"Todd Clark is not your traditional Kentucky farm boy. Growing up in Lexington, the closest he came to the agricultural life were his weekend visits to his grandparent's farm in Scott County.
When he was 14, he went out with some friends to an area farm and helped in tobacco for a day. Little did he realize that summer experience of working in tobacco would forever change his life.
Becoming a farmer
"I guess I'm analytical by nature," said Clark in talking about why he chose farming. "Those hours I would sit and pull plants, I would think over the numbers, and I really liked the money, I could make at this."
By the time Clark was 16, he had found a farm close to where he lived in northern Fayette County and was raising 1,000 pounds of tobacco on the shares.
After Clark graduated from high school in 1988, he began with the Barton Brothers, who had a large farming operation in northern Fayette County.
"We talked for over an hour one Saturday, and only about ten minutes was on tobacco; the rest of the time we talked about life," said Clark. "They told me that when they were younger, someone gave them a chance, and they wanted to do the same for me."
Straight out of the gate, the Barton Brothers gave Clark 100,000 pounds of tobacco to raise on the shares. It was the opportunity Clark needed to launch his business.
Growing a business
The one constant Clark has experienced in building his farming operation has been change.
Not having a family farm as a base, Clark made his operation work by renting and leasing land. Yet in Fayette County, where land was constantly being developed, he became used to having to move his production around.
Almost 20 years after going into farming full-time, Clark now owns 72 acres in Fayette County. This farm is the base for his business operation, which he estimates ranges from 800 to 1,000 acres each year.
"I don't maintain that many acres for 12 months a year," explained Clark. "On some of that land, I might only cut the hay once in a year, while other farms might be leased for tobacco."
This spring, Clark seeded 425 acres of tobacco plants — which are pre-sold — in greenhouses on his farm in Scott County and in leased greenhouses on the Mahan Farm. He is planning to put out about 85 acres of tobacco, and like last year, it will probably be spread on farms in multiple counties.
He will continue this year to do intensive grazing of feeder calves, moving them once a day to fresh fields. Though this method requires more time, it allows him to stock more animals on his limited land base and has increased his net profits.
"The dynamics are different for me," explained Clark in talking about developing his operation, "but I've made it work because I wanted to make it work."
The hay market
Clark has made his operation work by seeking out markets and opportunities; one of these opportunities has been in hay.
"I started doing hay on my own in 1988," said Clark. "I did it the same as tobacco, and traded off my labor for use of equipment."
Now Clark has his own equipment, which allows him to do custom hay for other farms, as well as hay on his own operation.
A unique arrangement that Clark has developed with several landowners and developers in the Bluegrass area is an agreement to keep unused fields mowed for free if he can keep the hay. They landowners allow Clark to sow the fields in alfalfa, orchard grass, and other hay, which he then is able to bale and sell to his customers.
Clark does not bale hay for the large Thoroughbred operations that dominate the Bluegrass area; instead he focuses on the smaller operations that are looking for mixed hay for two horses.
"A lot of my clients I've never met; someone has given them my name," said Clark. "They just call and give me directions. I deliver hay, and they send a check."
As his business has grown, he has found that there is a market for all the hay he can produce. From the first cutting to the bottom bales in the barn, the prices range, but a market exists for it all.
"I actually don't advertise and don't have the need," explained Clark regarding his hay business. "If I did, I don't think I could keep up with the demand right now."
Clark's farming future
Clark believes in many ways it has been a blessing to have not grown up on a farm, because he has built his operation his own way.
"If you have nothing and want to get something, you have to pick the enterprises that make the most money per acre/hour," explained Clark, "not just do something because that is how it has always been done."
In reality, Clark likes the tobacco business better than the hay business. He finds it is easier to produce a quantity of tobacco and make a net profit than to make the same net profit on hay. The overhead on tobacco is not as high as hay, and he finds the management is simpler.
Clark understands that his farming operation is a business. He is realistic enough to see that the tobacco market could change, and it is important to have a diverse operation that would absorb market trends.
"I feel like I've been successfully because I have a passion about what I do," said Clark, "but also because I realize that my farming operation is my business."
Recent recognition
Clark was recognized for his innovative forage management practices by the American Forage and Grasslands Council when he was awarded second place in the 2007 National Hay Forage Spokesperson contest in June.