Today, Claflin Farms encompasses “enough acres
to keep us busy,” according to Charles. The rented and
owned acreage grows corn, soybeans, wheat and milo. A
commercial cow/calf operation, as well as custom litter
application, trucking and rental properties complete
the farm’s diversity.
The Claflin team includes Charles’ wife, Michelle,
parents Tom and Janie, nephew Justin Hancock and
niece Kelsey Hancock. A staff of both full- and parttime employees completes the 13-member roster.
“We do everything in-house except for really
technical stuff, like overhauls,” Claflin explains. “There
are times that it stretches us pretty thin. We start to feel
like a rubber band.”
Claflin calls himself a product of the 1980s,
an era he remembers well. Farmers did everything
themselves back then with little cash on hand for extra
expenditures.
“Everything we do in terms of custom work
complements the farm so costs can be spread out,”
Claflin notes. “We have one guy that just does dirt work
like building terraces, waterways, clearing timber.”
And, the farm hauls its own grain and chicken
litter. A spreader is owned for litter application. Soil
sampling, prescriptions, fertility and spraying are all
completed in-house as well.
“That’s how we’ve been able to bring more family
members back into the operation,” Claflin says.
“Everybody kind of has his or her own little piece of the
operation, so there’s not so much of a conflict.”
Bringing Kelsey and Justin onboard has allowed
Claflin to turn over the cattle component of the
operation to them. Both have degrees in animal science.
“The livestock have been a good complement to the
operation,” Claflin explains. “I laugh because we run
the cows where we can’t get a tractor. We have built
FCS Financial’s Jay Sloniker (left) works closely with
Michelle and Jay Claflin on real estate and equipment
purchases as well as crop insurance. Attractive interest rates
first brought them to the farm cooperative.