don’t need it;
classic Co-op goat feeds will
work great for them.”
Wayne hand-feeds each animal a pound of starter, increasing the amount to 2½ pounds
per head by the first 30 days.
After the first month, the goats
The shipping barn, which can house up to 4,000 animals, was built in 1999 by
Wayne’s father, the late Johnny Barnes, from cedar trees cleared from the land.
and lambs eat the finisher free
choice from the automatic feeders. The Barneses feed around
27 tons of starter and 45 tons of
finisher each month.
“The Barnes family has a
unique operation, and we are
pleased that the Co-op can meet
both their specific animal health
and feed needs,” says Mack Willhite, eastern regional manager
for Rutherford Farmers Co-op.
“They have been loyal customers
for many years, and we look forward to continuing to work with
them for many years to come.”
Even though at 48, Wayne’s
not quite ready for retirement,
he can’t help but reflect on how
far his bold idea has taken him.
“I’m proud that when I was
faced with a problem, I was willing to take a chance and find a
solution,” he says. “But mostly
I’m proud that I could help some
farmers, too.”
O’Possum Hollow Livestock,
located at 7646 Bluff Springs
Road in Smithville, is open every
Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information, call 931934-6288 or 6287.
DID YOU
KNOW
that foreign demand for U.S. beef would
be 6.4% lower* without the checkoff?
“Thanks in part to our beef checkoff, the growth in
beef exports has been tremendous. In fact, the
per-head value of beef exports has reached
nearly $300.** The beef checkoff is a vital tool
for beef producers to help grow the market
for our product not only domestically, but
internationally as well.”
While you and Mark are managing
your operations, your checkoff is helping build
demand for U.S. beef worldwide.
M a rk Ja g e ls
MyBeefCheckoff.com
Cow-calf producer
& feeder
Funded by the Beef Checkoff.
In a comprehensive economic study about the return on investments
of checkoff programs funded by the Cattlemen’s Beef Board, Dr. Harry
Kaiser of Cornell University concluded that the return on investments is
vastly greater than the cost of the program. Dr. Kaiser also found that 6.4%
is the reduction in foreign demand for U.S. beef between 2006 and 2013, if
not for the checkoff.
*
From kids to mature animals, O’Possum Hollow Livestock company has taken goats
from an afterthought at other auctions to the forefront. Abby, left, and husband
Wayne buy goats and sheep from customers each Saturday at their Smithville farm.
**
According to CattleFax.
February 2015
27
28
February 2015
February 2015
29
What’s Cookin’?
sweetit is!
How
Share the goodness of sweet potatoes
with someone you love this February
T
hough they’re standard fare on most
Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday
tables, sweet potatoes deserve better than
being covered with marshmallows and served
once a year. They’re one of the healthiest vegetables available and versatile enough to be used
in a wide variety of recipes.
February may be known for sweethearts, but it’s also designated as National Sweet Potato Month. Americans have been
growing sweet potatoes since Columbus came in 1492, and
they’ve been a staple of Southern cultivation and cuisine since
the 16th century. With their delicious sweetness and mild flavor, sweet potatoes are a go-to ingredient in all seasons. What’s
more, a medium sweet potato provides more than 300 percent
of the recommended daily intake of vitamin A.
The range of recipes in this month’s “What’s cookin’?” column shows just how adaptable the sweet potato can be, from
appealing appetizers to scrumptious sides to decadent desserts. Polly Dodd livens up a familiar favorite with her recipe
for “Sweet Potato Cornbread,” earning her Cook-of-the-Month
honors for February.
Other featured recipes are Sweet Potato Chess Cookies, Baked
Apples and Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Potato Pecan Pie, Sweet
Potato Balls, Sweet Potato Fritters, Sweet Potato Bread, PretzelTopped Sweet Potatoes, and Stuffed Baked Sweet Potatoes.
Enjoy!
Clip, save, and serve
Sweet Potato Cornbread
What you will need:
• 3⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
•11⁄4 cups yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1⁄2 teaspoon nutmeg
These aren’t typical cornbread muffins — they’re made with sweet pototoes for a
surprising twist on a traditional favorite. This recipe for “Sweet Potato Cornbread” was
submitted by Polly Dodd of Toone, our Cook-of-the-Month for February.
— Food styling and photo by Allison Morgan
February 2015 winning recipe
Directions:
In a large bowl, sift dry ingredients. In a
separate bowl, combine the lightly beaten
eggs, oil, and milk. Add sweet potatoes and
mix well. Add the sweet potato mixture to the
dry ingredients. Combine, being careful not
to over-mix. Pour into a greased 9-inch baking pan or 12-cup muffin pan. Bake at 450º
for 20 minutes or until cornbread is done and
golden brown.
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
•11⁄4 cups milk
• 1⁄2 cup mashed sweet potatoes
Polly Dodd, Toone, Mid-South Farmers Cooperative
30
February 2015
Sweet Potato
Chess Cookies
1 (18.5-ounce) box yellow
cake mix
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie
spice or to taste
3 eggs, divided, lightly
beaten
1 stick butter, melted,
cooled
8 ounces cream cheese,
softened
2 cups baked sweet potatoes, pureed
1 pound powdered sugar,
sifted
Preheat oven to 350º. Grease
and lightly flour a 12-x-15-inch
rimmed baking pan; set aside.
Sift cake mix with pumpkin pie
spice; mix in 1 egg and butter.
When well blended, pat into the
prepared pan; set aside.
Beat cream cheese until
smooth. Add remaining eggs,
sweet potatoes, and powdered
sugar. Beat until well mixed and
smooth.
Pour over cake mix. Bake for
30 to 35 minutes or until lightly
brown and internal temperature
is 150º. Cool before slicing.
Number of servings depends on
size of the slices.
Lucille Harrison
Greeneville
Greene Farmers Cooperative
T
Baked Apples and
Sweet Potatoes
4 medium sweet potatoes,
peeled, cut into 1⁄4-inch
slices
4 golden delicious apples,
cored, cut into 1⁄2-inch rings
1
⁄2 cup packed brown sugar
1
⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1
⁄2 cup raisins
1
⁄4 cup butter, cut up
Preheat oven to 350º. Place
sweet potatoes and apples in
13-x-9-x-2-inch baking dish.
Sprinkle with brown sugar and
cinnamon. Top with raisins and
butter; cover with foil. Bake 11⁄4
hours or until tender.
Barbara Tedder
Harriman
AgCentral Farmers Cooperative
T
Sweet Potato
Pecan Pie
1 pound sweet potatoes,
peeled and cooked
1
⁄4 cup butter or margarine
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened
condensed milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1
⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1
⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 graham cracker pie crust
Pecan topping:
1 egg
2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
2 tablespoons firmly packed
brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted
1
⁄2 teaspoon maple flavoring
1 cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 425º. With
a mixer, beat hot sweet potatoes
and butter until smooth. Add
remaining ingredients, except
crust and pecan topping; mix
well. Pour into crust. Bake 20
minutes; remove pie from oven.
To make pecan topping, beat
together egg, dark corn syrup,
brown sugar, melted butter, and
maple flavoring. Stir in pecans.
Reduce oven heat to 350º.
Spoon pecan topping on pie. Bake
25 minutes or until set; cool. Serve
warm. Refrigerate leftovers.
Earleen Stark
Dickson
Dickson Farmers Cooperative
T
Sweet Potato Balls
2 cups cooked, mashed
sweet potatoes
1
⁄2 cup brown sugar
1
⁄4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
Pinch of salt
12 large marshmallows
1 cup flaked coconut
Combine sweet potatoes with
brown sugar, butter, vanilla, and
salt. When the mixture is cool
enough to handle, make balls
around each marshmallow and
roll in coconut. Place balls in
a greased baking dish and bake
at 350º for 15 minutes or until
coconut is brown.
Peggy Bryan
Hillsboro
Coffee Farmers Cooperative
T
Sweet Potato
Fritters
1 cup self-rising flour
2
⁄3 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
4 slices bacon, cooked and
crumbled
2 cups shredded uncooked
sweet potatoes
1
⁄2 cup broken pecans
Mix all ingredients together,
form into patties, and fry in oil in
a hot skillet.
Dawn Guy
Troy
Obion Farmers Cooperative
T
Sweet Potato Bread
11⁄2 cups sifted all-purpose
flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1
⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1
⁄2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1
⁄2 cup oil
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup cooked, mashed sweet
potatoes
1 cup chopped pecans
⁄2 cup raisins
Grease the bottom of an
81⁄2-x-41⁄2-x-21⁄2-inch loaf pan or
two or three mini loaf pans. Stir
together flour, baking powder,
salt, and spices in large mixing
bowl. Stir in sugar, eggs, oil, and
milk until blended. Stir in sweet
potatoes, pecans, and raisins.
Pour batter into pans. Bake at
325º for 1 hour and 10 minutes
(less for minis) or until tester
comes out clean. Cool in pan
for 15 minutes. Remove; cool on
wire rack.
Brenda Buntin
Whitwell
Marion Farmers Cooperative
1
T
Pretzel-Topped
Sweet Potatoes
2 cups chopped pretzel
rods, about 13 rods
1 cup chopped pecans or
black walnuts
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup melted butter, divided
1 can (21⁄2 pounds) sweet
potatoes, drained
1 (5-ounce) can evaporated
milk
1
⁄2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a large bowl, combine the
pretzels, pecans or walnuts, cranberries, brown sugar, and 1⁄2 cup
butter; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat
sweet potatoes. Add milk, sugar,
vanilla, and remaining butter;
mix well.
Spoon into a greased shallow
2-quart baking dish; sprinkle
with pretzel mixture. Bake uncovered at 350º for 25-30 minutes or until edges are bubbly.
Yield: 10-12 servings.
Barbara Britton
Greeneville
Washington Farmers Cooperative
T
Stuffed Baked
Sweet Potatoes
6 medium sweet potatoes
1
⁄2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
3
⁄4 teaspoon salt
1 (8-ounce) can crushed
pineapple, drained
Chopped pecans, if desired
Bake sweet potatoes at 400º
for 1 hour or until tender. Cut a
1-inch lengthwise strip from top
of each sweet potato and carefully scoop pulp from shell.
Combine sweet potato pulp,
orange juice, butter, and salt;
beat until fluffy. Stir in drained
pineapple.
Stuff shells with sweet potato
mixture. Sprinkle with chopped
pecans, if desired. Bake at 350º
for 10 minutes.
Mildred H. Edwards
Lebanon
Wilson Farmers Cooperative
Spring brings spinach
recipes in April
By April, cool-season gardens will be growing,
and farmers markets and produce departments
will begin to offer fresh selections. Spinach is
one of the first spring crops, although it’s available in grocery stores year-round in both fresh
and frozen varieties. It’s also a nutrient-rich
super food that’s tasty both cooked and raw.
We’re featuring your favorite spinach recipes in our April “What’s
cookin’?” column. The person submitting the recipe judged best will be
named Cook-of-the-Month and receive $10. Others sending recipes chosen for publication will receive $5. Each winner will also receive a special
“What’s cookin’?” certificate.
Monday, March 2, is the deadline for your spinach recipes.
Don’t forget: Only recipes with complete, easy-to-follow instructions
will be considered for publication. Several recipes are disqualified each
month because they do not contain all the information needed to prepare
the dishes successfully. Recipes featured in “What’s cookin’?” are not independently tested, so we must depend on the accuracy of the cooks sending
them. Always use safe food-handling, preparation, and cooking procedures.
Send entries to: Recipes, Tennessee Cooperator, P.O. Box 3003,
LaVergne, TN 37086. You can submit more than one recipe in the same
envelope. You can also e-mail them to: [email protected]. Be
sure to include your name, address, telephone number, and the Co-op
with which you do business. Recipes that appear in the “What’s cookin’?”
column will also be published on our website at www.ourcoop.com.
February 2015
31
Five receive Co-op Master Merchant honor
Newly recognized Master Merchants of the Year are pictured with their respective managers and Douglas Adcock, far left, Tennessee Farmers Cooperative’s retail
development manager. Proudly displaying their plaques are, from left, Kaydee Johnston, White County Farmers Co-op, with manager Deb Dunn; Penny Gordon, First,
with manager Rob White; Jenny Newell, Davidson, with manager Scott Cooper; Ashlynn Dobbs, Claiborne, with manager Rick Keck; and Daniel Menge, Washington, with
manager Tim Smithson. Daniel was named Advanced Master Merchant of the Year.
A
n employee from five
different Co-ops across
Tennessee has been recognized as a Master Merchant
of the Year for hard work in the
areas of display creativity, product merchandising, customer
service, and inventory management.
The award winners, announced Jan. 12 at Co-op’s 2015
Winter Managers’ Meeting in
Murfreesboro, were lauded for
their continued efforts in helping
enhance the customer shopping experience, implementing
innovative merchandising ideas
at his or her respective location,
designing attractive, eye-catching
showrooms, and building effective product displays.
Those honored for their
merchandising expertise were
Ashlynn Dobbs, Claiborne Farmers Cooperative, New Tazewell;
Penny Gordon, First Farmers Cooperative, Decaturville;
Kaydee Johnston, White County
Farmers Cooperative, Sparta;
and Jenny Newell, Davidson
Farmers Cooperative, Nashville.
In addition, Daniel Menge of
Washington Farmers Cooperative in Jonesborough, a Master
Merchant winner in 2010, was
recognized as the Advanced Master Merchant of the Year.
32
February 2015
The winners were given
plaques by Douglas Adcock,
Tennessee Farmers Cooperative’s
retail development manager.
“These Co-op employees are
constantly looking for ways to
improve the quality of merchandising and increase sales within
their stores,” said Adcock during
the presentation. “They are
always willing to try new things
and educate themselves through
the Master Merchant program.”
Before naming the recipients,
Adcock explained that a Master
Merchant of the Year is selected
from nominations from each of
the four areas of the state represented by a TFC regional manager. He also emphasized that
the award is not based on store
size, sales volume, or location
and that winners are selected
based on their merchandising
skills, creativity, and enthusiasm.
As he detailed how Menge,
who joined Washington Farmers
Cooperative as a sales associate in 2007 and became sales
manager a year later, was chosen
for the Advanced Master Merchant recognition, Adcock said,
“Daniel has attended several
Master Merchant classes and
all Advanced Master Merchant
activities. He takes great pride
in the store’s indoor and outdoor
displays and incorporates the use
of social media and local classifieds for an extra advantage in
sales. He fills a number of roles
at Washington Farmers Co-op,
and along with those duties is
always willing to pitch in and
help wherever he can to provide
superior customer service.”
Dobbs began her Co-op career in 2011 at Claiborne Farmers Cooperative and serves as the
Co-op’s animal health specialist.
Claiborne manager Rick Keck
said he has “pretty much turned
the showroom over” to Dobbs.
“From the time Ashlynn
started here, we knew she was
a keeper,” said Keck. “She has
a constant drive to improve the
way we display and market our
merchandise. From pet supplies
to clothing and hunting supplies,
she has been interested in making our inventory more appealing
to customers.”
Gordon is a 10-year Co-op
employee who during her tenure
has worked in sales and customer service. She said that Master
Merchant classes have helped
her gain a greater appreciation
for customers.
“In 2012, Penny was instrumental in updating the Decaturville showroom and adding new
products to the store,” said First
Farmers Cooperative manager
Rob White. “She takes great
pride in keeping all store displays
and endcaps up-to-date. And
her customer service skills are
impeccable.”
Johnston started part-time at
White County Farmers Cooperative in 2010 and soon worked
her way to full time. With her
strong equine background, she
now serves as the Co-op’s equine
specialist.
“Kaydee is creative and
forward-thinking,” says White
County manager Deb Dunn.
“She sees projects that need to
be done and takes the lead on
them. Her maturity, enthusiasm,
and guidance are evident in everything she does. We value her
ideas and creativity.”
Newell, who came to Davidson Farmers Cooperative as an
intern in 2012, now works there
full time and handles merchandising, community events, social
media, and the store’s website.
“Jenny is truly an asset to
Davidson Farmers Co-op,” says
manager Scott Cooper. “She
has creativity and enthusiasm.
Her energy when undertaking a
project or helping customers is
contagious. Jenny has helped us
grow our bottom line, customer
base, and relationships.”
February 2015
33
Every Farmer Has A Story Gentry Family
Story and photos by Chris Villines
A real home
Bud Gentry and wife Penny embrace the joy, challenges
that come with being adoptive parents to son Austin
I
magine having parents so
consumed by addictions to
drugs and alcohol that nothing else matters. Most notably,
their only child.
For young Austin, this was
“life” in Johnson County from the
time he was born in 2003 until
the age of 6, when he was taken
from his birth parents — who
had been given several opportunities to rehabilitate — and placed
in foster care. At the time, the
family was alternating between
living out of a tent and an old,
broken-down car.
Surprisingly, Austin was
still present most days at Roan
Creek Elementary School in
Mountain City where one of
his teachers was Penny Gentry, wife of Tri-State Growers
Cooperative assistant manager
Bud Gentry. Learning of Austin’s heartbreaking situation, the
Gentrys — married since 2002
but unable to have children of
their own — proactively pursued taking in the youngster as
foster parents and introducing
him to a quality of life he had
never come close to knowing.
Mountain City l
“A couple of days after Penny
came home and told me about
Austin, I went to the school and
brought in lunch for the three
of us,” says Bud, whose home
with Penny in Mountain City
is just a couple of miles from
their 150-acre beef cattle and
hay farm. “We all sat in Penny’s
office and talked. He seemed like
a real nice, quiet little fella. It
just snowballed from that point,
I guess.”
Once the required education
had been attained and legal hurdles cleared with state caseworkers, the Gentrys became foster
parents to Austin in September
2010 and legally adopted him in
March 2012. The daily drama of
Austin Gentry’s adolescent years
34
February 2015
was replaced by daily visits to the
family farm, located two miles
from their Cold Springs Road
home, to help feed their herd of
Angus-based cattle.
“For so long, it had just
been me and Penny and
our dog,” says Bud, now in
his 30th year of working at
Tri-State Growers. “She was
around kids all day at school,
but I really hadn’t been
around children Austin’s age
was always Mrs. Gentry,” says
Penny, who’s been teaching at
Roan Creek Elementary since
1996. “I would tell him, ‘We’re
home now, and I’m no longer
Mrs. Gentry.’ That was probably the hardest thing because
I felt like school was coming
home with me.”
But perhaps the toughest
thing Penny says Austin had to
learn was how to live a structured lifestyle.
Bud Gentry looks on as wife Penny bottle feeds a calf at their farm in Mountain City.
With both holding jobs away from the farm — Bud as assistant manager of Tri-State
Growers Cooperative and Penny as an elementary school teacher — the daily treks to
care for their cow/calf herd and maintain their land are what Bud calls “time to release.”
all that much. My nieces and
nephews were much older. It’s
a tough process and a lifechanging experience.”
The 180-degree difference in
lifestyle was one that took some
adjusting for Austin as well.
“At the time he came to us,
he was in an uncertain state of
mind, which I guess all foster
kids go through,” Bud says. “He
wanted to be with us, but at the
same time he kept feeling like he
would be taken away and placed
somewhere else. There were
times we had to reassure him it
wouldn’t be that way.”
Penny adds that another adjustment for Austin — one that
took a while to sort out — was
learning to differentiate between
the parent he had at home from
the teacher he had at school.
“For probably a year after
he came to us, he would not
call me Penny or Mom — it
“It was hard for him initially because he was in charge
when he lived with his birth
parents,” she explains. “They
didn’t care what he did. He
could do whatever he wanted
whenever he wanted. It was a
major adjustment for him to
come to a place where there
are rules and consequences.
It’s something that we’re still
working through to this day.”
Farm life, on the other hand,
is something that Austin, now
11, has fully embraced after
some initial trepidation.
“He’d never been around
cattle, and at first he didn’t want
to pet any of them or get near
them,” says Bud, an experienced
cattleman and Advanced Master
Beef Producer. “As long as there
was a gate or fence between him
and them, he was fine. But now,
he gets right in there with them.
He’s really come a long way in
that aspect. And he likes to be
out on the four-wheeler and the
tractor.
“As he gets older, we’re not
going to force him into farming. If he picks up on it and
wants to, that’s fine. If not,
that’s OK, too.”
Bud points to many examples of times when Austin has
gained a clearer understanding
of the sweat equity involved
with farm work. But one instance, in particular, sticks out
in Bud’s memory.
“A couple of years ago, I had
smoothed out a place on the
side of a hill where we had been
feeding the cattle,” recalls Bud
with a smile. “The implement I
used had unearthed quite a few
rocks, and I was telling Austin
that we needed to go pick them
up. He couldn’t wait to go.
Well, about 30 to 45 minutes
later, he decided that picking up
rocks wasn’t as much fun as he
thought it was going to be. And
he hasn’t asked to go pick up
rocks since then!”
Admittedly, the Gentrys
say there have been highs and
lows, ups and downs. Both Bud
and Penny will attest that being
foster and adoptive parents is
not a walk-in-the-park, pieceof-cake process.
“You have to have a lot of
patience and be ready for anything,” Penny says. “Expect the
unexpected because these kids
have seen and been through
a lot, and they’re going to test
you and try to push your buttons at times.”
But in the next breath, Penny
says she also believes that bringing Austin into their lives has
helped “fill a void.”
“It’s fun having him around,”
she says. “We like teaching him
about farming and cattle and
seeing him enjoy being outside
around the farm animals. He
never had that before. His birth
parents chose drugs and alcohol
over him.”
Accompanying Bud and Penny on the farm
each day is their son Austin, 11, whom they
adopted in March 2012 after serving as his
foster parents for a year and a half. Austin,
who aspires to one day be a chemist, had
never been around agriculture before being
taken in by the Gentrys. His birth parents were
addicted to drugs and alcohol and have no
contact with him.
February 2015
35