| combine. But we wait until dove season to cut the stalks. Bush hogging scatters the remaining grain. This makes the ground cleaner for the bird hunters to walk in and also gives the doves an advantage. Then we lease the fields to hunters.”
Much of the wheat straw that remains after combining is sold to contractors for landscaping and decoration. Some of his corn and wheat goes to the
Farmers Cooperative Market store in Leroy as well as to the main store in Frisco City.
Rod reveals, “My dad (Woodrow Richardson), Gordon Hearn and Louie Wilson were instrumental in getting the Leroy branch of the Farmers Cooperative Market established. In 1950, there were 33 farmers around Leroy. Today there are only three. There is only one full-time farmer in Clarke County, excluding the timber farmers.”
Rod has been growing cotton for five years and about 600 acres of cotton for six years. He sells most of his cotton right after harvest which gives him an immediate cash income. Rod states, “My dad grew cotton years ago. From 1978 until 1990, Dad and I also produced hogs.”
He is also in the hay business. He grows 80 acres of coastal Bermuda and alyce clover plus 100 acres of bahaia. Rod feeds the bahaia to his own cattle and combines the seed. Most of it is sold to Kirk and Sons in Orrville who market it for him. Some is sold to the Farmers Cooperative Market branch in Leroy and to individuals.
The coastal Bermuda is baled in square bales, which is sold to be fed to horses and cows. Rod observes, “Those who buy the Bermuda grass for either horses or cows seem to prefer the square bales.” The Bermuda grass is usually baled through October. But Rod states, “I have baled it into November.”
Jeff
Hughston, who is manager of the Farmers Cooperative Market Leroy branch, adds, “Fall is the best time to bale hay because there is less humidity at this time of the year.”
Rod and his daddy grew their first crop of soybeans in 1974. Rod recalls, “They were contracted at $8.41 a bushel. Now beans are under six dollars a bushel. If it wasn’t for the fact that soybeans are needed for rotation with wheat, I would not even grow them.”
For three or four years Rod carried his calves over the winter and took bids on the farm. He now sells all his calves after weaning through the Farmers Cooperative Auction in Frisco City. Rod remembers, “For about 27 years, we would buy and raise as many as 400 calves. We made a lot of money. But doing this was very labor intensive.”
Rod says, “It is very convenient to have the Co-op nearby. Farmers used to have to cross two rivers to get to the Farmers Cooperative Market in Frisco City. |
