Generation After Generation

On the family farm, hard work, communication and complementary skills lead to success … plus a little help from Farm Credit. Just ask the Leisters.

Look at the history of Farm Credit Services Southwest, and you’ll see a remarkable track record of serving many farm families for more than 40 years, and many of these families have happily done business with Farm Credit for multiple generations.

Why does this happen so often?

Here’s what our customers say:

• “You treat us like real people with real needs instead of just numbers.”
• “You take the time to understand our business.”
• “There’s always a friendly, knowledgeable person whenever we call your office.”
• “Farm Credit shares our passion for agriculture — many of your people grew up on farms, just like us.”

And why does Farm Credit stick with farm families for generations? Because we are proud to work with such intelligent, dedicated, hardworking and honest people — and we are equally proud to provide the financial and business services that agricultural businesses need.

Take the Leisters, for example, a family whose connection with Farm Credit goes back more than 36 years.

Meet the Leisters

Dean and Rayanne Leister own and manage Leister Farms, a 600-acre diversified farm in Buckeye, Ariz. The family grows and sells cotton, small grains and alfalfa on the wholesale market, and they also sell alfalfa and corn to a few retail customers.

The Leisters’ story is actually several stories. It’s a classic, close-knit “farm family” story that has demonstrated the enviable ability to work successfully together in the growth and management of a profitable business.

But it is also a story about the advantages of maintaining a long-standing business relationship with a financial services organization, like Farm Credit Services Southwest, that is dedicated to agriculture.

* * * * *

Arizona born and raised, Dean Leister’s farm roots date back to 1947 when his parents, D.B. and Mary Leister, moved to Phoenix from Kentucky. D.B and Mary began their life in Arizona agriculture in a partnership with Dean’s grandparents, Ranzy and Carrie Roe.

“Over the years my family has farmed, milked cows, ranched and operated a feedlot,” Dean explains. “I worked alongside my grandfather and father for as long as I can remember, and it was clear to me from an early age that I would forever be involved in agriculture.”

Just as Dean worked for his father, his three children gladly repeated the scenario working on the farm — basically as soon as they could sit up! At first just sitting on the tractor with their dad and later hoeing cotton, clearing rock from fields, irrigating and eventually harvesting. Dean’s children’s commitment to agriculture has continued to the present:

• Justin, 26, works on the farm alongside his dad and helps Rayanne with a variety of household chores as well.
• Brandon, 25, is an agriculture education instructor and FFA advisor at Buckeye Union High School.
• Amanda, 23, is a graduate student at Texas A&M University where she studies agricultural economics.

All three Leister children plan to continue in agriculture, and all are currently gaining the knowledge and experience that will help them achieve their objectives. Amanda and Brandon, for example, have kicked around ideas about working in production agriculture as a team some day in the distant future.

Running a family business

If you are in a family business, you are no doubt well aware of the challenges that come with the territory. While each family member may love the business, individual goals, temperaments, work styles and attitudes about money may differ and even cause conflict.

Lucky farm families — like the Leisters — deal with this issue through mutual support. All of the Leisters seem to intuitively understand that conflict is to be anticipated, but tough issues can be addressed through effective communication, trust and teamwork.

Amanda says, “My brothers and I started hoeing cotton as a team when we were very young. Right from the start, our parents taught us that we were an integral and vital part of the business, and that our work on the farm contributed to our family. They reminded us that the farm was not ‘Dean Leister Farms’ or ‘Dean and Rayanne Leister Farms,’ but rather Leister Farms, which means all of us together.”

Getting started

Dean and Rayanne married in 1977 and bought 120 acres of their own in Buckeye to begin their life together and raise a family. Rayanne was a city girl from Michigan who loved country living from day one, which meant that both would share the same passion for the farming lifestyle.

Dean looks fondly at his wife and says, “After 28 years of marriage, Rayanne is still my biggest supporter. I count on her to fill in on the farm when I need an extra hand, from driving a tractor or a module builder to plowing, running a disk or helping with the bookkeeping.”

Rayanne also works part-time off the farm for the Natural Resource Conservation District, where she is in charge of the conservation education program. This gives her the opportunity to help children learn about agriculture and environmental issues.

Working together

Constant proximity in living and working together makes farm families unique. While boundaries between work and family are often unclear for some families, this is not an issue with the Leisters.

For example, when Dean and Rayanne develop business plans together, their different personalities work to their advantage. “I make quick decisions,” Rayanne says, “which is an advantage under some time-sensitive circumstances. Dean takes the time to study an issue a little deeper, which means he often offers aspects that I may not have considered. We are opposites, but we respect each other and feed off each other’s talents.”

The couple also observes the first rule for any family business: Keep work life and home life separate. Dean says, “The farm is a 24-7 job, and it is hard to turn it off when you walk in the house. We live on the farm so I can look out the window when I’m eating lunch and see the tractors, hay barn and the work that needs to be done.”

There is a transition time at the end of the work day, Rayanne notes. “We allow each other time to talk about our days when we get home from a long day,” she says, “but then we switch gears to family or personal time. Plus we schedule dates for dinner or a movie or to get away for a weekend.”

Enjoying some “off-farm” time is fun, too. “We learned early on,” Rayanne added, “to physically remove ourselves from the farm and the constant reminders and phone calls. That way, we can focus on each other. We can talk about family issues, personal things and our hopes and dreams, and return to the farm refreshed.”

Dean pointed out another benefit. “Today,” he said, “we are still lucky to have key employees and our son, Brandon, who can take over when we want to go away for a weekend or even a week in the summer.”

History with Farm Credit

The Leisters’ partnership with Farm Credit goes back more than 36 years. Dean’s parents began financing with Livestock Production Credit Association (PCA) in 1969 until the merger that formed Farm Credit Services Southwest.

Dean adds, “When Rayanne and I started our own farm in 1977, we also worked with Livestock PCA, and have continued our relationship with Farm Credit ever since. I receive the financial assistance necessary to run a successful and profitable business, without any interference.

“My current loan office, Frank Shelton, and former loan officer, Roger Becker, both grew up in production agriculture, so they have always understood what it takes for me to run my operation. Their firsthand knowledge, agricultural experience and genuine desire to help are of the utmost importance to me.”

The Leisters depend on Farm Credit for far more than commercial credit. “Recently,” said Dean, “FCSSW expanded their financial services, so I work with Ken Lassen on investments, and this has been extremely helpful for our family, our financial future and for future generations. Today, with land being consumed by urban growth, farmers need a little investment direction, which is a new area that many of us are not accustomed to.”

Dean had this to say about his family’s relationship with Farm Credit. “I am a people person who likes to do business with someone to whom I can say, ‘How are you today?’ The office staff is exceptionally friendly, and when Frank Shelton is not available, someone else is always available to answer my questions. It’s still a great organization to do business with, even after 28 years.”

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