SEGMENT: FARM-RELATED BUSINESS & FAMILY
Jay Johnson>LPL Interviews A-M>LPL Interviews A-J, Segment 12
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- FARM-RELATED BUSINESS
- As rate and intensity of production rose, there was more of a need for local storage, a service Johnson Grain Incorporated provided. They took grain to Beardstown, Meredosia, Naples, and Florence, IL via barge terminal. Some were owned by Cargill, Continental, ADM, or Consolidated Grain Barns. When Jay came back to the farm in 1991, he started with the finances. After three weeks he was ready for more responsibility. His dad turned over operations to Jay, although his dad still owned the company, Robert Johnson Grain Incorporated.
- FAMILY
- Got married April 23, 1994. Had been dating since 1988. She was from Elmhurst, IL. Her maiden name is Rufa. She was excited about living in Chicago, but she agreed to move back to Waverly with Jay.
- FARM-RELATED BUSINESS
- Had 18 semis around 1996. Purchased an elevator in Palmyra. It holds about one million bushels, which is a small number. Recalls dispatching 53 trucks around 1998. The legal load for a semi is between 925 and 975 bushels. Estimates that the average farmer puts 40%-50% in on-farm storage. Storing the grain themselves allows them to pick the price they sell it at. The farmers that didn't have the education or experience to compete have either been absorbed by other farms or quit farming.
