Sunbelt - Sunbelt Expo Program 2019

IN HIS FOR T Y-FIVE- YEAR career as a diversified farmer, Jerry Ray has never worked for anyone but himself. This means that when things go well — in the ordinary course of fat years and lean — he earns the rewards. And when they don’t, he accepts the full weight of responsibility. It’s an old-fashioned ethic that defines his approach to life in general.

Ray’s success has earned him the honor of being selected as the Swisher Sweets/ Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year for Tennessee in 2019. He also garnered that title in 2008.

Ray’s farm operation in and around Tullahoma, Tennessee encompasses 1,900 total acres with 1,780 acres rented and 120 acres owned. His business is 50 percent cattle (stocker calves) and 50 percent crops. He says, “We live in a rapidly urbanizing area between Lynchburg and Chattanooga, where buying land to farm is not viable, given current land prices.” The overwhelming majority of his rented land contracts harken back to former times and to something he is comfortable with; they are agreed upon by a handshake.

Last year his per acre yields were180 bushels of corn from 600 acres, 61 bushels of full season soybeans from 600 acres, 55 bushels of double crop soybeans from 200 acres, 70 bushels of wheat from 200 acres, and three tons of grass hay from 300 acres. His stocker calves enterprise yielded 1,420 head produced per year with 2. 8 lbs. of gain per day.

Ray says, “My stocker calves are sold in
trailer truck load lots on a
local video board sale. The
average weight is about

900 pounds and purchase weight is about 550 pounds. Most of the corn is sold to a local chicken processor to be used in chicken feed, with this market paying a premium of about 35 to 50 cents.

About 5,000 bushels of
corn is feed for the stocker
calves. The total cost for producing a stocker
calf is approximately $200, including feed,
veterinary supplies, fix cost, land, hired
labor, my labor, interest, and death loss. I
turn 2. 5 groups of stockers per acre with a
stocking rate of 5 head per acre. My total
return over time for my stocker operation
has been $150 per head overall cost. Using
these methods also allows me to keep two
full-time, year-round employees, Shawn
Adams and Nathaniel Lewis, on my farm.”
Ray changed his calf feed ration to
include corn instead of a purchased com-
modity feed, a decision that resulted in a
savings of $24,000 a year, with the rate of
gain remaining the same. His soybeans are
stored, sold at harvest, and forward priced.

The latter method made possible a price
of over $10.00 per bushel last year. He also
uses basis contracts as a tool in marketing
his grain. Wheat is sold as flour and milling
wheat to end users, with about a 50-cent
market premium. The wheat straw is either
sold or fed to the stocker cattle. Straw is
baled in small squares and sold to whole-
salers and retailers.

Ray notes, “I started farming full time in 1976 after graduating from the University of Tennessee, where I majored in Plant and Soil Science. My grandfather was my inspiration and guide to working the land. I began farming with about 300 acres and a net worth of $130,000. Today I farm about 1,900 acres, feed 1,420 stockers, and my net worth has grown considerably.” He has also completed the University of Tennessee Master Beef program, Advance Master Beef Program, and the Beef Quality Assurance Program.

In his early years of farming, Ray enrolled in the Rapid Adjustment program sponsored by Tennessee Extension and the Tennessee Valley Authority. This training introduced him to efficient principles of record keeping, farm management, and financial planning.