FARM BUSINESS PROFILE: Collinson Family Farm

August 13, 2017

The farm is located in Harwood and consists of more than 700 acres with the majority of the acreage leased to other farming operations.  Recently, AAEDC interviewed the owners of Collinson Family Farm,  brothers Jerrett and Johnathon as well as Jerrett’s wife, Dani.

Q1: Tell me a little bit about your business and the history of its establishment.

Agriculture has been a part of our family for generations. Our great grandfather ran a lucrative cattle and tobacco operation until he passed away. The family was able to keep it going for several years but then eventually started leasing out fields. Our father still worked a few fields of hay and tobacco while opening up his own business of welding and repairing tractors and tractor tires.

Q2: Talk about some of your experiences as you set up your business.

Jerrett: When I became older I took over the few hay fields and tobacco with my dad’s help, and after graduation I began a company of my own working alongside my dad. My wife and I continued to expand the farming business and purchased equipment. There was a 20-year generational lapse in our family farm where full-time farming did not occur. We had to start from scratch. Equipment is very expensive, so it’s difficult to get started. We have several tobacco barns, for example, which were built in 1927, and are really too small for what we need to store our hay and equipment.

We started putting up fences to begin a small cattle (20 cows) operation. Johnathon would help when he was home from college and then when he graduated he moved back home and is now farming and working on equipment full time.

The majority of our business consists of selling hay and straw and doing mechanical work on farming equipment. Most of our customers for the hay/straw are in the equine business. We also manage the Farm Equipment Rental Program for Anne Arundel County Economic Development Corporation (AAEDC), which allows farmers to rent equipment for agricultural purposes.

Q3: Do you do agriculture full time?

Dani: Jerrett and Johnathon are working full time on the farm but I work down the road at Blades of Green and help out when I can.

Q4: Walk us through a day on the farm?

We wake up around 6am and tend to the cows. Then Jerrett and Johnathon begin working on other farmers’ equipment and tractors. This work involves welding, fixing tires, and making general repairs. During the summer season we do mechanical work in the morning and then move to bailing hay, straw, etc. in the afternoon. In the evening we ride around and check cow fences and take our 20-month old for nightly tractor rides.

Q5: What advice would you offer business owners in similar situations?

If you are thinking about starting your own business, we would recommend that you work with a farmer first so that you understand the amount of work and time it takes to run a farm. You will also gain an appreciation of the financial costs to run an agricultural business which includes the cost for equipment. You also need to realize that there is no guaranteed income and sometimes your income will be based on the weather conditions of each year.

Q6: What are the current trends in this industry and what advice would you give someone who is considering starting a business in this field?

There are numerous smaller operations and more diversity than before. We’ve also noticed that there are many retired people who are trying to get into farming.

Q7: What is uniquely special about doing business in Anne Arundel County? Is there a reason you choose this area for setting up your business?

Anne Arundel County offers many programs to help farmers such as the Farm Equipment Rental Program. Farmers that can’t afford to purchase equipment can now get a no till drill, manure spreader, post driver and many other machines to help them farm. We run this program for the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation.

The county also has great organizations such as the Anne Arundel County Farm Bureau and the Anne Arundel County Young Farmers. These organizations are all willing to help support legislation and local movements that positively affect farming.

Because current Anne Arundel County law prohibits farmers from disposing of tires used in farming in the same manner as automobile tires, AAEDC offers an Agriculture Scrap Tire Disposal Program. Agribusiness owners may dispose of tires by bringing them to T&C Farm, where a collection trailer will be available.  Our dad, Thomas, runs this program.

 

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