Keeping it in the Family

One such story comes out of Baxley, GA. Ryne Powers has been working on his family’s farm since he was a child and has continued to expand the operation since he took things over from his grandparents in 2013. Ryne has worked diligently to have a good handle on finances and smart growth strategies to ensure he can continue the family farm’s legacy.

The Farm Kept Calling

As a young boy, Ryne loved the summers he spent on his grandparents’ farm. After graduating from high school, he played baseball in college, but the farm kept calling. He eventually moved back to take advantage of the opportunity presented to him by his grandparents to run the operation.

“I decided class was not as fun as I thought it would be,” said Ryne. “I jumped back out here and figured there’d be a truck for me to drive. After a couple years, I realized there’s a lot more than just driving the truck.”

Growing Through the Generations

Ryne’s grandparents, Randall and Donna Odum, managed the farm for decades. They were the sixth generation of their family to run the farm. It’s an expansive and diverse operation where they grow sugar, cotton, peanuts, corn and soybeans. In the winter, they grow wheat. They also have a cattle operation and breeder chickens.

“We had two girls and didn’t think anyone would be interested in taking it over, so we didn’t know what might happen to the farm,” said Donna. “I was usually on one tractor and as a baby, Ryne was beside me laying on a blanket. He took an interest in the farm from a very young age, but we didn’t know where it would lead.”

“We always hoped some of the family would want to do some of the farming,” said Randall. “Ryne learned a lot as he grew up before he even went to college. When he was thinking about coming back, we told him he needed to talk to his parents about it first. He decided he wanted to come back, and I was glad he did.”

Passing the Farm On

Donna typically took care of the finances for the farm while Randall oversaw the day-to-day operations. When Ryne returned, he took a bit of time to shadow his grandparents until he was able to manage things alone. Eventually, Ryne’s wife took over the bookkeeping duties.

“Ryne got to the point where he could make the decisions and we put it all in his lap,” said Randall. “I was able to leave and just enjoy being here on the farm and let him do the managing. He’s done a good job.”

Financing to Sustain Growth

As Ryne’s role with the farm evolved to make financial decisions, he implemented important strategies that have helped to scale operations. He looked at different ways to use financing options to better manage his capital.

For over a decade, Ryne has been working with Nutrien Financial to finance the farm’s inputs, which allows him to keep his operating line clear and use cash for other expenditures.

Ryne has worked with Rocky Courson, the Nutrien Ag Solutions’ facility manager in Baxley, GA, to implement smart financing plans for his operation that include lower interest rates and flexible due dates. Ryne moved all of his business to Nutrien Financial to make things easier and more efficient.

“Nutrien Financial has been a tremendous asset to this entire operation,” Ryne said. “We now usually don’t have to borrow money from the bank each year. They’ve made a big difference for us.”

Leaning on Local Expertise

Ryne and Rocky’s business relationship has grown from their personal relationship - they’ve known each other their entire lives. They even go to the same church, so Ryne was glad when the opportunity to work together presented itself.

“Rocky has really been an inspiration for this community and to a lot of people,” said Ryne. “He does a lot for Nutrien and it really spreads throughout this county. It’s been really nice to do business with someone that close to me.”

From Loans to Building Capital

Working with Rocky and Nutrien Financial, Ryne was able to get the farm’s finances streamlined and get to a point where he could make it through the year without getting a loan from the bank. He says one of his first years was tough because soil was bad and they started planting late, but things improved quickly. “We’ve now had some pretty good crop years and working with Nutrien, we’ve been able to build up capital that we could operate off of to last through the entire year,” Ryne said.

Innovating with Nutrien HUB

Ryne embraces the role that technology plays in moving the farm forward. He uses Nutrien Ag Solutions’ digital tools to view all of his financial documents in one place and check on historical economic and agronomic data. Through the Nutrien HUB, Ryne can access his invoices, historical transactions and account information. This can be done on his phone, so checking in from the field is easy.

“People ask me about Nutrien and I tell them it’s easy to do business with them,” Ryne said “I’ve got the app. I can pull it up and see anything I want to.”

Embracing the Digital Evolution

Before Ryne came back to the farm, Randall and Donna were still using paper and pen and keeping record books dating back decades. “I know nothing about computers, don’t even know how to turn them on,” said Randall. “I see now that the computer age has reached us, and it’s been really helpful that Ryne can use those tools to manage the farm these days.”

For Ryne, the transition to digital tools was easy. “I just started looking at the Nutrien app in my tablet and setting up spreadsheets and folders,” said Ryne. “The apps and different tools have made it very easy for us.”

Keeping Up With the Data

Rocky considers Ryne to be a very tech savvy customer. “He runs the tractor tracker with his iPad, and he uses a foot pedal that goes with him the whole time that uses GPS to look from one end of the field to the other. He uses the Nutrien HUB to see what he owes and what interest rates he has,” said Rocky. “He’s embraced the digital tools that Nutrien offers to take the guesswork out of managing the farm.”

Growing the Next Generation

Ryne hopes his farm management, including his digital adoption, will help the farm remain in the family for generations to come. For now, he’s planning to teach his son and daughter about the value of money and how to make sure a business is successful. “Whether it’s the farm or any business, I try to show them that if you put $1 in, you have to get at least $1.50 back to make a living,” Ryne said. “It’s helpful for them to learn about the business side and money whether they take up farming or not.”

With his smart management, Ryne hopes his kids will continue to have the opportunity to farm if they choose to. “We have to keep going and I want to do my part to push it to the next generation,” Ryne said.

As far as Donna and Randall are concerned, they couldn’t be more proud of where the family farm is now. “We’re just thankful our grandson is willing to keep it going,” said Randall. “And hopefully it can continue to be passed down through the generations to one of his own kids or grandkids.”

You can read more capital management stories like these on the Nutrien Ag Solutions blog or go to Nutrien HUB if you are interested in learning more about accessing your account digitally.