Making The Most Of What He Has

By Beck Barnes

One thing is certain on Johnny Louder’s farming operation. Given the chance, he can hit his cotton yields out of the park.

The proof is in the numbers. In 2005, Bayer CropScience began honoring cotton producers in the Southwest who yielded over 2,000 pounds per acre with the FiberMax One Ton Club. Over 800 growers have been recognized with the honor since the program began. Louder is one of only two cotton producers to have qualified for the One Ton Club in each year of the award’s existence.

Always humble, Louder deflects any praise heaped on him for achieving such consistently strong yields over 10 years of varied conditions.

“We’ve been fortunate, because we’ve always been able to keep our first plant,” Louder says. “If you have to replant here, you’re looking at losing potentially a bale an acre.”

Unfortunately, Louder and his neighbors in Martin County, Texas, know the perils of replanting all too well. In this area, just north of Midland, any number of Mother Nature’s maladies can take out a crop in an instant. In addition to drought, sand and hail, Louder must contend with a dearth of reliable labor thanks to high-paying competition from the oil industry. And of course, he struggles with low prices and shifting farm policy, like most American growers.

Through all the challenges, though, the yields have remained high. Once again deflecting any praise, Louder credits his varieties.

“The FiberMax varieties seem to really adapt to the weather conditions,” Louder says. “They seem to wait until you get a little moisture. They have a great ability to hold their fruit and not to shed.”

Despite what he may say, Louder has come by his on-farm successes through hard work and a keen eye for overcoming challenges.

Louder is a fourth generation cotton farmer. He graduated from Texas Tech in 1972 and returned to the farm to join his father in the family business. The two farmed together until his father passed away this past year.

“He had a debilitating stroke six years ago, and he did all he could do up until the day he died,” Louder says. “He climbed on the tractor and did all the hay baling. He loved to get up early, climb on that bailer, and by the time I got there at 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning, he’d already been baling for four or five hours. He loved to do that.”

That dedication to the tasks at hand was passed down through the generations on the farm. Today, Johnny farms with his own son, Jeremy, who also returned home upon graduation from Texas Tech. Education is very important to the Louder family.

“I think the thing I’m probably the proudest of is our focus on education,” says Louder. “I’ve got my degree and my wife has a master’s. My oldest son is a banker in Midland, and he and his wife both have a master’s. My middle son has a bachelor’s from Texas Tech, and his wife has a doctorate. My youngest son has a master’s, and his wife has a double-major bachelor’s degree. We’re big on education.”