Growing a Legacy for Generations to Come
This article was written in Summer of 2022 for the Flanagan State Bank Farming with a Future Toolkit
Nestled in the far northeastern side of Johnson County, Indiana, Dougherty Family Farms has operated a diversified operation for 169 years. Over the past 6 generations, the farm has changed to meet the ever growing needs of our family and the farm itself.
Corn, soybeans, wheat and cattle have been the foundation of our farm for many years. When my brothers and I were in middle school, our parents sat us down and asked us an important question - were we interested in caring for the family tradition of being farmers? Without hesitation, we all said yes. At that moment, my parents knew they needed to expand - and expand quickly to allow opportunities for the next generation to enter the farm.
Currently, Dougherty Family Farms is composed of Matthew and Amy Dougherty and their children - Emily, Eric and Ethan Dougherty. Each member of our team has a specialized set of skills and interests which contribute to the success of our farm. Although, with just corn, soybeans, wheat and cattle - we weren’t going to be able to provide for everyone. Under the leadership of Matthew and Amy, over the past 7 years, the farm has diversified to provide everyone an opportunity to let their skills, passions and interests shine.
Straw + Mini Straw Bales: One of the first value added products we focused on is straw. We began capitalizing on not only our personal straw marketing, but acquiring local straw to meet our straw customers' growing needs. This quickly has grown into a profitable venture for our family. Recently, we have expanded our marketing opportunities to include mini straw bales, which serve our close geographic areas of the urban and suburban markets.
Agritourism: We are located 18 miles southeast of the heart of Indianapolis, which means we have been subject to urban sprawl. It can be viewed as a very negative force to our farming operation and it is. We decided to capitalize on this opportunity and create a corn maze and pumpkin patch. This allowed my mom and I to follow our passions of agricultural education and agricultural communication. As agriculturalists, it allowed us to build bridges between our farm and the non farming community and put a face to the farms that still stand strong around the sprawling development.
Custom Manure Spreading: We invested in a large manure spreader, which was an asset to both our current operation and as we diversified. We were able to apply the chicken manure we wanted to implement into our crop management plan on our own operation. From there, we were able to offer these services to other neighboring farmers, which then created a customer base that spread across Indiana. We have refocused our area of service back to Central Indiana to better serve our operation and others.
Organic Crops: In the 2021 crop season, we rented 800 acres of certified organic crop ground as a method to diversify. Our reasoning behind this is that it would give our farm a way to provide a value added product, market specialization and protect against large swings we often see in the commercial corn and soybean prices. After one season, we realized that this avenue was not effective in our current operation, mainly due to the distance between our home farm and the organic ground. This made management more difficult and organic crops require high management techniques in order to be successful. It was a profitable venture, but the stress of managing an organic operation 112 miles away was not worth damaging our family dynamic. This is an important lesson of trying new things and realizing when they do not work for you. We are open to opportunities for transition to organic that would be nearer to our home. Although this may be a ‘not now scenario’, we are grateful for the experience and the ability to make a decision as a family moving forward.
Snow Removal: One of the other benefits of our geographic location is the ability for large scale snow removal at local warehouses. We are able to utilize equipment that would otherwise be idle in the winter months. This income cannot be exactly estimated, since it depends on snow fall but it is a productive bonus to be able to have. Still further, this can be scaled into smaller geographic areas, as well.
Equipment Sales: Another facet of our operation is equipment sales. We buy and sell both farm and custom equipment. If we need a piece of equipment for a short term project, we will buy it and then resell it rather than renting, which both cuts costs and can be profitable as well. Having the flexibility and ability to do this has benefited our farm.
Custom Work: This option for diversification has been promoted for decades, but is still an essential option to keep in mind. Whether it is dirt work, trucking or custom farming, we’ve been open to taking these opportunities as supplemental income.
What does this mean for you? As an operation, we recommend that you think about what interests and opportunities are within your farm. Can you use your location as a strength? Can you innovate a product you are already producing? What new enterprise can benefit your current operation - but also be a service to other operations?
It’s important to communicate with one another and make sure everyone is on the same page as you strategically plan your growth strategy. It has to be something everyone is invested in and supports to be successful. Don’t be scared to try something - whether it is a new enterprise, selling freezer meat or produce or joining in on an emerging agriculture technology. Don’t be afraid to try new things and add a profitable venture to your family farm. Talk to your family, figure out what your dream operation looks like and work hard everyday to make the dream a reality.
Including all of your family members in your farming operation is possible if you are willing to be committed and innovate. You may have to step away from your typical traditions and grow, but we promise that the harvest of getting to farm together as a family is worth taking a chance at diversification.