Diversification key to stable farming operation

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Gina Kinslow

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March 30, 2009

By GINA KINSLOW The Glasgow Daily Times Mon Mar 30, 2009, 08:16 AM CDT

CAVE CITY — Kenneth Sartin considers himself to be lucky.

He hasn’t been laid off and has a pretty good idea where he’ll get his next meal. Sartin has been a farmer all of his life. He is his own boss.

“I get up in the morning and nobody’s standing over me with a gun telling me what I gotta do,” he said. “I do what I want and I like what I do.”

While he doesn’t have to worry about being laid off, he still has to worry about making a living; something that has become more difficult over the years.

“The economy hasn’t affected me as badly as the guys who lost their jobs,” he said. “Cattle may not be like we would like for them to be, but you can still get some eating money out of it.”

He credits his stability as a farmer to diversification.

“I don’t put all of my eggs into one basket, if you know what I mean,” he said. “I learned a long time ago to not put all of my eggs into one basket.”

Sartin raises beef cattle, tobacco and hay and he hauls lime and rock for others.

Farming has been good to him over the years.

“I paid for my first car raising tobacco and milking cows,” he said.

But he hasn’t relied on it solely for his well-being.

“I’ve had some other things going on besides farming,” he said.

For 30 years he worked in tobacco barns. He’s also worked for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture for four years and served as director of the Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative for nine years.

There are people who can make a living on farming alone, but Sartin said those are the farmers who own upwards of 1,000 acres of land.

“A little man can’t make it just farming,” he said. “He’ll starve to death.”

Sartin has farmed his land mostly on his own. He owns a total of 175 acres. However, there have been times when he has hired help.

“I’m too little to hire full-time man and I’m too big that I can’t do it myself,” he said.

He hired someone to work for him on a full-time basis once, but said that venture “emptied his pockets.”

A farmer has to do everything.

“You’ve got to be a veterinarian, an accountant, an electrician, a plumber, a carpenter, a mechanic and a welder,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate that I can do most of those things.

Sartin doesn’t see the farming industry growing in the future.

“Older folks will eventually get out and there’s not that many younger people coming in,” he said.

His advice for those who are thinking about going into farming?

“You better find something else to do,” he said with a giggle.

On a more serious note, he said, “Education. You need to get you a good education and get into something that’s going to stay.”

Two years ago Sartin was named Farmer of the Year by the Cave City Chamber of Commerce.

“They bragged on my fence rows. I try to keep the place looking like it ought to look,” he said.

Charles Allen, who was a member of the Chamber of Commerce’s executive committee at he time he was chosen for the award.

“He used to serve on the tobacco board and did his part in getting the tobacco buyout. He was on those committees and things, plus he has been a service help to many farmers around,” Allen said. “He’s just been a big help to many farmers around and he’s a very good farmer himself. He has a picturesque place. He’s been an active farmer for a long time. All he does and his only sources of living is farming and agriculture activities.”

Carol DeGroft’s farm adjoins Sartin’s and she says it is easy to see why he was chosen for the honor.

“He keeps his farm spotless. He’s a very conscientious steward of the land,” she said. “He’s a great neighbor. He’s helpful and encouraging to other farmers.”

Sartin doubts he’ll ever stop farming.

“There’s something about it; sitting down on the patio at night and looking out across the farm when you’ve got it clipped off pretty and green and your cows are out there grazing,” he said. “As long as I can go with a little help to get things done, I’ll keep doing what I’m doing.

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Diversification key to stable farming operation

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