By DEBORAH BEHRENDS Indiana Correspondent WHITELAND, Ind. — The Kelsay family is one step closer to ending their generations-long career as dairy farmers after an April 12 equipment auction. At its peak, Kelsay Farms milked about 500 cows a day, but had reduced the herd to about 400 by the time it was sold to a private buyer in November 2018, according to Joe Kelsay. "The auction was for a variety of equipment, dairy, hay equipment, forage equipment, four-wheel-drive tractors, and extra equipment we could do without," he said. He said the farm still has about 75 heifers the family plans to sell off "as they come close to being fresh or when the market opens for an opportunity. In fact, we're working on parting with the last load of them." Conducted by Ritchie Bros. Auctions, the sale saw about 250 buyers on-site and 400 registered to bid online, according to Territory Manager Josh Peddycord. "The online bidding for that sale was very good," he said. "We had multiple buyers from Canada, Missouri, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York." "We were told at one point, there were as many as 10,000 or 12,000 viewers online," Kelsay said. "Part of the reason we went with a larger auction firm was due to the kind and variety and specialty nature of the equipment, we needed a bigger audience that a larger auction company could reach." Like any auction, Kelsay said some things sold really well, some lower, and others higher than expected. "We were really focused on the final number to use those funds to re-engage in other investments. We brought in the range where we thought." According to Ritchie Bros, more than 350 items were sold in the auction. Approximately 43 percent of the equipment was purchased by out-of-state buyers, including multiple buyers from Canada, and 23 percent of the equipment sold to online bidders. People from 14 countries were registered as bidders. Highlights from the sale included a 2006 Case IH SPX3310 90-foot 4x4 sprayer that sold for $56,000, a 2000 CLAAS Jaguar 860 RWA forage harvester that went for $49,000, and a 1996 Case IH 9330 four-wheel-drive tractor that brought $44,000. Changing focus The Kelsays were among many dairy farmers who had their milk contracts terminated with the closure of the Dean Foods processing plant in Louisville, Ky., last spring. They were able to ship to a Dean plant in Ohio for a short time, but found that relationship to be unsustainable due to a perfect storm of lower milk prices and higher shipping costs. By last fall, the family partnership had to make the tough call to get out of the dairy business. "It's a great industry, a great product, but there was a real dramatic shift in the business opportunity," Kelsay said. "In a naïve way, we knew there was a price risk. "With a new market coming to town, we thought it might be a good thing – new access points rather than fewer. It worked out that wasn't the case. With no place to sell your product, it makes it difficult.” Joe and Amy, along with their children, his brother Russ and wife Liz and their sons, comprise the sixth and seventh generations of Kelsays in the family farming business. Dairy had been the primary enterprise for about 40 years. They farm about 2,200 acres of row crops, dedicated primarily toward dairy cattle. The family also operates an agritourism business that once focused primarily on the dairy farm. "So much of our message was focused on dairy, but this really opens up the chance to talk about other commodities and where food comes from," Kelsay said. "We're rewriting our curriculum and reinventing the experience to be a little more inclusive in other aspects of agriculture." |
