All in the Family
4th generation farmers, brothers Judson and Mark Herrington, have a strong family history of agriculture that influenced them from an early age. Their father and uncle farmed on land in Twiggs County acquired by their grandfather in the early 1900’s land grant in addition to their mother’s family farm of about 1,000 acres.
Both farms are in the brothers’ current operation of about 3,000 acres of row crops spread over Bleckley, Laurens and Twiggs counties and includes another 700 acres they purchased that joins their mother’s family farm.
Their commercial cow-calf herd now consists of 350 mama cows, a mix of different influences of breeds. Couple that with the row crop land of mostly cotton, peanuts and some corn and you have the current farming operation for the Herringtons.
Brotherly Balance
With one full-time employee and only seasonal help for planting and harvesting, the brothers found that separating the operational duties works best for them. After Judson plants the peanuts and Mark plants the cotton, Judson takes over the management of the row crops from spraying and irrigating to keeping an eye on the cost of inputs.
“Mark is the day-to-day cattle [manager], managing the herd and vaccinating when needed,” Judson said.
Mark added, “I like messing with the cattle. Judson likes spraying and wants to know where we need to spray, what we’re going to spray and when, in addition to calculating the costs.”
They each have their own preferences on what they like to do, and they trust each other on the methods.
A Strong Partnership
The Herringtons have partnered with AgGeorgia Farm Credit for several years and work with Commercial Loan Officer Linda Sapp in the Dublin Office.
“We have a good relationship. At AgGeorgia, you’re more than just their loan officer,” Linda said.
“Another benefit of AgGeorgia is being able to grow and AgGeorgia allowing us to grow and do the things we need to do. And they have a good understanding of what’s going on and what we’re trying to do,” said Judson.
This article was originally published in “Leader,” an AgGeorgia member publication.
