“Success moves at the speed of trust” is a catchphrase Jonathan Jank, President & CEO at Seward County Chamber & Development Partnership, has been trying out lately. It’s for good measure because recently, a quick-moving project has come to fruition thanks to trust.
Beck’s is the largest family-owned seed company in the nation, while the Beckler family has been farming for decades. Realizing their common interests, Dick reached out to Beck’s, eventually connecting with CEO Sonny Beck. The two hit it off immediately. According to Kris Beckler-Kocian, Dick’s daughter, things moved pretty quickly after that.
When Richard (Dick) Beckler, president of Seward based Beckler’s Implement Company, heard that Beck’s Superior Hybrids was looking to expand its territory west into Nebraska, he immediately thought the retail seed company would be a perfect fit for a 150-acre parcel of land he owned near Goehner, Neb.
“We just really felt great about Sonny the first time we met him,” she said. “You could just tell he was a man of integrity.”
“The Beckler family is all about relationships,” said Jank, “as is Beck’s at their core. This expansion to the area couldn’t have happened without strong relationships and trust on both of their parts.”
“The people of Nebraska, and more specifically, Seward County, seem to be a lot like us and our family business,” said Sonny. “We have a motto of being ‘Farmers at Heart’ and have a passion for helping others on their farms through our Practical Farm Research (PFR). When we look at this county and community, we see a reflection of ourselves in like-minded people that have the same interests as we do.”
Situated off I-80, Beck’s Goehner facility will be partially operational in 2022 but is expected to be fully operational in 2023. The $20 million project will add approximately 30 jobs by 2025. It will provide farmers in the region with sales support, distribution, educational and agronomic opportunities and Practical Farm Research.
“We have 125 acres of tillable plot ground there, so we have room for 45 to 50 PFR studies when we are ramped up,” according to Jason Gahimer, Beck’s national PFR manager.
Beck’s PFR studies are designed with the farmer in mind and highlight different management practices and inputs to help farmers to make better decisions on their farms and increase profitability.
“It’s amazing what can happen when a proactive landowner understands the power of relationships,” Jank says. “We don’t get anything done in silos. Relationships matter. Trust matters.”