This business started as an unhappy dairy farmer that did not like the quality of the fertilizer and seed company. The farmer started fertilizing for himself through Allied Fertilizer. In the early 80's and 90's the fertilizer business grew and they started a trucking business to help haul the fertilizer. There is a railroad right behind the fertilizer plant so they began to use rail cars to haul as well because it was so much cheaper but the quality is much worse (1 week = 3 weeks). They started retailing Pioneer Seed in the late 80's - early 90's. They are the only distributor for Pioneer in the state. They serve 3 counties (Rockingham, Rockbridge, and Augusta). They have 250 direct customers but serve many others as a distributor. Danny Clindan is the Seed Manager at the plant. The deliver to the companies within 24 hours of the order hitting his desk. The mother plant is in Laurinburg, NC.
They started doing seed treatments 4 years ago and now treat over 35,000 bags of seed each year. 7 years ago only 2% of soybeans were treated and now that is up to 80%. The treater can run through one cycle in 10 minutes. They can do up to 2 trailer loads a day. They store all of the liquid fertilizer outside in big tanks and store all of the chemicals inside. The average field size that they cover is 7.5 acres. They are starting to move into the dry fertilizer business and already have a bio-solids business.
They also store salt for VDOT in large buildings. The farms do not have to pay for the bio-solids, the plant that is getting rid of them pays to have them taken away and disposed of. The application rate depends of the type of field being sprayed and the crop that is on that field.
This business shows how one business can lead to another and then another. There are always opportunities you just have to go for it.
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