The week of June 10, Farm Journal is celebrating the next generation of American agriculture. Our goal is to encourage you to plan for the future and cultivate multigenerational success through the transfer of skills and knowledge. Think tomorrow, act today to align your asset, resource and financial legacy.
Stark County, Ohio, farmer Matt Spillman and his brothers, David and Steven, circled back to the family farm after their father, Mark, called it a career in 2017 with 36 crops under his belt.
Afflicted by Alzheimer’s disease and no longer able to farm, Mark passed away in August 2022.
The brothers were literally born to farm; they grew up in it and lived it every day, helping mom and dad before each ventured into the world, seeking out their purpose as young men.
Things have a way of coming full circle, and farming is no different especially when family is involved.
Mark must be beyond proud these three brothers are a unified front, carrying on his legacy (their mom is still keeping the books, too), although it all looks a bit different now than when Mark and the boys’ uncle Eric first got started on 180 acres. Today, Spillman Farms stretches across two Ohio counties and 2,600-plus acres of corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa.
Farm with a Purpose
Spillman attended Ohio State Universities’ Agricultural Technical Institute (in nearby Wooster) for two years right out of high school.
“I got my associate degree, and I decided that was enough,” he recalls. “I was ready to get back to the farm.”
Each brother has a specific role in making all the wheels turn on the farm: Spillman heads up the farm’s spraying programs — the farm purchased its first John Deere sprayer when he was just 21. He quickly figured out he had a knack for application work after getting his applicator’s license, but applying product isn’t the only thing that gets him out of bed each morning.
“What drives me is being able to put a seed in the ground, then getting the most out of that seed you possibly can and having a field you’re proud to look at, and you know it’s going to perform,” he says.
Spillman’s advice for young farmers new to running the family farm is simple: Always know your position.
“I encourage young farmers to know their costs and bottom line so sales can be made already knowing you’re in the money,” he advises. “Swinging for the fence on marketing your grain often leads to strikeouts.”
If Opportunity Knocks
Spillman says keeping a firm grip on all their acreage, and being able to expand if the opportunity arises, is going to be a challenge moving forward. Urban sprawl is slowly but surely stalking farmland in his area. It will be tough to fight off the housing developers and commercial real estate mavens forever, he admits, but with every new challenge, a new opportunity presents itself.
“When opportunities come up, you need to take advantage of them. Whether it be somebody approaching you to farm their ground or if there’s land available to buy, I think if you can swing it, there’s no wrongdoing in buying farmland,” he adds. “We’ve had some good years; last year we had record yields for corn on our farm, which was unexpected with the little amount of rain we had. It makes me feel good to achieve higher levels.”
