Came Farms Plants Discipline with Focus on Family, Employees and the Future

Came Farms is a 2021 Top Producer of the Year Finalist. Their family's story is one of tragedy and hope; finding a focus on the next generation is what helps their family farm grow. 

They're a Kansas farm family whose past is plastered in pictures.  And while the farm in Salina, Kan. has seen constant change, the foundation of the farm hasn’t shifted.

“The picture here on the end, it was taken in 1903,” says Bill Came of Came Farms. “The same year the barn was built.”

Bill Came is no stranger to reviving resources and making the most of ever acre of land. The Cames even turned the 1903 built barn into to the farm’s office today, proof Bill makes sure no stone is left unturned.

“We've tried to become really professional in what we do,” says Bill. “We have analyzed our costs–we kind of know what's working, what's not working. And as we've adapted, I think landowners in the area have seen what we've done and have been interested in and asked us to farm their land. It just has kind of grown from there.”

The farm’s growth has accelerated the past decade. Came says doubling his acres wasn’t always the plan. Instead, he took a very disciplined approach, which starts with the farm’s five-year rotation.

“Our rotation is what we follow, regardless of price,” he says. “It keeps us the diversified. You never know when your next corn didn't look like a good crop this coming year, and it turned out to be one of our most profitable crops. So, you never know.”

The farm rotates between wheat, double crop soybeans or sorghum, a full season of corn or milo, to soybeans and back to wheat again. It’s a system that works and a plan planted by trial and error.

“This wasn't our first rotation,” says Bill. “Our first rotation we were doing a couple years of milo and then  a couple years of wheat–it didn't work well for us.”

From row crops, to cattle, the Cames made a switch and decided to calve in May and June.

“The reason we started doing that was we have lots of corn and milo stalks to graze them on all winter,” says Bill. “It just allowed us to keep them out there on the stalks longer.”

But the discipline is rooted in more than just what they grow and raise. The Cames also manage what they spend on equipment–focusing on by buying used.

“We're not paying for new equipment, and we can repair it a lot cheaper than we can depreciate it out,” he says.

Bill says his machinery methodology is good way to utilize labor during the winter, helping to also support this full-time workforce.

“Every year at the end of the season we run our machines down to the John Deere dealer and they inspect it for us and tell us what needs to be worked on,” says Bill. “We then bring it back and do the work ourselves.”

The Cames have a vibrant and young workforce; a group that has their sights set on the future. 

“I think our competitive advantage is having these younger guys coming back to the farm They have new ideas, and they are really good with technology,” says Bill. “I think that's going to be a huge asset to us moving forward.”

That focus on the future is also accelerated by Bill’s son Kody returning back to the family farm, already finding his fit.

“Kody has been real good working with our landowners,” says Bill. “He's been real good working with our crop insurance people.  I think he’s really good at analyzing information, too.”

A recent Kansas State University graduate, Kody is plunging into an operation that’s a true family farm.

“My mom and my sister are on the farm with me,” says Bill. “My mom doesn't really do much on the farm anymore, but my sister Darcy is our office manager. She handles all the books and everything.”

A strong family bond, and one that’s withstood growing challenges.

“I'd have to say the biggest challenge was losing dad and Chad, my brother,” says Bill. “Those were probably the biggest challenges for us. Buying Chad out and losing the two of them was probably the hardest.”

“My husband died of ALS, and my youngest son has MS,” says Bill’s mother Joyce Came. “He's gotten bad enough that he had to go to a nursing home. And so that that's been a very challenging part of our lives.”

Even though Chad is no longer able to farm, the family tries to keep him tied in.

“He loves to be involved–wants to know everything that's going on,” says Joyce.

While family tragedy reshaped the faces of this farm, it didn’t reshape this farm’s DNA.

“I think you guys have been individualized to you all had your focus,” says Laurie Came, Bill’s wife.

“We try to try to everybody specialized in, in certain areas. And that's, that's what we, i think we will try to do to help everybody, you know, have their role, you know, have some responsibility.

“I think Bill for sure is not afraid to learn something new and, and try new stuff,” says Darcy Bradley, Bill sister and the farm’s office manager. “And I think that's helped him where he doesn't get stuck in a rut. Instead of thiking we’re gonna do it this same way, just because that's the way we've done it, he's just very open to other people's ideas and new ways of doing things.”

The farm’s game plan also taps into technology. Using variable rate fertilizer and adopting no-till nearly 20 years ago, it’s a sound strategy helping the Cames grow.

“My metric of growth really isn't necessarily acres or farm size or anything like that,” says Bill. “I want to see us get a better return every year and it can be doing something to reduce costs, it can be doing something to increase yield. There's always little things that we're constantly missing that we can make better.”

The Cames continue to adopt better practices while never losing sight of what matters most.

“I would just like us to be remembered as a good family,” says Bill. “Ones that take care of ourselves and those around us.”

It’s a strong priority for Bill, and one of which his dad would approve.

“He'd be proud,” says Bill, remembering his dad. “This was always kind of his dream.”

“I am extremely proud,” adds Joyce. “Bill has taken over so well after his dad died. And Darcy, we couldn't have done it without her. We’d be lost without her.”

And while the seasons come and go in central Kansas, the Cames are proof family is forever.


Congratulations to the Came family for being named a finalist for the 2021 Top Producer of the Year award. Meet the other finalists:

DX Ranch, Gettysburg, S.D.

LongView Farms, Nevada, Iowa


Sponsored by BASF and Case IH, the Top Producer of the Year contest began in 2000 and represents the best in the business of farming. Three finalists are chosen from numerous applications by a panel of judges based on entrepreneurial originality; financial and business progress; and industry and community leadership. 

The three finalists received all-expense-paid trips to attend the Summit. The winner also receives sessions with a CEO coach, courtesy of BASF, and the lease of a Case IH tractor for 150 hours of use on their farm. 

For 2021, the Top Producer Summit will feature both a small in-person event, which was held Feb. 15-17 in Nashville, Tenn. An online program launches Feb. 23-25. With the theme, “Breaking New Ground,” producers will hone their money, marketing and management skills.

Learn more about Top Producer Summit at TPSummit.com. Sponsors include:

  • Presenting: BASF, Beck’s Case IH, Nutrien, Farmers Mutual Hail, Fendt, Indigo, Pioneer and Pivot Bio
  • Supporting: AgCredit, CLA, Lincoln Financial Network 

The online Top Producer Summit, happening Feb. 23-25, will feature 25 sessions (ranging in length from 30 min. to 1 hour). Several recorded sessions from the in-person event will also be featured. Just a few of the online speakers include:

  • Eric Snodgrass, Nutrien Ag Solutions
  • John Phipps, Top Producer Columnist
  • Dr. Temple Grandin, Colorado State University 
  • Esther George, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
  • Seth Meyer, USDA Chief Economist
  • Angie Setzer, Citizen's Grain
  • Stephen Nicholson, RaboResearch Grains

The registration fee is $125. To receive 50% off, use the code: TPS50

Register now!

 

Related Stories:

Meet the Iowa Farm Family Named 2021 Top Producer of the Year

 

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