Randy Dickhut’s fifty year career in agriculture combining production and professional farm management experience has provided him with unique insight into the business of owning and operating a farm.
Randy grew up in western Illinois and actively farmed for thirty years beginning in the 1970’s growing the family operation to over 1,600 acres with twenty different landowners before he left the business in 2002. During his farming tenure, Randy and his brother were early adopters of no-till and experimented with cover crops among other leading edge production practices of the time. One of Randy’s primary responsibilities in the operation was the contact and communication with the landowners including writing a quarterly newsletter.
In 2002, Randy began a twenty year career with Farmers National Company initially managing farms for non-operating landowners in Missouri and Illinois. During this time, he also obtained the Accredited Farm Manager designation from the American Society of Farm Managers and Appraisers. In 2006, Randy became the Vice President of Client Relations whereby he worked with new clients, larger clients, and generational transition issues. While at Farmers National, Randy worked with landowners of all sizes ranging from 60 to 140,000 acres.
Randy took on new responsibilities for Farmers National when he became the Senior Vice President of Real Estate Operations. As the managing real estate broker for the company, Randy oversaw 200 agents conducting business in 29 states generating $400 to $750 million in land sales annually.
Over his ag career, Randy has had the opportunity to work firsthand with landowners, investors, and farmers in states across the country getting views into the regional differences in production and operations.
Randy has been a prolific writer about farmland, most recently producing hundreds of articles for Farmers National and Agricultural Economic Insights. He has also been a contributing writer and source for multiple ag publications and programs.
