Our Story

My dad Eric Howell grew up on this land we now call “The Farm.” The Farm is located on Wilkins Road in the Brewers community of Marshall County Kentucky. This piece of land was a major purchase for my grandparents, Wilburn and Anna Howell, who lived through The Great Depression. Papaw was born in a shack just down the road.  He told stories of growing up in that shack.  While he slept, the snow would come through the cracks of the roof and cover his blanket.  The door to that shack is now in Dad’s office, reminding us of our humble beginnings. 

Mamaw was a school teacher.  She was an intelligent woman who encouraged Papaw and Dad’s work ethic and ambition.  When Dad was a boy, this farm was home to dairy cows that required milking twice a day.  On this farm they also grew tobacco, corn, soybeans, wheat, and hogs.  We eliminated tobacco and dairy cows, but thanks to my son’s love of cows, our beef cattle herd is growing. (We got him 2 Charolais calves for his second birthday.) The Farm has evolved and changed over the years; but corn, soybeans, wheat, and hogs are still raised on this farm.  When Papaw had 1,000 bushels of corn in storage for the winter, it seemed like a huge amount.  Now, our grain storage capacity is 2.5 million bushels.

Dad married my mom Brenda Bennett in 1972.  Mom, too, learned a strong work ethic from her family. Her parents were J.C. and Modean Bennett.  As a young woman, Gran needed a job. Day after day she would walk into town and be waiting by the door of the local factory when the boss arrived.  Every day she would ask him for a job.  Day after day, he turned her down.  Finally, he said, “If you are that determined, come on in, I’ll find you a job.”  We have lots of people call our office inquiring about employment. “Y’all hirin’?” they ask. When we get those calls, we think about Gran’s fortitude.

After 10 years at The Merit Clothing company, Mom became a full-time farmers’ helper. I was born in 1976, the only child of my parents. Mom hauled grain in tandem trucks, pulled anhydrous wagons, and helped with the hogs -always with me in tow.  I have many happy memories of growing up on the farm.

Mom and Dad still work on the farm every day.  We joke that mom spends much of her time “shopping.”  That’s our code for picking up parts for farm repairs.  She is still the first one called to help move the convoy of tractors, trucks, auger wagons, header wagons, and combines from field to field.  Dad still plants thousand of acres each year.  He and mom’s favorite thing to do is to work and eat lunch together. That’s their favorite thing.  Not travel or fine dining, but farming together and eating a homemade bologna sandwich in the field.  They enjoy the scenery and the company.

Mom and Dad built the original 4 bins for their own use.  Local farmers started asking for storage room in the bins.  When I returned to the farm after college, Mom weighed in the trucks and I unloaded them at the bins.  Our granary business has grown exponentially.  We now have three locations where we buy, contract, and store grain.  “The Farm” in Brewers (near Benton) is our main location: bins, office, machinery storage, and repair.  We also have the Stella and Murray granary locations in Calloway County.

In the fall of 2003, we realized we needed help.  Dad hired Ron Davis.  Ron grew up farming too.  Legend has it, Ron worked like a man when he was 10 years old.  He bought his first 4-wheeler by raising pigs.  Some things never change.  Ron and I were married in 2005. 

I received my Master’s Degree in Agriculture in 2008 and in 2009 our daughter Hadley Howell Davis was born.  In 2015 our son Barron Christian Davis was born.  Mom, Dad, Ron, and I work on the farm together. We have approximately 25,000 head of hogs under our care and the number of acres we sharecrop continues to grow.  I could list awards and recognitions, but that is not what matters.  What matters is that we work lovingly and respectfully together to grow our business.  A strong work ethic and good moral character, that’s what matters. Those are the values we are teaching our children and sharing with our customers, landlords, employees, and neighbors.

- Heather Howell Davis