Take a Behind-the-Scenes Look at Frahm Farmland
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What is one of the top mottos at Frahm Farmland? Keep it simple.
This seems counterintuitive, considering the operation includes nearly 36,000 acres of corn and wheat production, employs a dozen full-time team members and is an early adopter of technology. But CEO Lon Frahm says this strategy has served him well.
“We always say if there's a way to simplify something, let's do that,” Frahm says.
The mission at Frahm Farmland is to create an environmentally sustainable, premier agriculture organization within the region that makes great strides in:
- Improving lives
- Improving the environment
- Improving communities
Frahm recently joined Andrew McCrea on the “Farming the Countryside” podcast. Listen in:
Frahm Farmland will be one of the in-person hosts for Farm Journal Field Days. Register to attend the event in Colby, Kan., on Aug. 26-27.
Frahm Farmland is located just west of Colby, Kan., which is 50 miles from Colorado and 50 miles from Nebraska. Frahm says if you are driving I-70 through Colby, you can see his grain system to the south.
As noted, Frahm keeps crop production straightforward. Around 95% of the bushels they raise is corn and the rest is wheat.
“My joke around here is the wheat is actually my cover crop,” he says. “We need its root structure and cover that sometimes corn doesn't leave in the soil.”
All of Frahm’s acres are no-till, which he started in 1998. The acres are a mix of dryland and irrigated, as the team runs about 80 center pivots.
“My farm is one of the simplest ones in the county since I really just have one crop,” he says. “I just have one grain system and it just has one set of scales. There are no remote sites. Of our 36,000 acres, 7,000 of them are contiguous right around the farm, which makes it super-efficient. We kind of have a one-hour rule: If you can get there in an hour with the tractor and combine, it's close enough.”
Grain Marketing Focus
With only one crop, Frahm, the 2009 Top Producer of the Year, is diligent and focused on grain marketing.
“I do everything as far forward as possible,” he says. “If someone would buy corn more than two years down the road, I would probably price at least a small part. I think I'm conservative because I lock in everything when I can see a profit.”
Based on his cost of production, Frahm starts to pencil in sales. He’s sold quite a bit of his 2022 crop production and is watching 2023 contracts.
“I've usually sold ahead on at least two crops, and I'll go all the way up to the insurance coverage level until it pollinates, and then I'll go further,” he says. “I try to market continuously. The bin system I have is 3.8 million bushels and that's what I hope to raise every year.”
To overcome analysis paralysis in grain marketing, Frahm likes to follow another one of his favorite sayings: Do some now and do some later.
“Then you can't be more than half wrong,” he says.
A Purposeful Culture
At Frahm Farmland, employee turnover is virtually zero. How can an operation covering so many acres with a team of a dozen full-time and several part-time employees achieve this feat?
The recipe for success, Frahm says, is quite simple: “We don’t hire. We select.”
While Frahm knows finding good employees is tough, it is far from impossible.
“Your goal should be to be the employer of preference in your area,” he says. “I don't see myself as competing with other farms for employees; I compete with the implement dealer in town or the chemical company that needs a manager. Given the same rewards, I've noticed most guys would rather be out on the farm and in a tractor than turning wrenches in the back of a dealership or sitting in marketing meetings.”
Frahm’s goal is to empower his employees. He provides the tools and training and then lets employees determine the path to the finish line.
“There's no time clock on my farm and except for the kids working after school or weekends, everyone on my farm is on salary — whether they drive a truck, run the grain elevator or are the accountant,” Frahm says. “The employees are in charge of setting their own hours.”
Employees enjoy insurance, access to company vehicles, meals, paid time off and other normal perks, but they also have self-adjusted hours, generous raises, team trips and a focus on workplace wellness.
Frahm has also helped nine of his full-time employees purchase their own farmland. Related, he shares buying power through bulk discounts on inputs.
Building Strong Communities
Another focus at Frahm Farmland is employee giving. A few years ago, Frahm created the Frahm Farmland employee-advised fund.
“Each employee has an account and I put money in every year. They can give it out to approved charities in the area,” Frahm says. “They can give it all to one organization or split it out.”
Frahm says this provides financial support to everything from the local bluegrass festival to the county fair to area churches.
“The money touches a lot more places than people than it would if I were just sitting down myself trying to write checks,” Frahm says.
Visit Frahm Farmland
Want to take a behind-the-scenes look at Frahm Farmland? Join us in Colby, Kan., on Aug. 26-27 for Farm Journal Field Days. Attendees will tour the operation’s grain bin system, shop, office and farm fields.
Attendees will also watch a live taping of U.S. Farm Report, hosted by Tyne Morgan. Panelists include Arlan Suderman, StoneX; Tanner Ehmke, CoBank; and Drew Moore, Advance Trading.
Register to secure your spot at Farm Journal Field Days. The in-person registration cost of $49 includes online event access. Attendees of the Colby event also get to attend the live #FarmOn Benefit Concert on Aug. 26 at Frahm Farmland.
Other Farm Journal Field Days in-person locations include:
- Aug. 23 in DeKalb, Ill, hosted by Whiskey Acres
- Aug. 25 in Belzoni, Miss., hosted by Silent Shade Planting Company
