Article provided by Kentucky Soybean Board, by Rae Wagoner

There are few things that get a journalist’s heart pumping like the subject of an interview bringing out old photo albums, and that was the case during a recent visit with Sylvester Fischer and his family. 

Fischer lives with his wife, Barbara, in Daviess County and farms with his sons Brian and Jerry, along with the third generation which includes Robert and Jake. There, the Fischers grow soybeans and corn, with the younger Fischers also raising a tobacco crop. 

The house he lives in was built in 1902 and is where he was raised, along with his 8 siblings. In the time since he farmed with his father as a young man, Sylvester Fischer has seen a lot of changes. He shared with us some of the things he has seen in his years of farming. “We were the first ones that I know of to raise seed beans around here,” he said. “We were raising them in the early 90s for Miles Farm Supply.” 

Before that, Fischer said, he was one of the first farmers to have SDS – Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome. “We had no idea what that even was,” he recalled. “Here we had early, mature beans, looking good, then the pods fell off and nobody knew why. The seed people tried to tell us we were planting too early, but this was in the late 70s, early 80s and people had really just started growing beans around here. Nobody knew for sure.”

Fischer said that he is pleased with the role the University of Kentucky has played in identifying diseases in soybeans, and the University’s recommendations for preventing and treating disease and other pests. He’s also an advocate of the Kentucky Soybean Board’s investment of checkoff dollars into university research, which ultimately helps the farmers who fund it. 

The Fischers see value in the meetings held by the commodity organizations and can often be found in a workshop, learning new things and adding tools to their soybean toolbox. Sylvester is a proponent of impartial research findings, such as those provided by the University of Kentucky. “Back in the day, the only guy we were getting information on growing soybeans from was the seed dealer, and all he wanted to tell us was that his seed was better than the other guy’s,” he said. 

Jerry added that soybean board-funded research into higher yields is paying off for farmers. “I remember when soybeans were pretty well a secondary crop,” he said. “Fifty bushels an acre was the goal for soybeans for years, and now we are getting these 100-bushel yields. That’s just amazing.” 

In addition to farming, Sylvester had a few side jobs over the years.  “I carried the mail for three years,” he said. “It was supposed to be a temporary, but somehow that stretched out for three years. It wasn’t bad, though. I’d go in at 3:30 in the morning and be done by noon, so I could come home and farm.” 

He was also sales supervisor for Owensboro’s thriving tobacco board of trade, and Barbara kept the books – usually on the kitchen table of their home. “I know there are a lot of people who don’t like tobacco,” Sylvester said, “but it has kept a lot of farms going over the years.” 

Tobacco is what made it possible for Brian to return to the farm after graduating from Brescia University. He joined Sylvester and Jerry, bringing the skills he picked up during a stint at Owensboro Vocational School’s diesel mechanic program along. 

“We picked up some ground, and then I was farming with both of my boys,” Sylvester said with a smile. He and Barbara also have two daughters, both physical therapists. 

Fast forward a generation later, and Jerry’s sons Robert and Jake have entered the operation. Robert graduated from Western Kentucky University in December of 2013, and Jake followed in May of 2016. In 2016, the operation formed a limited liability corporation (LLC) called Fischer CrossCreek Farms. When asked about the name, Jerry grinned and said, “a lot of the ground we farm is across the creek.” 

When asked about farming with three generations, Sylvester was quick to give credit where credit is due. “We farm with four  and a half guys, and I’m the half,” he said. “This technology is great, but I admit that I don’t understand it all.  And to be successful, you have to keep up with the technology. The boys (Brian and Jerry) have picked it all up really quick, and of course Robert and Jake grew up on technology, so they are really good with it, too.” 

“Farming operations have razor-thin margins,” Brian said, “and it takes all of us being on top of things to keep our operation profitable.” The Fischer philosophy on division of labor appears to be “figure out what needs to be done and go do it,” according to the consensus. Jerry is the spray man, while Brian and Robert plant and operate the combines. Jake is reputed to do a little bit of everything, and Sylvester said he’s content to drive a truck. 

As of presstime, Sylvester’s vehicle of choice wasn’t a truck – it was a tractor, and he was probably pushing or pulling another tractor around Freedom Hall in Louisville. One of his other jobs as a young man was working part time for Billy Joe Miles at Miles Seed. “Billy Joe loved a tractor pull,” Sylvester said, “and he knew a lot of people. They had been having the National Farm Machinery Show up there in Louisville for three years before they started the pulls, and once they got started some of the guys were being pretty rough on the tractors. Billy Joe said ‘well, we have to change that,’ so he called me and I went up there. I’ve been working the pulls ever since.”

Sylvester is a familiar face to long-time pullers and fans. He and his crew, all of whom hail from Owensboro – including Jerry, Robert and Jake – bear a lot of responsibility, from getting the tractors positioned for display in Broadbent Arena during the day to moving them to Freedom Hall one class at a time. “We weigh them in the morning, make sure they’re in the right class, get them pulled into Freedom Hall after they warm up outside, and then I hook them up to the sled.”

After each run, Sylvester and his crew keep the action moving, getting the next hook lined up and ready to pull. “It’s a lot – a pull every night and two on Saturday, and some of these guys want to get in a hurry and skip over some of the safety stuff,” he said. “That’s not the way we do things. Safety comes first, every time, and if someone has a problem with that, they probably won’t be invited back.” The look on his face when he’s on his tractor in Freedom Hall shows that he loves every minute of the pulls, and that he takes his duties seriously.