Hinton Mills at 100 — Life in a Small Town

A Look Back at Hinton Mills and the Communities We Serve Through the Eyes of our

Customers, Employees, Suppliers and Friends

Dave Mitchell

Dave Mitchell has been in the seed business a long time. He started calling on Hinton Mills in the 1970’s, when he worked for Kentucky Seed Company running a distribution warehouse in Paris, Kentucky. He and Cecil Burton, the salesman for the area, called on Frank O. Hinton at the Plummers Landing store, and a relationship was formed that has grown over the decades.

Today Dave, a lifelong resident of Harrison County, is a sales representative for Central Farm Supply of Kentucky, which is based in Louisville.

Although Dave has worked for multiple seed companies over the years, Hinton Mills has remained his customer because of his depth of knowledge and great service.

“Dave is just a super guy,” said Ferman Perkins, manager of Fleming County Farm Supply. “If I have any questions at all about seed, I always go to Dave. If he doesn’t have the answer, he’ll get it for me. If a farmer has questions, Dave is always the man who would go out to the field and investigate. He always treats everybody fairly.”

In 1981 Dave’s company changed, as well as his role, from distribution to sales, and he started calling directly on Hinton Mills. About a year after that, the idea for Seed Days was born.

“Ferman Perkins and a fellow by the name of Joe Witt who worked for North American Plant Breeders were talking with a grower, and that’s when Seed Days actually started,” said Dave.

“John McCaughey, an agronomist who worked with Scott Seed Company, made the suggestion to have cold cuts at lunchtime. We could have the farmers come in, if they had any questions – maybe about seeding rates on their crops – whatever, then he and I would be available to talk with them.”

Seed Days originally started at three locations - Fleming County Farm Supply, Jabetown Mill and May’s Lick Mill. After three or four years, the Plummers Landing location was added. Seed Days has grown to encompass week-long discounts on a wide variety of items, especially grass and forage seed, and the bologna-and-cheese lunch has been upgraded to a spread prepared by local businesses and organizations and served by FFA chapters on the day of each store’s customer appreciation event.

“It gives an opportunity for the farmer to come in, and if he has questions about anything to do with seed, we can talk with him,” said Dave. “It’s a time to save some money, and we can help him make a plan around his needs.”

A lot of things have changed in the past thirty-five years, including the seed itself. In the past, a farmer had to pick and choose to which disease he most wanted resistance, and select seed based on that. Now varieties carry resistance to multiple diseases. Some are Roundup ready, which makes weed control possible, helping the farmer establish a better stand. Most recently, advances have made certain forage varieties more digestible, the nutrients more accessible to the animal, and given them an extended harvest window.

One thing that hasn’t changed is Dave’s ability to build relationships with Hinton Mills employees and customers. He’s seen as a trusted advisor when it comes to forage and grass seed.

“Some of the guys (managers) and I have made farm calls over the years,” he said. “We’ll have a conversation with the farmer about different varieties, look at their stands, and give them recommendations. You don’t really think of folks as customers, you think of them as friends. You’re really all just working together for the goal of improving farming.”

What’s Dave’s insight about why Hinton Mills has been able to stay in business for the past 100 years?

“Customer service. I think in this type of business, it’s got to be customer service. If you take care of the customers, they will take care of you,” he said. “It’s all customer-based. You want to take care of the customer just like you want to be taken care of.”