Joe is a native of Steuben County, growing up on a family farm. After graduation from Angola High School, he attended Purdue University taking short courses in agronomy and crop production. After graduation, his career started at a local cooperative. Joe gained experience in custom application, herbicides and crop nutrients. Prior to joining Alliance Agra, his responsibilities had been Pioneer sales, crop consulting and coordination of custom application. Starting with Alliance Agra in the fall of 2007, the transition to becoming a Crop Insurance Consultant and Pioneer Sales Representative has been great. With working in retail and crop production since 1984, Joe is able to draw from past experiences and values his past relationships with high regard, but looks forward to creating new relationships.
The best thing Joe has going for him is his wife, Jeana. They married in 2000 and live on the north side of Angola in rural Steuben County. While keeping busy spending time with family and friends, they have raised two sons. Andrew, the oldest and a graduate of Prairie Heights, is a fulltime student at IPFW and looking forward to a career in engineering upon graduation. Lyle, a graduate of Angola High School, is considering a technical school while he is working at Union Pallet.
Ryan currently resides in Angola with his wife Carrie and their boys Ethan and Isaac. Ryan grew up in Edgerton, Ohio working on a family dairy farm. He attended Michigan State University earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriscience and Crop & Soils Science. He now maintains his Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) credentials, constantly learning about new techniques, products and practices to help his customers achieve higher yields and increased productivity. Not only does Ryan work with farmers, he is a farmer himself. This firsthand experience helps him to better understand which seed varieties grow best in different soils and environments; and how GPS/GIS can help producers be more productive on their acres. Working as a Pioneer HI-Bred Seed Sales Agent with Alliance Agra enables Ryan to reach out to many growers in the area to increase the productivity of their farms. Also, as a Crop Insurance Agent with PHI Insurance Services, Ryan can offer a total risk management solution to any operation. Ryan has been on staff with Alliance Agra since April of 2010 and had previous experience in the seed and chemical manufacturing industry, including working with Syngenta.
In the winter of 1988, a local farm owned by Bud and Betty Meyers became available for rent. Ken and Kevin put in a bid on the farm and got it. They took their last check for $1,350 from setting up equipment and opened a farm checking account. Ten years later Ken and Kevin bought that same farm and can now say they own the first farm they ever rented. Both Ken and Kevin were in college with two years until graduation. Neither had any plans to do anything but farm.
In 1990 they rented their second farm which was 300 acres and bought their first farm which was 164 acres. They still had no plans other than to farm. That same year they negotiated with a local vegetable farmer to purchase his equipment and contracts for parsley and potatoes to be supplied to Campbell’s soup in Napoleon, Ohio. They were now “farmers”. Neither one ever worked full time away from the farm coming out of college. The following year in 1991 they rented 1,500 acres from 3 new landlords. They still operate all of the original farms mentioned. Fast forward to 1995, Ken and Kevin’s younger brother Tom, graduated from Angola High School and started an electronics program at ITT Technical Institute in Fort Wayne Indiana. The following year in 1996 Tom rented his first farm. He still operates that same farm today. Tom had always wanted to farm, but with the rapid acreage expansion his brothers had, he didn’t think it would be possible. He reasoned that with over 240,000 tillable acres in the two counties closest to home, there would be opportunities. He was right. He never took over a farm that was given to him by either Larry or Ken and Kevin.
The Stoy family farming operation has made a commitment to growth and efficiency into the future. That philosophy will not change. We have made significant capital investments toward growth and efficiency. What tomorrow brings is a mystery. We expect to adapt and change and continue to treat people as fairly as we have to get to this point.