By Darrell Boone

In 1896 Riley Bowman used horses and a mud boat to drag his farming equipment through the still-young Indiana frontier to a spot in southeast Wabash County. Three generations later, his great-grandson Dan Bowman wishes his ancestor had picked a location a few miles west, where the soils are considerably better.

“It would have been a whole lot easier for all of us since then,” he laughs.

But despite not having a totally level playing field, successive generations of Bowmans have nevertheless managed to tilt the odds in their favor to create a successful corn, soybean and wheat operation that now consists of 8,200 acres, most within a ten-mile radius.

To get a better idea behind their success, first look at the emphasis on education. Principal operators Dan and brother Kevin both earned business degrees from nearby Huntington University; Kevin’s son Kyle has an MBA and is also a CPA; his other son Evan is finishing up his master’s degree in in agronomy via an online program through Iowa State University.

In addition, the farm employs five fulltime employees, and two or three part-timers.

Another key to success is top-line growth from additional enterprises. Besides grain the Bowmans operate a commercial grain elevator, do extensive drainage on their farm, do all their own trucking and spraying, and are early tech adopters.

Dan and Kevin credit their dad Charles for the farm’s growth mindset.

“He was a visionary who had a knack for seeing the possibilities of what could be, and who wasn’t afraid to take some risks, says Dan.

First things first

For the Bowmans, everything they do begins and ends with their Christian faith. Credit for any success they’ve had belongs to their creator, who has sustained them during bad times and helped them grow and prosper during good times.

The Bowmans also walk the talk. They believe in giving back and are involved in a myriad of church, community, and civic activities.

“That’s what ultimately holds this all together,” says Evan. “We have complete trust in each other. If I’m not the strongest financial mind in the room, I trust those who are.”

His dad, Kevin, adds that when working so closely together, a sense of humor is frequently a handy lubricant.

“If one of us does something stupid, we just acknowledge that and laugh about it for a day or two. If it was something really stupid, it takes a little longer.”

Closer eye on cash flow

Dan and Kevin’s dad Charles bought his first farm at age 16. He considered land the best investment and always talked about expanding; when he couldn’t buy more land, he told his boys, “You can always fix it up—clear it, clean it up, drain it.”

Charles’ risk-taking is responsible for giving the operation momentum, but there were some downsides, too.

“When things went south in the ‘80s that accumulated debt load with 19% interest was terrible,” says Kevin. “But as bad as times were, we learned from them.”

Dan and Kevin put their college business backgrounds to work and started focusing more on cash flow. They also began to look long and hard at investments that could turn a quick profit.

“We learned that while Dad was a risk taker, we had to balance that risk with the reality of managing it,” says Kevin.

The Bowmans purchased a self-propelled tile plow and often tile wheat ground in much of the summer and fall. Although a major investment, their homework showed it will ultimately pay off.

“With land appreciation, it seemed a better strategic option to invest in our own land, rather than buy more at current prices,” says Kyle.

Passions and strengths

Learning when to pivot is a cornerstone of smart farm operations. As the operation expanded in the ‘90s, Dan and Kevin tried their hand at finishing feeder pigs, but the brothers quickly learned that the hog business wasn’t for them.

“If you’re going to be involved in livestock every day, you’d better have a love for it, and we didn’t,” says Kevin.

The Bowmans also capitalize on complementary skill sets, between and among generations. In generation 4, Dan describes himself as a “detail guy” who runs the elevator and does all the grain marketing, while Kevin is more of a “dreamer” and likes the production side.

In generation 5, Kyle has the financial expertise, while Evan has become the agronomic go-to guy.

“Kyle has the financial background, so I didn’t see any point in doubling down on that,” says Evan. “Agronomy was the niche that was open, so I stepped into it.”

 And then there’s technology.

“I missed the technology curve, but Kyle and Evan grew up with it and are good at it,” says Kevin. “In our operation today, I’m not sure what we’d do without them—their energy, interest, and their tech abilities.”

The Bowmans are currently doing prescription farming, and Kyle sees technology playing an even more important role in years to come. He believes that with a smaller pool of qualified farm laborers, autonomous tractors may solve some labor problems. But he concedes that his enthusiasm for what can be the bleeding edge of technology can occasionally get ahead of him.

“Sometimes we’ve bought new technology directly from the farm shows, or the dealer sends us their prototype or first production run, and there’s a pretty steep learning curve with that,” he says. “But when we trade it in, then that’s the technology customers are looking for, which has been a plus.”

Just do it—ourselves

Kyle and Evan are “blessed with the ability to climb a learning curve really quickly,” says Kevin. But it appears that apple may not have fallen too far from the tree. To build their extensive grain handling system Dan and Kevin learned to do the wiring and did it all themselves. And although they were told it wasn’t possible, the Bowmans assembled the grain bins and the entire grain system themselves. They do everything they can in-house.

“It gives us a big cost savings, plus the confidence to know that we did it, and can troubleshoot it if we need to,” says Kevin. “I don’t know how you can farm a lot and not do a lot of it yourself.”

Boone writes from Wabash, IN

7 keys to the Bowman business culture

The Bowmans focus home and work life around these key components: