93
Let’s hear the story of Nebraska, its communities, its number one industry Agriculture, and the people who make it happen. Sponsored by Nebraska's Law Firm® - Rembolt Ludtke.
93
Jerry Lentfer - First State Bank Nebraska
In this episode we chat with Jerry Lentfer, CEO of First State Bank Nebraska, about banking, Nebraska agriculture and its growing poultry industry and Jerry's love of the show pig business. In addition, Jerry gives us a sneak peek into a March 25 event hosted by First State Bank, Lutz, and Rembolt Ludtke featuring Eric Snodgrass, an atmospheric scientist who studies predictive solutions to manage weather risk for production agriculture. Register for the event HERE.
It's 93 county. Better home to innovative individuals. Area community. It runs deeper than it's perfect. It's good. It's good. Welcome to 93.
SPEAKER_01:Welcome to 93, the podcast, where we talk about Nebraska, its communities, its number one industry agriculture, and the people who make it happen. I'm Mark Folson, your host for today's episode, brought to you by Nebraska's law firm, Rembrandt Lutti. In today's episode, we're going to talk about a lot of stuff. We're going to talk about banking. We're going to talk about Nebraska agriculture. We're going to talk chickens. And if we have enough time, we might even talk show pigs as well. Joining us today is Jerry Lintford, Chief Executive Officer of First State Bank Nebraska. Jerry, thanks for joining us. Thank you, Mark. So where are you originally from? Give our listeners an idea of your background.
SPEAKER_00:Well, great. Thank you for asking. I grew up in a small farm uh south of uh Geneva, Nebraska, actually a town uh just outside of uh Strang, Nebraska. And uh how far is that from Ong? Not very far, I'd say less than 15 miles. So uh what what we did on our farm, we had a diversified livestock and crop operation. My dad uh worked very, very hard for many, many years, and and the hogs were part of our life growing up, and and as well as cattle. Uh so we enjoyed that there on our farm. We had uh uh six of us in our family, four kids and uh and our parents. So it was a very busy household. So what county is Geneva and Strang? Are the same county? Uh yes, it is Fillmore County. We were on the south end of Fillmore County, so Geneva was our county seat, and the county seat number was 34, Mark. There you are, another prefix we get to take credit for. So growing up, did you show livestock? You bet. That was a uh important part of our summer every year. Fillmore County Fair, and then as well as State Fair in Exarbon. So the fun part about that was getting together with our friends, always having that same group that we um mixed with every year, showed livestock against. Uh, we showed cattle, we showed sheep, we showed hogs. So it was a very busy summer for us. So, can I assume you're a 4-H and FFA member? You bet, both of those, and very, very important to us. Uh, my my parents, um, my myself, we've been 4-H leaders. Uh, I've also been very, very involved with FFA uh most recently serving on the uh FFA Foundation Board of Directors. So that's been uh really great for me to give back to an organization that I thought very highly of growing up. So it's connected me with a lot of people. High school advisor was Terry Haney. So Terry's a as a legend. Yeah, legend in agriculture in the state of Nebraska. So uh I had a great start, and he was very important to us getting started in FFA. So thanks to Terry.
SPEAKER_01:So after growing up on the farm in Fillmore County, how did you uh walk us through to the point where you became CEO of First State Bank?
SPEAKER_00:You bet. I went uh I went to college at UNL, uh, majored in agribusiness, and and really I felt really good about the agribusiness major because it gave you a wide background in in ag as well as accounting, uh different things like that. So I I was um kind of teed up to maybe be a banker. I didn't intentionally look to be a banker, but uh thanks to our local banker back home, uh Frank Bruning. Frank is uh a well-known uh community leader in in Bruin. Uh he directed me to my first job. I didn't work for Frank, but I I worked for another uh lender and uh got my start, uh made my way through uh the pinnacle organization, and then found myself making a move here to First Aid Bank about 20 years ago.
SPEAKER_01:So, what do you think it is about your background and your strengths that led you to banking as opposed to something else?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, the strengths are uh conservative background, um, a knowledge of ag, uh, but also the care to see people progress forward. And when I say that, Mark, it's more about um how do you make your operation better? How do you make it uh uh more profitable? Those type of things uh we enjoyed watching our customers grow and take the next step every time we we help them with uh a lending side of uh of our banking career. Uh, you know, you tend to push people forward, right? You want to make them better. And uh I think that that was an important part of uh my taking the next step in banking.
SPEAKER_01:Jerry, I've been reading a lot about first state bank Nebraska a lot uh lately. Uh appears as though you're growing, you're expanding. Uh is that true and where are you expanding to?
SPEAKER_00:You bet right now we have 17 locations, Mark, and and I would say our footprint is southeast Nebraska. Most recently we opened up a new location in Omaha, Nebraska, and that is an Iksarbon village. And uh the funny thing there is I think we opened up our new location right where I used to show pigs in Ixarbon. Real close, real close. So um uh that's exciting for us. I think um our most uh recent activity as well with our branches we've done a remodel in Hickman, Nebraska. Uh total facelift to that bank, and and uh hopefully our our clients will like all the remodels we've done in Hickman as well as Cortland, Nebraska. We've added a drive-thru, um, just general upgrades on both those facilities. Uh and we've recently announced that we're gonna build a new facility on uh Highway 75 in Platmouth, Nebraska. So we're excited about that as well.
SPEAKER_01:All that development in Southeast Nebraska, we'd like to hear that. So ag lending, uh roughly can you give our listeners an idea of first state bank's activity as far as lending to ag producers and to those involved in the in agriculture?
SPEAKER_00:You bet. Um right now uh I'd say first state bank is really close to about 50 percent ag based lending. And uh when we look at that, it it's probably much larger because our footprint, uh, whether that's um ag lending on real estate, ag lending on operating loans, or equipment loans, it it really totals up really fast. Some of our uh most recent activity has also been in uh in helping uh poultry producers get started as well. And um our our primary bread and butter, though, is the uh farmer, uh their land notes, their operating notes, their equipment notes that we put together each year for them on an ongoing basis. So um I hope that gives you a good background.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, well, what why do you think it is that Nebraska, uh the the poultry industry seems to be growing quite a bit in Nebraska? We've got smart chicken that's taken off, we've got uh Lincoln Premium Poultry or Costco that's really taken off. Why do you think it is that uh the poultry industry is growing so much in Nebraska right now?
SPEAKER_00:Right. Uh good great question, Mark. And I think a lot of it has to do with the quality of our crops, uh, the quality of our people, and the quality of of how we can produce and raise livestock. So I think those things kind of combine together with uh a lot of access to major highways, um, a lot of um uh the inputs that we use for poultry production uh come from right here in Nebraska. So uh a good solid foundation that um uh Nebraska provides the poultry industry.
SPEAKER_01:So if I'm a farmer and I want to uh maybe diversify a little bit and get into poultry and want to build some of these poultry barns, is that the type of thing that First Nate Bank Nebraska gets involved in as far as lending?
SPEAKER_00:You bet. Uh from start to finish, uh we help them with construction, we help them with uh looking at the contracts, uh we also uh talk a lot about integrating with the affluent or the manure and uh just put together uh with them uh an entire plan to help them start a poultry uh production operation.
SPEAKER_01:So I think every organization that's growing, experiencing success like First State Bank Nebraska is can point to a couple of things. One, two, maybe three things that you say kind of led to that success. Can you can you identify some things as to why it is first state bank Nebraska is growing right now and being dynamic and expanding? You bet.
SPEAKER_00:Um a couple of things there, Mark. The people obviously are the biggest part of that. And uh we have a a very young, dynamic group of uh leadership. Um our our our boss, uh our chairman, Tom Dam Kroger, has done a great job of of influencing influencing us to uh find the right type of people. And when I say that, uh those people are leaders, they want to they want to be in the in the forefront of of helping folks, and we've taken on a lot of new process improvement. And when I say that, COVID taught a lot uh to us about how to become more efficient. And um in our bank we look at at what we do on a daily basis to improve our process. And what and why do we do that? Well, our our clients demand that we give our products and our services at a high value very quickly. Um so we feel like we've uh done a great job of moving forward in in trying to provide that top quality uh service as well as our products. Uh right now, uh first aid is approximately 70% uh employee owned, so that factors into all of our um hiring, all of our uh leadership roles that we do um that we do have in the bank. So uh those are two of the things that are very, very important to us.
SPEAKER_01:So I gonna display my ignorance on the banking industry. Is that common in Nebraska for banks to have such a significant portion of ownership to to the employees?
SPEAKER_00:Uh not generally. First date is a little bit of an outlier in that in that case that uh we we rely a lot on our staff to want to grow each day. So uh being an owner of that uh of the bank and and producing for yourself uh makes a big difference for us.
SPEAKER_01:So Jerry, uh I believe First State Bank is hosting an event on Tuesday, March 25th of this year. Our law firm is a co-host, Lutz Accounting is a co-host. Uh can you tell our listeners about that event, uh, where it will be at and who the speakers are?
SPEAKER_00:You bet excited to explain about this, Mark. Uh at the Hickman Community Center, Hickman, Nebraska. Uh 10 a.m. is our start time. So we're gonna we're gonna have an event there with um Eric Snodgrass is gonna be our our uh lead speaker, and uh he's the uh atmospheric scientist, and uh we hope to uh teach a lot of folks about uh weather, but also have some interesting uh conversation about uh uh navigating farm succession planning as well at the end of our presentation. So is this a free event where farmers get a free lunch as well? You bet, free lunch always. And that's uh it's exciting to uh uh pull folks together. You get a lot of different uh thoughts and ideas. So I'm excited about the panel discussion just to hear what what folks are uh really leaning in on and and want to hear about uh with with regards to uh succession planning. So if someone wants to attend, uh how do they register? Well, right now we have a link on our website uh one, numeral one, fsb.bank is the uh our website. Uh, but uh you can also find us on Facebook as well. If you do a search on Facebook, uh we have a link to that uh that sign up.
SPEAKER_01:So I think uh as much interest as there is in these topics, I assume that event is going to fill up. So if uh listeners want to attend, make sure you register on first state bank Nebraska's website to make sure your name is in the hopper. So Jerry, uh let's look uh five years down the road, year 2030. Can you paint a picture for our listeners as far as what First State Bank Nebraska looks like five years from now?
SPEAKER_00:You bet, Mark. I uh we're excited about the growth that we have had and and what we're going to see in the future. And right now we've uh just crested a billion dollars in total assets, and and you know, in five years, I would I would expect us to be, you know, uh real close to a billion and a half. And and uh um those numbers um we we continue to to watch and try to uh continue to grow. But um most importantly, we look at our products and services and how we can deliver those uh effectively, efficiently, and quickly. Uh local decisions matter when it comes to banking. And um folks uh don't realize that until it it times get tough. And when times do get tough, we have a staff of folks that that really uh hone in on uh helping the producer become better. Uh and we hope to do that um uh through our lending activities, but also uh just in everyday uh uh everyday situations that we are in uh with our clients, meaning uh guiding them through uh whether it's succession planning, whether it's uh cash flow, getting a young farmer started, uh those things are very important to us. So I think we're setting the stage for the next generation.
SPEAKER_01:So what challenges do community banks face going forward, either regulatory or government, or what do you think the biggest hurdles uh that are roadblocks that lie ahead for you and other community banks?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, um regulation is one thing, Mark. Um, but I think there are bigger roadblocks, uh things like that. Uh we need to understand how we can uh compete with fintechs. Uh we we also need uh know that AI is gonna be a big part of our future as well. So understanding how we can fit in and become um efficient, productive with those type of uh competitors out there, again, uh money is only one click away for a lot of folks. Uh so we really we really want to uh focus in on the value add of our our our products and our services. So uh figuring out how to do that efficiently uh in a in our um uh changing society.
SPEAKER_01:So Jerry, something some folks may not know about you is that uh you have been historically pretty darn successful in the show pig business. Uh at least your daughters were. Maybe you had a little help in that, certainly helped my family and others. How'd you how'd you get interested in show pigs?
SPEAKER_00:Oh, great question. Uh you know, our family, um uh our oldest daughter, Sophia, uh, she uh she got bit by the 4-H bug by showing up at Lancaster County Fair one year, came back home, and um, and we started with small with uh one or two lambs and and uh slowly progressed, and a good friend Craig Gaina got us involved in in showing pigs. And so uh I have a a strong hog background, so it naturally led to more and more and more. And uh uh it's it's been a real joy in our family uh showing pigs, but um I I think it we probably started that in about 2020 eleven.
SPEAKER_01:And you've shown all your when your kids were really active, you guys showed all across the country, didn't you? You bet.
SPEAKER_00:We did uh, of course, our local shows, county fairs, state fair, uh, but we enjoyed going uh to national shows as well. So that was uh a lot of fun. We had uh made a lot of connections throughout the country as well. Friends that aren't aren't always uh just Nebraskans. We have a lot of good show pig friends all across the country.
SPEAKER_01:And you had some success. I know you're a humble guy, but you had some significant success showing pigs, right?
SPEAKER_00:Oh uh my daughter, like you said, my daughters did. Both of them did. Uh Sophia and Olivia uh have done a great job. They enjoyed the craft, uh, they enjoyed uh uh competing. Uh so that was the fun part about it, is uh it was a family event. We drove to all of our uh events together, and it was good family time.
SPEAKER_01:In addition to again being heavily involved uh in the show pick business, you actually have started judging some shows, is if I'm not mistaken.
SPEAKER_00:I'd love to give back, Mark, and and I can't get too far from uh uh pig showing and 4 H FFA. I enjoy those activities. So uh yeah, uh supposedly I've been judging a couple of shows.
SPEAKER_01:I know you've intentionally not told anyone where they are, so people can't heckle you. So let's say you're judging a market show. If you got a market uh class of market barrows, describe for our listeners, perhaps they are future uh pig showmen as well, what the what the top of the class uh market barro is gonna look like. What are you looking for?
SPEAKER_00:Wow, that's a that's a great question. I I think number one that uh we've always learned over the years is a structure of a of a uh a hog uh or any livestock stock for that matter. Um uh structure is very important. Good feet, good legs. Uh obviously you want as much muscle and bone uh that is uh that you can put on a hog. And so when you're talking about the ideal barrow, um uh you know they always say there's no perfect one, but you're striving for perfection all the time. So like I said, as much product as you can put on top of a good structured hog. Any favorite breeds? Oh, golly. Um my daughter took a real affection towards uh the spot breed of hogs. Um uh but uh I think um my daughter Olivia would would favor Berkshires. Uh I think those two, uh, along with Hampshires. Those are kind of our go-to.
SPEAKER_01:What's the strangest thing that you or your children fed to any of your show pigs?
SPEAKER_00:Uh we we've always uh focused on natural things. So uh one of the interesting things we've fed uh hogs were uh raw eggs, right? Uh good protein source for you and I. Uh so were they for uh for our hogs and uh boy they loved them. Uh shells and everything.
SPEAKER_01:So you don't have to reveal which shows, but are you lined up to judge any pig shows in 2025? Uh not at this time. But so your your your calendar's open if people I'm a free agent right now. Awesome. Jerry, uh something that we ask all of our guests, you get one word and only one word. What's the one word to you that best describes this place in which you were raised and which you currently live, in which uh you and your colleagues operate and run First State Bank Nebraska? What's your one word for Nebraska?
SPEAKER_00:Great question. And uh my one word uh as I thought about this, Mark, was uh a community. And uh when we say community, it it it might be a geographical situation that we look at a community, but it's more about the shared values that uh we all have from Nebraska. Um as you know, I'm a big Husker fan, and and when you go anywhere to travel to a Husker game outside of the outside of the state, you always have somebody to connect with. That's a community that uh is very near and dear to me. I have a lot of friends in this state. We've lived in uh several different towns uh in Nebraska and always feel like we have a um uh a connection to a lot of different um communities within Nebraska. It might be my FFA community, it might be my um community back in Palmer, Nebraska, where I lived for a while. Uh so a lot of uh different folks and community means the most to me when you when you bring up Nebraska.
SPEAKER_01:So let's go back to um being raised in Fillmore County. How old were you when you first started to operate a tractor?
SPEAKER_00:The funny story about that was um I bet I was probably 12 years old, maybe, Mark, something maybe even younger. Um my dad sent me. on the on the tractor, the old international, and uh sent me out to go cultivate. Um and uh I I don't think this Milo was much more than three, four, maybe five inches out of the ground. And um uh he was quick to stop me after I I ran over plenty of uh plenty of that Milo that day but uh uh that was a great start I I I guess I I'd never uh trade that for anything getting out and uh uh working in the fields driving a tractor a lot of fun just a lot of fun so you raised crops you raised livestock did you some kids kind of uh find themselves uh being attracted to one or the other did uh for you was it uh agronomy crops or was it uh livestock? I I I'd have to lean towards livestock mark I think uh that was always um uh very special to me when you know watching those animals grow watching them uh um uh taking care of them that that animal husbandry side of things was um was my job on the farm right uh and so that was uh something that I enjoyed most I started a um a small cattle herd when I was uh in my FFA years and and uh that was extremely enjoyable.
SPEAKER_01:So family farm is it still in the family's name and do you does your family still operate it or own it?
SPEAKER_00:You bet farm still in the family uh right now uh we do not operate it uh but uh uh still enjoy getting back there and um our our our tenant is a very like a lifelong friend and and enjoy uh getting back to see them all the time.
SPEAKER_01:Jerry thanks for coming in grateful great to hear about all the great things that are going on at First State Bank Nebraska again if you haven't signed up yet uh be sure to sign up for the event on Tuesday March 25th in Hickman with a climatologist and a presentation on farm succession planning. If you enjoyed this episode consider subscribing on whatever your favorite uh podcast app is whether that be Apple, Spotify or something else. Uh also share this with anyone who might be of uh interested or want to attend the event on March 25th. Please keep listening as we release additional episodes on Nebraska its great communities Nebraska's number one industry agriculture and the folks who make it happen. Thanks.
SPEAKER_02:This has been Nighty three the podcast sponsored by Nebraska's law firm Rembolt Ludke
