Farming is all about the details for Travis and Bethany Dixon.
By Joann Pipkin
Long before the break of dawn, the pavement calls. On this day, fieldwork comes to a halt as caretakers relish in the aftermath of a spring rain.
A couple days here, a couple days there, storms and their ensuing dankness seem to have run rampant this spring. Tiny sprouts yearn for the sun-filled sky as the puddles glisten in the early light. Yet, those that till the soil know to count their blessings as the Maker delivers them.
With the bend of Highway 54, we travel east while the rural metropolis fills the rearview. Quaint country farmsteads flanked by fallow ground line the path as bovine gather near century-old barns beckoning for their morning feast. Our journey jogs north and we are not far now to our destination. A gravel course leads us to the place where a passion for agriculture called home a one-time science and engineering guru.
Here in the rural Laddonia countryside, Travis and Bethany Dixon cultivate their passion for farming, settling for nothing less than excellence.
Finding his way back
Travis Dixon grew up farming with his dad—and loved it. Yet, an opportunity for him to join the operation didn’t exist after high school. Instead, Dixon enrolled at Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla. After earning a degree in mining and explosive engineering, geology and geophysics, he went to work managing a rock quarry and worked underground.
“I’ve done a lot of things, but I always felt like I had one foot in a boat and one foot on a dock,” Dixon says. “I would take vacation and come home to work for neighbors, work on the farm. My passion has always been there.”
Always thinking once he earned enough money, he could farm, Dixon eventually realized he needed to choose between his profession or making a move into agriculture. When an opportunity for Dixon to return home presented itself, he started farming and did custom projects for others in the area, launching a business called Custom Ag Services LLC.
“Anything I had for equipment, I was like, ‘If I can make money to pay for it, then I can have that equipment.’”
Dixon worked for a company applying anhydrous, filling his spare time with skid steer work and the like.
Then, two years before his grandfather’s passing, the Dixons moved in to help care for the man. The plan was that the couple would eventually purchase the house, land, farm equipment and buildings so it wouldn’t have to be sold at auction.
It would be a big investment for the Dixons, who sought assistance from FCS Financial to secure the purchase. His father retired not long after, giving Dixon an opportunity to rent that ground as well.
From there, Dixon relied on his engineering and science background to bring a methodical approach to growing row crops.
“We started grid sampling, tissue sampling,” Dixon explains. “We started figuring out how to do a better job of putting the right (nutrients) in the right place, spoon-feeding our crops and really approaching it from a more scientific point of view.”
The approach has brought the Dixons much success in the field, earning accolades in yield contests for soybean and corn production. They also grow wheat, with last year being their first attempt at grain wheat.
As a kid, Dixon was familiar with growing soybeans, wheat and milo. Corn never entered the production plan until he started farming on his own.
“The last crop of milo we had made second in the nation for yield,” Dixon says. “It made 215 bushels per acre. The genetics have come so far. Milo used to be our dry land corn because we were afraid we would burn up corn.”
2023 was a challenging one for the Audrain County farmer as drought plagued his area of the state. Dixon calls the dry spell worse than the one in 2012. Still, he was able to bring in some 175- and 190-bushel corn.
“I look at the guys that are winning (the yield contests) and want to see why they’re winning,” Dixon says. “You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Let’s see what works, what doesn’t and then how we can do better with that.”
Working to be better
Always wanting to grow the best crop possible, Dixon invests much time in learning from and networking with his peers.
“Every winter I try to take agronomy classes,” he says.
Dixon has taken part in the Conklin AgroVantage® program and now is involved with Total Acre®, a network of hundreds of farmers across the nation.
“We share everything,” Dixon says. “We share the numbers out of our books, what (techniques) work, what products work. I was looking for something where I could see what really works (in the field), especially from a biological standpoint.”
Dixon conducts his own on-farm research, hosting field days where he invites others to review the plots.
“We tell them what we’re doing, what we’re trying,” he says. “I’m an open book to that. I want to see my neighbors do better.”
Dixon dives deep into his farm’s productivity, reviewing what delivers the best return on investment.
“It’s not just about yield,” Dixon says. “It’s about what’s returning the best on investment, and a lot of times I can cover cost with yield. Sometimes you get the bushels, but it didn’t really add to the bottom line, and that’s what we’re trying to find out, what adds to the bottom line.”
Learning how plant roots interact with the soil and then how biology interacts in the soil intrigues the former geology student.
“Even setting up the planter, there are so many steps that we go through to make sure it’s just right,” Dixon explains. “It used to be we put the seed in a planter and went to the field.”
The young farmer explains that farm margins don’t allow for that kind of simplicity in agriculture today. Present-day farming begins with taking care of the soil.
“You can never starve a profit out of a farm,” Dixon says. “You have to make sure you feed it the right (nutrients), and it’s got to be at the right time in the right way.”
With every decision he makes for his operation, Dixon says he considers whether it will bring him closer to or further away from his end goal.
“Is it the right thing for my farm,” he says. “Is this going to get me closer to being debt free or closer to making more yield. The difference between a good and a great farmer is your attention to detail and what you’re willing to accept.”
Staying the course
Day in day out, Dixon keeps his eye on production. From walking fields to asking questions, the savvy grower is a constant learner.
“A lot of guys don’t ask questions because I think they’re afraid to be perceived as not knowing,” Dixon says. “It doesn’t really bother me. I want to know. Be open-minded enough to know, to look and see, ‘Is that still holding true? What has changed?’”
Dixon has taken his quest to know more to social media, using Facebook as a tool to educate himself and others about farming.
“There’s such a disconnect, so I’ve tried to tie social media into showing what happens with us on the farm — the good, the bad and the ugly,” he explains. “Through Facebook, I talk with people across the nation, some younger, some older.”
The connections help drive Dixon forward amid challenging situations.
“Social media is often a dumpster fire, but that’s been the good part of it,” Dixon says, adding that his peers often send messages showing appreciation for the honesty and openness he shares.
Looking back on his early years in farming, Dixon credits his career as an engineer as formative in helping him manage risk and navigate the challenges of securing ground to farm.
“Some of what we’ve done is take on marginal ground, smaller fields, that a lot of guys don’t want to farm,” Dixon explains. “I’ve actually had some better ROIs (return on investment) on some of that ground than some of my better fields because we found ways to get it to produce.”
Dixon doesn’t take his job as farmer lightly. With timely fertilizer application and carefully monitoring plant growth, the award-winning grower keeps a watchful eye on strategies that will help him accomplish his goals.
“We’re giving exactly what that plant needs, when it needs it, in the way that it needs it so that we drive better results,” Dixon says. “We were told that it’s impossible to grow 300-bushel corn, dry land on our clay hill, and we did it two years ago. So, it works.”
Building a reliable network
From fellow farmers to industry professionals, Dixon has developed a network of trusted relationships to help him navigate his farm business. In doing so, he knows he must stay the course and not veer from his end goals by chasing fads or technology that might not be the best fit for his operation.
One relationship Dixon knows he can count on is the one he’s built with FCS Financial. From equipment to real estate and farm operating needs, the agricultural lender guides Dixon through growth and industry challenges.
“I can call (FCS Financial’s Dan Rhoades) directly, and he knows exactly what’s going on,” Dixon explains. “We have built a relationship to where he trusts that whenever I have a need, it’s well-thought.”
He adds that FCS Financial has been helpful by walking him through the ins and outs of the products they offer.
According to Rhoades, “That relationship is very important, to see a different generation have the aspirations that Travis had in a field that he was going to be very successful doing before he came back to agriculture.”
Rhoades says new producers like Dixon who bring responsible growth to the industry are encouraging for ag lenders. While he might not farm as many acres as some full-time growers, Rhoades says Dixon’s focus on margins makes the business work. He also has a supportive wife in Bethany and was willing to work other jobs, from skid steer projects to construction, to keep the farm going.
“The other thing I’ve appreciated with Dan and FCS Financial is them being an agricultural lender because most (financial institutions) don’t understand what we’re going through,” Dixon says. “Last year was a big worry with the highest inputs I’ve ever had. You must be a good business-minded person to do this.”
Eyeing the Details
With laptop open and portable jump drive in hand, Dixon keeps a watchful eye on the details of his operation.
“We use technology in every aspect (of the farm),” he explains. “That’s part of the spoon-feeding (nutrients that we do). “Every field I go across, we can change how much fertilizer we’re putting on. Technology has been critical and understanding that technology and where to spend the money on that technology (is key).”
Investing in the technology that will help deliver the most ROI has helped Dixon stay at the top of his game. According to him, it also allows him to keep better production records.
“We can show our landlords what we’ve done with their soil, what we’re doing with their crop,” he notes. “It allows us to put reports together so that when we do need that money to grow (the operation), we can say, ‘here’s our numbers.’”
Keeping a keen eye on the details of his operation not only helps Dixon focus on ROI, but also helped the grower be named a 2024 National Outstanding Young Farmer of America, which honors farmers under 40 that demonstrate progress in their agricultural career, participate in soil and water conservation practices and contribute to the well-being of their community, state and nation. The program aims to bring a deeper appreciation for farmers who also help grow urban awareness of farmers’ importance and impact on the American economy.
“It was an amazing experience,” Dixon says. “Regardless of what segment of the industry you’re in, a lot of times we face the same challenges.”
Amid the challenges young, beginning farmers face, Travis and Bethany Dixon demonstrate how attention to detail can drive success in agriculture.
Having a desire to achieve more and to always do better has been the driving force behind Dixon’s accomplishments in farming.
“If it’s not a passion, you’ll never make it,” he quips. “It’s got to be something that you’re absolutely passionate about.”
Dixon says coming to the industry with a different viewpoint, a different perspective helps farmers like him find success in the business.
“Travis is a humble guy,” Rhoades says. “He’s experienced lows, and it’s made him better. He has a good vision for his operation and that sets him apart. His vision for where he wants to be is very good and he does a really good job managing what he has.”
