full-time business with the purchase of more houses in
town.
“(Charles) makes sure that every penny is accounted
for,” Michelle says. “He doesn’t make any kind of
decision without knowing how much it’s going to cost
and how much it will make the operation.”
Sloniker adds, “Really, they do an excellent job of
separating emotions from business decisions and a lot
of people fall short in that area.”
Those delicate family-business decisions come in
black and white for the Claflins, Sloniker says. “These
guys are well ahead of the curve in terms of using factual
information to make business decisions and separating
it from the emotional components.”
For Claflin, working with FCS Financial just made
business sense. Attractive interest rates first led him
there. The client-customer relationship has blossomed
from there. Today, the Claflin’s work with FCS
Financial for real estate and equipment loans as well as
crop insurance.
They realize the true value of relationships. “(Jay)
is easy to work with and get a hold of,” Charles says.
“And, if you can’t reach Jay, he’s got a good ball team,
too.”
Michelle
credits her husband
with finding people
who know the
answer when her
husband doesn’t
know something.
“He’s not afraid to
say, ‘I don’t know,
but I should find
out.’”
“He’s got a
knack for finding
the people who
have the answers,”
Sloniker adds.
Still, Claflin
says he’s found
success
simply
because he’s surrounded himself with successful people.
All in all, self-sufficiency is the driver in the success
of Claflin Farms. “They are constantly striving to make
sure they are self sufficient and gain that competitive
advantage, especially in recent years when earnings
have been good,” Sloniker notes. “A lot of people have
gotten pretty complacent and relaxed in their risk
management and marketing during these times. This
operation is run even in good years just like’s it’s run in
lean years.”
While it’s been said that bigger is better, for the
Claflins its “better is better before bigger is better.”
“There’s an effort here to make sure they are doing
as good a job as they can on every acre before they take
that same resource and use it to cover more acres,”
Sloniker adds.
“Our pattern isn’t any different than other
successful farm operations,” Claflin sums up. “Every
operation our size has diversified, but they’re doing
almost everything in-house. If somebody else is making
money at it, why can’t you, too?”
HEARTBEAT | SUMMER 2015 11