The Poultry Leadership Podcast

Amish Farms, Modern Solutions: How Michiana Equipment Bridges Two Worlds

• Brandon Mulnix • Season 2 • Episode 32

Share episode

Send us a text

Jay Dee Graber sits at a fascinating intersection in the poultry industry as president of Michiana Equipment. Serving northern Indiana's substantial Amish farming community, he bridges traditional agricultural practices with modern poultry production requirements while navigating his own journey from reluctant family business participant to determined second-generation leader.

Growing up on his father's broiler farm, Jay Dee initially swore he'd never join the family equipment business. Yet by 2018, he found himself taking on leadership responsibilities, learning crucial lessons about financial management and people leadership. When COVID hit in 2020, his father stepped back, leaving Jay Dee fully at the helm of a business that provides essential feed, water, ventilation, and electrical systems to poultry producers.

What makes Jay Dee's perspective particularly valuable is his deep understanding of Amish farming operations. Contrary to common stereotypes, he reveals that Amish farmers generally embrace technology that improves efficiency while maintaining their family-centered approach to agriculture. The typical 20,000-bird operation fits perfectly with both their farm size (usually 40-60 acres) and practical considerations like feed delivery and egg pickup schedules.

Perhaps most remarkable are Jay Dee's insights into what he calls "unconscious sustainability" - practices that have been standard in Amish communities for generations but are now trending in modern agriculture. From solar power adoption to maintaining diverse farm operations with gardens and multiple animal species, these methods reflect a long tradition of self-sufficiency. Equally impressive is the community response when disaster strikes, as recently demonstrated when neighbors immediately stepped in to run a farm after its owner was hospitalized following an accident.

For emerging leaders, Jay Dee offers straightforward advice: build relationships, help others (even competitors), and stay adaptable. As the poultry industry faces increasing challenges from biosecurity threats to market volatility, this willingness to collaborate and innovate becomes essential for success.

Want more leadership insights from across the poultry industry? Subscribe to the Poultry Leadership Podcast and leave a review to help others discover this valuable resource.

Hosted by Brandon Mulnix - Director of Commercial Accounts - Prism Controls
The Poultry Leadership Podcast is only possible because of its sponsor, Prism Controls
Find out more about them at www.prismcontrols.com

Brandon Mulnix:

Welcome to the Poultry Leadership Podcast. I'm your host, Brandon Mulnix, and on today's episode I am interviewing Jay Dee Graber. Jay Dee is the president of Michiana Equipment and what's interesting about Michiana Equipment is who they service. They're in northern Indiana and they service a ton of different growers and I was really curious, as I got to know Jay Dee, of what makes his customers unique from other customers across the industry and as a leader, I also wanted to hear his story because he's a younger guy. He's kind of done some really cool things. So with that, Jay Dee, welcome to the Poultry Leadership Podcast.

Jay Dee Graber:

Yeah, thank you, Brandon. Thanks for bringing me on. Like Brandon said, I'm from northern Indiana. I'm a farmer at heart, so my dad had two broiler barns when I was growing up and my dad had started this business when I was two years old, so I would do some chicken chores and also help dad on the equipment installation. I'd go to school during the winter and summers I would help dad. I'd mainly be the skid steer driver on the job site At Michiana. Right now, what we focus on is being that connection between the farmers and the integrators and just helping them find solutions to everyday problems and also basically finding solutions to make your farm cash flow.

Brandon Mulnix:

Well, that's really important in the industry that we're in cash flow. So when you talk about equipment, what type of equipment do you provide?

Jay Dee Graber:

Basically, when the building is there, we're providing feed water ventilation. The building is there, we're providing feed water ventilation, electrical, I would say 90 poultry industry and also about 10 on the hog side.

Brandon Mulnix:

And when you say poultry, it's not just broilers, you're you're big in the egg space as well, correct?

Jay Dee Graber:

that's right. Market swings, we're doing ups and downs, right. So right now it's hard and heavy on commercial layer stuff and then usually the broiler, the protein market swings and we're also providing broiler and broiler breeders and pullets and so on.

Brandon Mulnix:

So, Jay Dee, you are second generation in the business. How did you come to be the president? You know?

Jay Dee Graber:

when dad was running the business. It was funny because growing up he was very much wrapped up in everyday work and it would take a lot of his time and I would always joke that I'll never have a part of that business. But you know, as you grow older and I guess, so to speak, wiser, I hope so I saw that there was a real, a real connection for me in the industry. In 2018 I was young, married and lower 20s and 2018 was kind of my turning point of dad. Let me take over some leadership responsibilities and by 2020, covid hit. We had a shutdown and dad really never came back after that. So I guess that's that Family business and I'm hoping to carry it on from dad.

Brandon Mulnix:

You've started in 2018 taking over some leadership responsibilities. What were some of the first things you learned as you became a leader?

Jay Dee Graber:

Financials that was my thing. Financials and people I mean you can be a one man show and drive that bus if you really want to. That was actually kind of how my dad was geared. But if you want to grow and expand, you have you got to have your people. And then the financial.

Jay Dee Graber:

I have a funny story on the financials. Dad had everything in his head and I kind of brought in more systems and you know, about six months in he asked me so how, how did you do on that specific job? You know, on a, maybe a, a poultry, I don't remember what it was, but and I'm like we did good. He's like how'd you know? I'm like, well, I quoted. You know, here's my cost that I quoted with and my margin or whatever. And he's like what was your actual cost? I'm like, well, right here, it's on the quote. He's like, no, what was your cost? You're fixed, what was your cost? So I had a kind of a hard knock there where he was. He taught me right there that just because you quote it one way doesn't mean that's where you're going to end up with.

Brandon Mulnix:

And very important to know where your costs are yeah, as a project manager early in my career here, I quickly learned that what gets quoted doesn't always mean that it's profitable or that you've covered all of your costs especially the last.

Brandon Mulnix:

What eight years those uh changing government like politics stuff, man we've had a crazy roller coaster yeah, I could see between covid and now tariffs and your supply chain. At prism controls we've just recently started to see the effects of those 125% tariffs, and it's not necessarily on our suppliers' supply chain. The things that they buy then increases the cost and then we have to pass that on to basically through our customers and, wow, that changes things. So how have you been able to manage through that? How do you communicate this change to your customers? Just communication.

Jay Dee Graber:

I feel like that's the main part of business too is just communication, and as soon as we heard about it we just let our customers know and there's really nothing you and I can do about it. We have to pass it on, or we couldn't keep going so just hoping they can make arrangements on their end. And we're tracking it per job, and at the end of the job you'll have to pass it along. So but it's, it's creating a accounting challenge, that's for sure.

Brandon Mulnix:

Finance is one of those things that you know. I try to get my head wrapped around and every time I think I have at least maybe 50%. I don't have a clue about it, but it is a challenge for upcoming leaders. They step into a position like yours, president of a company that, as you said, it was mostly in your dad's head and I'm sure that that's hard to pass on, but sounds like you've been doing a pretty good job over the last seven years since you're in that driver's seat now.

Jay Dee Graber:

Well, I've got this saying first generation builds it, second generation uses it and the third generation loses it. So I am bound and determined not just to use it, I'm going to keep building it.

Brandon Mulnix:

Well, you're doing a pretty good job. There Sounds like you're in an interesting role, being the person or the company that stands between the integrator and the producer. So, as a business that helps the integrator as well as your growers, how do you support your growers so that they can provide the product for the integrators?

Jay Dee Graber:

for the integrators. Okay, so one of the challenges is sometimes what the integrator wants or needs, or what they think they want or need, doesn't resonate with that grower, and so I try to be that person that finds a happy medium, so to speak. Other than that, you know it's pretty straightforward Everyday problems we provide the solution.

Brandon Mulnix:

Now one thing about the northern Indiana area, where a lot of your growers are, is there's a unique community there, the Amish community. What are some of the differences you see between an Amish farm and a non-Amish farm?

Jay Dee Graber:

Yeah, so the biggest thing is family-oriented. That's what the Amish are kind of built around. That plays a big role in when they're making a decision what they need or what they want on their farm I'm talking a poultry barn. I call it a poultry business because it's really what it is. You have to invest a lot of money, so it's very much based around that family. Most of these guys I'd say 90% of them the other 10% are also just running it as a business and having hired help, but that 90% they want it for their family, something where they can go out and chore with their kids and their wife. So you got to keep that in mind when you're communicating that with them.

Brandon Mulnix:

So when it comes to technology usage, there's a lot of stereotypes out there regarding different communities. Can you share with me what you know, what your growers typically, how they relate to technology?

Jay Dee Graber:

I would say they're very open to technology. I would say they're all about making chores and life easier as well. What kind of the pushback you get a little bit on technology is they don't necessarily want that connection, that internet connection. I'm specifically talking about a Google search connection where you can get kind of browsing and things like that. But other than that, I would say it depends a little bit. Just like you say, there's a lot of different opinions and scenarios, but for the most part they're very open to technology.

Brandon Mulnix:

What would you say? The average size farm or barn or flock that your typical grower manages?

Jay Dee Graber:

I would say 20,000. 20,000 birds On the hogs barns. You're looking at smaller 2,000 to 2,000 hogs.

Brandon Mulnix:

Why 20,000? That number seems to be across the board, no matter which state it is. 20,000 seems to be that magic number.

Jay Dee Graber:

So a lot of these barns, when they started doing the 20,000s, was also geared around pasture, I would say. A typical farm setting is between 80 to 100 acres and some of those acreage got sold over the years. A lot of these farms are sitting at about 40 to 50 to 60 acres. It works good for the farmer that way. And then the integrator the 20,000 bird number works good for feed delivery, egg pickup about once a week on those and that's probably where it landed.

Jay Dee Graber:

I mean right now. The last couple years that number had started to climb a little bit, just to make it cash flow.

Brandon Mulnix:

But yeah, that's interesting because you know, as the farm started across the US, you know from Texas that 20,000 number and it makes sense. If that's the size of the load of feed or the pickup of eggs that makes sense, then you know, usually that number falls because of something that was developed that really nobody even thinks about, but it's the kind of what causes the bottleneck in the in the flow, whether that's feed or egg deliveries or pickups or stuff like that. That's really interesting and so that makes sense that one size of the farm is based on the acreage and a 20,000 birdhouse probably fits it really well because they're not just raising chickens. Most of these farms I see have other species of animals on them to keep them sustainable. Now, when it comes to topics like sustainability, it's my understanding that the Amish really take sustainability to heart. Can you explain that to me?

Jay Dee Graber:

I think it's just a natural thing. I don't think they're. Sometimes it's like an unconscious way of doing something and it's. It just turns out that it's sustainable, right, but, for an example, a lot of them aren't hooked up to the grid on power, so the alternative is a generator, and in the last 10 years it's been solar power. And then on the farming side itself, I would say it's very much geared toward having your own garden, having your own animals, and now, in today's world, we'd call that sustainable, yet it's what we've done for generations. So I think it's kind of an unconscious act and you know what we're getting away from that. As far as a lot of the Amish farms or lifestyle is actually kind of gearing towards city life, and that's another thing that we do at Michiania Equipment Some of these Amish farmers are not necessarily up to speed, and that's where we can help them understanding how to take care of their animals.

Brandon Mulnix:

Well, with the vast diversity of farms and equipment. I mean you get to see how everything's run. Plus, you're talking with the integrators, which is key. I mean that relationship with the integrators is pivotal to making sure that your growers have something that's a product that they can sell. You know where to get that product to. That is really interesting there and, as you said, they're starting to kind of accept modernization more and more as the generations go on, which is pretty typical across the United States from the different communities, similar to the Amish, that I've been able to meet and greet with over the years. So I want to get back to you and your growth. What's a challenge that you're facing today that maybe you didn't face in 2020 or 2018?

Jay Dee Graber:

Being a business leader. It's like playing whack-a-mole you know the game whack-a-mole, I do. Like you hit the one problem down or you quench that one fire and something else pops up. I guess I'm numb at this point, right? I don't know if you call it that way, but all I'm saying is I don't know that there's really something major. You know, there's always uncontrolled threats, but to say that there's a bigger challenge now than it was in 2018, nothing resonates with me right now.

Brandon Mulnix:

I get the whack-a-mole principle. There's days where I have a perfectly open schedule that I have all planned out for stuff to catch up on and it's inevitable that meeting shows up. This email comes in, this phone call comes in, this team member reaches out for support. Family stuff jumps in and you're like where did the day go? Or family stuff jumps in and you're like where did the day go? And no matter how much I want to control my schedule and my life, I realize that the more responsibility you're given is more opportunities for distractions and other things to come in. How do you prioritize it?

Jay Dee Graber:

I start my week on Monday mornings and basically kind of organize my thoughts with Outlook calendar and I've learned over the years don't schedule too tight and the thing about it is I like to take time for the people. It doesn't come naturally for me. I'm more geared towards getting things done. I consciously need to set time aside to connect with my people the employees, the integrators and I just try to start each week out kind of getting my brain sorted out. I'll comment a little bit on a challenge that, as you were talking, Brandon, something popped in my head Biosecurity, right, avian influenza. That is certainly a bigger challenge now than it was back then.

Brandon Mulnix:

How does it affect you as a person in the middle between the integrator and the producer? How does it affect you?

Jay Dee Graber:

Well, we're going out to farm visits right, that's what we do. I mean, there's a lot of phone support but at the end of the day, we're doing a lot of farm visits and over the years we've just learned to. We communicate with the integrator before making a farm visit because ultimately it's their birds, their asset, and it eliminates some of those farm visits. Right, it eliminates a farm visit. It will eliminate a revenue stream, you, we have to be okay with that and we are okay with that because there's a bigger picture than just making a farm visit.

Brandon Mulnix:

So as you said that I'm. I'm so intrigued because I started in 2019 here. Covid was coming on project management, my responsibility to get to projects. People were still at the heightened levels of biosecurity from avian influenza in 2015. And I had to adapt very, very quickly. How do I connect with this customer? And I have the advantage of most of my customers are used to doing Zoom meets, Google meets, and here your customers may not always even have a phone on site or one phone for everybody to use, only in case of work emergencies and things like that. Man, that coordination has got to be a much bigger challenge than it is for me to say, hey, let's just jump on Google Meet and talk about this.

Jay Dee Graber:

The one thing, though, is you need to understand is a lot of these, you know, if you're working with an Amish guy is he'll go to work in the morning and he'll be home by one, two o'clock in the afternoon, so usually, if you want to connect, you can catch it about that time. So you kind of get used to doing that. But I would also say that after the plans are kind of laid out on what's happening on the project, they kind of put their trust in us to make it happen, and there doesn't take a lot of, so to speak, connections. Yeah, you do connect throughout the project, or you sure try to, but I think you know what I'm trying to say.

Brandon Mulnix:

Yeah, absolutely no. I mean it's interesting to be in your role. I mean you're in a very niche spot that in the layer market there's less integrators and producer relationship. A lot of the farms that I see have their own vertical integration where they're literally their own feed mills, their own houses. But you're in that sweet spot where actually providing a service, that there's not too many people doing what you're able to do, especially in that area. So kudos to you for helping and being part of that, because you're obviously being very successful in helping your community out as well, because a lot of these folks they're family to your family. I mean they started doing business with your dad and I'm assuming they're still doing business with you.

Jay Dee Graber:

That's right.

Brandon Mulnix:

That's the other thing about the Amish community I've learned over the years is when something happens, the entire community reacts and responds. Am I right on that? You're right. Give me an example of something you've seen. Have you been witness a catastrophe on a farm where everybody came together and just jumped in and made you know? Someone got hurt, someone got sick, and I'm assuming you've. You've seen lots of stories.

Jay Dee Graber:

Yeah, just happened. Just happened. Last month we had a guy that got birds. This was a 20,000 bird layer facility. He got birds, I want to say, first of March, and so I'm going to point out a little bit of a weakness in us, right, because we're not perfect. He had ordered a packer to collect his eggs with, and lead times are sometimes a challenge, so he was there gathering eggs for a month without a packer. In the meantime he had a farm accident where his team of horses and the equipment literally ran over him. So he was in the hospital and at that point the neighbors and whoever I guess family neighbors just came together and packed his eggs for him. And that's kind of what we do when something happens. And I'm not saying this to sound like Amish is better or anything like that, I'm just saying it's kind of a culture thing where when something like that happens, people jump in and just make it happen.

Brandon Mulnix:

Yeah, my experience from a situation that happened back when I was a paramedic. It was a tragic, tragic accident that I had to manage and the community support was amazing. I followed up for quite a while with the family and was part of many, you know, invited in as one of the first responders. They, you know, they really invited me in as cause. They realized what I was dealing with in the aftermath of the event. But it was interesting how long people stayed and ran their farm for them While mom and dad recovered and their kids recovered from their injuries. And going through the entire event I was just mesmerized because to this day I know I could step back on their farm and they would welcome me in like family because of just how caring and supportive they are of farms that step up.

Brandon Mulnix:

Believe me, I've seen it with farming accidents, where you know crops need to go in and all the farmers get together and they plant the crops, hay to be baled and corn to be harvested. But what's interesting is you see Amish buggies come from everywhere. You know people that you, you know you didn't even know there was that many folks in the area and man, they're everywhere and it's awesome because they just drop everything and they do it, and they still get their chores done and and they come together. And so that's amazing. That's a testament to the community and it's always a blessing to hear how it responds in the event of a tragedy.

Brandon Mulnix:

You know, we hear barn buildings, barn burns down one day and two weeks later it's already rebuilt. Things like that that just don't can't happen with normal construction, with everything else that goes on. That's testament there. So, Jay Dee, as we continue on here, you're a young leader. I want you to step back and think of someone else just getting into the industry, some young leader that you get to take under your arm for just a moment, and say, man, I wish somebody would have told me this when I started being a leader. What would you say to that new leader just getting started?

Jay Dee Graber:

Oh, just relationships, Keep building relationships and then also help people, just help people, and sometimes it almost doesn't make sense, like it might even be a competitor or whatever. But you know what, if you help them somewhere down the road, you're going to need help too If you can build relationships with your vendors, customers, integrators, just basically the poultry industry as a whole. Like, take time to go to Atlanta and Minneapolis. Connect with the industry. To me that's key.

Brandon Mulnix:

How do you build those relationships without going to Atlanta and Minneapolis, because there's not as many producers going to those big events Between HPAI, the cost we're just not seeing the numbers attend that event. From at least my perspective, there isn't. So how do you, how do you build relationships outside of those two key events?

Jay Dee Graber:

you know I'm not I'm not big on cold calling, I don't do a lot of cold calling, but I think if you are out there people will find you take every chance you get is. What I'm trying to say is like sometimes it might take shoot. I don't have a schedule like. Some days I can take off right and spend the time with the family, but other days I work from four o'clock in the morning to eight o'clock in the night. So there's going to be opportunities to connect is what I'm trying to say. And just don't let them pass by and I'm assuming you're not- always connecting about your work.

Brandon Mulnix:

You're connecting, always connecting about your work. You're connecting on a personal level, so they're going to talk to you.

Brandon Mulnix:

Go fishing, go fishing. There's no better place. I think golf is close, but then you get distracted between holes on conversations. I think it's really broken up. But fishing, you want to get a customer fishing and then you have all of this time in a boat and if the fish aren't biting you've got a lot more time to talk than probably any other any other thing, Cause hunting you really can't talk much. All right, so as we kind of start to come to a close here, Jay Dee, is there any advice, anything that you would like to share and leave with the Poultry Leadership Podcast audience?

Jay Dee Graber:

I think we just need to keep working together. You know, let's not be stuck in our ways, and I'm speaking to myself let's be adaptable to change, because that's what really I'm sure it's in in every industry, but also especially in the poultry industry, like there's just we think we've got it figured out, but man, if we work together, we can keep keep getting better well.

Brandon Mulnix:

Thank you, Jay Dee. I really appreciate your willingness to be on the podcast. I know I was stretching your limits a little bit by asking you to be a guest, but I just thought and I saw your limits a little bit by asking you to be a guest but I just thought and I saw you as a leader, a young leader, coming up in an industry that needs more leaders like you that are adaptable, that change with the times, that know how good business needs to work, especially as a second generation farm business as well, and then as a family man and how to adapt and do all that. So I just want to thank you for being on the show.

Jay Dee Graber:

Yeah, I thank you too, Brandon. This definitely stretched me a little bit, but it was interesting.

Brandon Mulnix:

Poultry Leadership Podcast listeners, I want you to please do me a favor. Please share this episode. This podcast continues to grow its audience because you simply share this with your friends and family and make sure that others know that there's a resource out there to help them develop in the poultry industry. This is free. They can tune in, listen Some episodes, maybe they learn something. But as we continue to bring you amazing guests like Jay Dee, I just want you to make sure that you continue to share this with your friends and family, either on social media or just by in the podcast leaving a review.

Brandon Mulnix:

So I can't end this podcast without talking about our sponsor, Prism Controls. As we continue to evolve and adjust to the industry, this is an opportunity, with this sponsorship, to just continue to help the industry grow and adapt and respond. We're in a time where avian influenza has really made the industry adapt and so we're adapting with it. As a company, Prism Controls continues to modify its products and adjust. But please, if you're a listener to this podcast, reach out to Prism Controls, say thank you for the podcast, tell them you're a listener. That way they know that they're doing the right thing by sponsoring this podcast. So listeners look forward to having you listen next time.

People on this episode

Head Shot

Brandon Mulnix

Host
Head Shot

Jay Dee Graber

Guest

Podcasts we love

Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.

Eggheads Artwork

Eggheads

Eggheads Media LLC