By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Make no mistake about it, Trigg County Farmer Joe Nichols is a businessman and runs his farm like the business it is. That distinction helped Nichols achieve the 2010 Farmer of the Year award by Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB.)

The Farmer of the Year awards program began in 2006 as a “way to recognize farmers for their commitment to excellence in agriculture and their efficiency in farming practices, sound financial management and leadership in civic organizations,” according to information from KFB.

The program is part of the Southeastern Farmer of the Year program, which was started in 1990 by Swisher International and the Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition, and includes 10 southeastern states.

Jay McCants, director of KFB’s Young Farmers Program said it’s rewarding to see the applications from Kentucky farmers that come in for this program and seeing all the great farming operations that are present in the state.

“It’s a great program and a great opportunity for farmers. We have a lot of good solid agriculturally-minded folks in Kentucky, and it’s neat to see their applications and more importantly to see their operations and see them rewarded for their success,” he said.
Success is a good way to sum up what Nichols is and what he has done through his farming operation. The 19,242-acre farm in Cadiz expands throughout five counties with major crops that include 7,400 acres of soybeans, 3,950 acres of wheat, 3,950 acres of yellow corn, 3,100 acres of white corn, and 71 acres of dark fired tobacco.

Nichols grew up on a farm, but upon graduating from high school, his parents, wanting something different, decided to sell the farm and move to Tennessee.

Not being ready to give up on agriculture, Nichols stayed behind and began working in the local John Deere dealership and farming on his own. This was in 1983. Seventeen years later he was farming 2,000 acres. Through that period he worked as a mechanic, owning his own equipment repair business and eventually became general manager of the dealership, learning the skills he would need to operate the large farming business he has today.

It would be the ten-year period after 2000 that would bring the biggest growth for the Nichols farm. “It was built one decision at a time,” he said.

Nichols added that not in his wildest dreams would he have thought his farming endeavors would have grown to the size they are when he first started. But, by surrounding himself with good people and following the numbers, it has come to fruition.

“I guess one of the main things I look at is I only worry about what I can control and I don’t waste time on what I can’t control,” he said.

A positive attitude has been a driving factor in creating not only one of the largest farms in the area, but one of the strongest employers. Nichols said the operation will put about $1.3 million into the local payroll this year.

“In our area with 15 to 18 percent unemployment, where a lot of factories have shut down, we’ve been hiring,” he said. “We have health insurance plans, paid vacations and holidays, and bonus-sharing plans. We’ve tried to put together an operation, where we can go up against any corporation or any factory to retain good help.”

Nichols uses a website to help in the hiring and said there are a lot of quality people from which he gets applications.
‘We’ve had good luck in hiring,” he said.

KFB notes that as a whole, Nichols’ operations have a total of 35 full-time employees, including an accountant, who also acts as the office manager, an agronomist to focus on the land’s crop production, and a computer manager to coordinate the technical efforts behind evenly planting and fertilizing the acreage via global position system (GPS).

He also credits much of the farm’s growth and success to his operational partner since 2008, Michael Oliver. “Without his loyalty and help, my days would not be bearable,” said Nichols.
While modern technology has helped, his philosophy for success is fairly simple.

“We operate on the right hand side of the decimal point. As long as you follow the calculator and follow the numbers. Don’t be biased and let the numbers point you in the right direction, numbers don’t lie,” said Nichols. “We’ve had some success. The harder you work, usually the more success lands in your lap.”

He also gives a lot of credit to the decision his parents made back in 1983 saying he had to sink or swim, and swim he has along with his wife of 20 years, KaDonna and now their two daughters who are coming into the business.

Nichols is no stranger to attention as the farm has been featured in Progressive Farming and Top Producer magazines. He has also been a five-time winner of the National Corn Grower’s Assoc. National Yield award, and was the 2008 first runner-up for the Top Producer of the Year.

Nichols is also very civically involved as a member of the Cadiz/Trigg County Rotary Club, Trigg County Leadership Program, Farm Credit Services of Mid-America Advisory Council, Kentucky Soybean Assoc. and sponsor of the Ducks Unlimited Banquet.
The Farmer of the Year program will culminate on Oct. 18 during the Sunbelt Expo at the Rainwater Conference Center in Valdosta, Georgia. Along with the prestige of being recognized at the top farmer in the Southeastern United States, Nichols will have a chance at a $15,000 from Swisher International and several other sponsor-based prizes.