GFB honors Young Farmer Achievement finalists

Wendy, Waylon, Weston, Wilson and Will Boyd

Screven County - Will Boyd is the 5th generation of his family to farm, and it’s possible that he and his wife, Wendy, are raising the sixth generation.

Their three sons – Wilson, 7, Weston, 5, and Waylon, 2 - look right at home in the fields their father tends. Will farms 1,200 acres of cotton, corn, peanuts and soybeans and has a herd of 250 brood cows.

“As a farmer, I love the fact that if I want the kids to go with me during the day I don’t have to ask anybody,” Will says of his career. “It’s just something that money can’t buy. It’s just the best way of life.”

Will started farming 75 acres on his own when he first returned home from Georgia Southern University.

“When I got back from school I was helping my father farm, but I wanted to farm on my own. He let me use his equipment. I started renting land of my own and started buying equipment of my own,” Will recalled.

In addition to his own farm, Will also runs a fertilizer and trucking business and farms in partnership with his father, Olin, and brother, Ben.

“We’re able to work together. Each of us has our strong points and each of us has our weaknesses,” Will explained. “We’re able to cover up our weaknesses and exploit our strengths.”

Labor is the biggest issue with which the Boyds struggle.

“We don’t have much labor, and so we try to optimize all of our equipment so we can use our help as efficiently as possible. We run a twelve-row cotton planter and a six-row, twin-row peanut planter.”

The drought this summer hit the farm especially hard. Will estimates the farm only received four inches of rain between May 30 and Sept. 15. Although 35-40% of his cropland is irrigated, rising fuel costs will make it hard for Boyd to break even this year.

“It’s probably as dry as I’ve ever had it. The first ten years that I farmed I bet five of them were disaster years, but this one was extremely dry,” Will said.

When asked why he continues to farm, Will answered, “It’s kind of like a man who is crossing a river and fell out of a boat. We just keep dogpaddling and hope we’ll get to the side pretty soon.”

Wendy, who grew up on a nearby farm, says being a farmer’s daughter prepared her for being a farmer’s wife. “Farmers have different hours. There’s no schedule,” she says smiling, “My background prepared me for the stress of it not raining or raining too much.”

The Boyds have served on the GFB Young Farmer Committee and are active in their county Farm Bureau. Will has served on the board of directors since 1996 and numerous committees. Wendy serves as chairman of the women’s committee.

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Leighton and Brenda Cooley

Crawford County - Leighton Cooley is a 4th generation chicken farmer. His mother’s grandfather grew chickens in North Carolina. His grandfather was the first to build chicken houses in Crawford County, and his father continued the tradition. The Cooleys and their extended family have 34 chicken houses between them.

“Everybody grows for Perdue and somebody always has chickens,” Leighton’s wife, Brenda, said laughing.
So, it came as no surprise in 2004, when Leighton decided to return to the farm after obtaining a degree in business education at Valdosta State University where he played offensive center on the football team. Leighton and Brenda, who will soon complete a degree in communication disorders from VSU, are in partnership with Leighton’s parents Larry and Terri. Leighton built four broiler houses of his own, bringing the partnership’s total to 12. The Cooleys also grow about 200 acres of Coastal Bermuda hay, primarily for horse owners, and are building a commercial cow-calf herd.

“The chickens are the backbone of our operation. Cows, chickens and hay seem to work well together, but the cows and the hay couldn’t exist without the chickens,” Leighton said.

Biosecurity is the biggest issue currently facing the poultry industry, Leighton says, but he’s confident that the industry is taking adequate precautions against potential disease outbreaks.

“Visitors have to wear biosecurity suits and sign a visitor log so they can be traced should a disease be detected in the houses. It’s simple to take these precautions,” Leighton said. “Our birds are also tested for avian flu before being taken to the processing plant.”

Leighton is very optimistic about his future in farming. “There are always challenges in farming such as rising fuel prices, but there is a career that you can have in farming. As a whole I think we’ve got a good future in farming.”

Although Brenda didn’t grow up on a farm, she learned to be a farm girl during the five years she dated Leighton before their marriage. Now she can drive a tractor like a pro.

“It’s your job, but you’re with your family so it makes the work more enjoyable,” Brenda said. “I like to do a variety of things and farming is exactly that.”

Leighton grew up going with his parents to Farm Bureau events. “You grow up in it, and it’s all about the fellowship,” Leighton said. “We know Farm Bureau is important to the future we have on the farm.”

Leighton has served as chairman of the Crawford County Young Farmer Committee since 2004 and on the CCFB Board of Directors. Brenda serves on the young farmer and women’s committees.

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Phillip, Gabe, and Ali Merk

Jackson County - Phillip Merk is farming with an eye on the future. Although he is farming the farm he grew up on, he isn’t farming the same way his father did. In five years he doesn’t expect to be farming the same way he is today.

With one subdivision located across the highway from his farm, Merk soon expects to lose other nearby rented hay fields to subdivisions. Ironically, the demand for his main cash crop, mulch hay, is developers who have to cover bare ground to prevent soil erosion.

“As our hay acreage drops off we hope to expand into recreational farming,” Phillip said. “My wife, Ali, and I have done farm tours with preschool and elementary students. We’d like to have a corn maize and offer hay rides and possibly a petting zoo.”

He estimates he would only need eight to ten acres for the recreational venture, and he has the perfect acreage at the front of his farm, located on a busy highway.

Phillip began farming fulltime in 2002. Previously, he worked a full time job in automotive engineering and farmed on the side. When his father’s health began failing, Phillip made the decision to take over the farm. He grows 205 acres of mulch hay, 65 acres of wheat, 60 acres of Bermuda/Fescue hay, 40 acres of soybeans, 10 acres of oats and runs a commercial cow-calf herd of about 50 head. The Merks crimp the oats and market them to horse owners as an artisan feed.

“I like farming because you’re giving back to the earth whether it’s planting crops or growing hay. I just like the enjoyment of working for yourself and being able to work your own hours. It’s the lifestyle.”

Ali works off the farm, but she is actively involved in taking care of the cattle, helping move equipment and marketing their hay and grains. She grew up in Homestead, Fla., where her grandfather grew strawberries and vegetables.

“We were always rural minded, just in the middle of a city,” Ali explained. “Farming is a blessing that a lot of country people take for granted. So many people don’t realize the blessing of having trees, grass and animals in their backyard. My son, Gabe, has the opportunity to roam wherever he chooses.”

Phillip is adamant that they make time for Farm Bureau activities. “At first I wasn’t sure what the organization had to offer, but now I see all of the benefits it has to offer such as the legislative representation and the opportunity to do things together as a family.”

He has served on the Jackson County Young Farmer Committee and the local feedgrain/soybean committee for the past two years. He is currently the project leader for the county’s Ag-in-the-Classroom project.