Some farms are measured in acres. Others are measured in generations.
At Myers Farms near Dundee, Mississippi, the story stretches back more than a century and five generations of farming families who have worked the Delta soil, adapted to changing markets, embraced new technology, and made investments designed to outlast themselves.
Today, that legacy continues with Abbott Myers and his son, Ransom Myers, as they prepare for the eventual transition to a sixth generation.
A Farm Built Across Generations
The Myers family farming story began long before modern agriculture.
Abbott’s great-grandfather farmed near the Mississippi River before his grandfather returned home after graduating from Mississippi State in 1915 to continue building the operation. Abbott’s father followed, then Abbott himself returned to the farm in the early 1970s after studying engineering at Mississippi State.
At the time, farming looked very different.
“We went from steel wheels to rubber wheels,” Abbott joked.
The operation that once relied on cotton and small tractors has evolved into an 8,000-acre diversified farm producing rice, corn, and soybeans, with over 85 percent of the acreage irrigated and much of the land precision graded for modern production agriculture.
Coming Home to Farm
Like many farm families, succession wasn’t guaranteed.
Abbott originally planned to pursue engineering until his father needed eye surgery and asked him to come home for the summer to help run the farm.
“I came back and made the biggest mess you’ve ever seen,” Abbott laughed.
But something changed.
“I liked being in charge. I liked planning. I liked being a boss.”
That temporary return became a career.
Years later, Ransom followed a similar path. After earning a finance degree, he returned home with the intention of farming and helping lead the next phase of the operation’s growth.
Today, the family is preparing for yet another transition as Ransom’s son finishes college and considers returning to the farm himself.
Investing for the Long Term
One theme appeared repeatedly throughout the Myers family’s story: every major decision is made with the next generation in mind.
- Land improvements
- Irrigation
- Technology
- Grain storage
None of them are short-term investments.
“They’re long-term investments for my son and my family going forward,” Ransom explained. “The payoff isn’t always for us. Sometimes it’s for the next generation.”
That philosophy is one reason Myers Farms began investing in grain storage with Valley View more than four decades ago.
More Than Forty Years of Partnership
Abbott poured concrete for his first two grain bins in the late 1970s.
Today, Myers Farms has nearly 700,000 bushels of storage capacity spread across multiple systems and loops, all built and supported by Valley View Agri-Systems and its predecessor organizations.
Why stay with the same partner for more than forty years? The answer came quickly.
“They’re not the cheapest,” Abbott said. “But when something breaks, I don’t have time to drive to Illinois to find parts and bring them back.”
For a farm operation that handles large volumes of rice, quick access to experienced service technicians and replacement parts isn’t a luxury, it’s essential.
Built for Rice
Rice is different. Unlike corn or soybeans, rice doesn’t move easily through handling equipment. It creates additional wear, requires specialized equipment, and demands systems built specifically for the crop.
Over the years, Myers Farms has transitioned away from traditional augers toward loops, grain pumps, and paddle sweeps designed to handle rice more efficiently and reduce maintenance requirements.
“The paddle sweeps have been a huge improvement,” Ransom said. “Not having to replace sweep augers and weld on them after every unload has been a big benefit.”
The newer systems also include moisture monitoring and temperature cables that improve grain quality management and help protect stored inventory.
Lessons Learned
After farming for more than fifty years, Abbott has accumulated no shortage of advice.
- Buy land when you can.
- Watch your money.
- Don’t try to keep up with the neighbors.
- And perhaps most importantly: “Experience is a great teacher.”
Many of the lessons came through difficult years in agriculture: commodity downturns, changing markets, labor shortages, and rising equipment costs.
“You take a ten-year average and you’ll have one really great year and one really bad year,” Abbott said. “You just hope the others are profitable.”
That perspective may be one reason Myers Farms has remained successful through generations of change.
Preparing the Next Generation
For Abbott, the greatest accomplishment isn’t acres farmed or bushels produced. It’s watching the next generation take ownership. “It’s really been a hoot watching him grow and do things,” he said of Ransom.
The advice for his grandson is simple: You have to love farming.
Harvest happens when everyone else is going fishing. Planting happens when everyone else is enjoying spring. The work doesn’t wait. But neither does the opportunity to build something that lasts.
For the Myers family, every grain bin, every land improvement, every irrigation project, and every investment is made with one goal in mind:
Leaving the farm stronger for the generation that comes next.
And after more than one hundred years of farming in the Mississippi Delta, that legacy appears to be in very good hands.