Industry Excellence Award

from Ohio Cattleman 2021 Expo Issue

by ohiocattle

NCBA News

Gene Rowe

credits mentor, perseverance for success of his feed business

Story by Amy Beth Graves

Industry Excellence Award Winner

Gene Rowe found one of the biggest mentors in his life in an unusual way. More than four decades ago, he was in the office of a grain and feed company where he worked when a notebook from a former manager caught his eye. Thumbing through the notebook, he noticed it was full of feed formulas from someone named Carl S. Akey. “I was really interested in learning how to make feed and better feeds at a lower cost. I guess you could say I was obsessed about it,” Gene said. “I thought to myself ‘I need to talk to this guy and he’s not that far away.’” At the time, Gene was 28 years old and full of energy and drive. He called up Carl, who was an encyclopedia of information about the feed industry and an inspiration for Gene. “I probably think about him every day of my life and the things he taught me in nutrition and the way to run a business and treat people,” Gene said. “He’s been a big part of my life.” It’s hardly any wonder that Gene was inspired by Carl. His mentor was inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1996 for being one of the nation’s top feed nutritionists and helping revolutionize the livestock feed industry. “Carl Akey motivated me and everything I learned about the feed industry is because of him,” Gene said. “He drove me to learn more and more and was a very kind and knowledgeable gentleman.” Today, Gene is a successful businessman who has operated Rowe Nutrition, LLC. in West Manchester for more than 40 years. The Preble County company sells livestock and specialty feed in 29 states with dozens of truckloads leaving the warehouses weekly. About a dozen employees work for the company, including Gene’s son, Larry, and daughter, Tina Dailey. Over the years, Gene has worked to develop nutritionally superior feed that costs less than that sold by large feed corporations. He’s able to keep prices low by cutting out the overhead and selling directly to wholesale dealers who then sell it at retail prices. The company advertises that its formulas are fixed and “are not least cost computer generated that change day by day, nor do they contain an abundance of lower cost by-product ingredients.” “I always thought there ought to be a way to make feed cheaper instead of paying the corporations and the salesmen and all the high markups,” he said. “You can make a feed as good or even better (than name brand companies) if you know nutrition and how to put it together and what ingredients to buy. It takes a lot of time to learn all those things.” When Gene started his feed business, the swine industry accounted for about 85 percent of his sales. But then the industry hit a rough patch with hogs selling at low prices, and a lot of local farmers stopped raising swine. After that, Gene started formulating specialty feeds, starting with show cattle feed. “A couple of big farms that were known all over the country liked our feed and said they saw a tremendous difference in their cattle. For no reason other than being nice guys, they promoted it for us. At cattle sales, they’d tell people who bought their animals that they needed to buy our feed. They put us on the map, and it’s word of mouth that made my business grow. Because we don’t advertise and have low overhead, we’re able to keep our prices low,” Gene said. Today, Rowe Nutrition offers not only cattle feed but equine, goat, rabbit, sheep, poultry, swine and guinea pig feed. With the help of Carl and years of research, Gene became a self-

“I’m not a PhD nutritionist but I know nutrition, and I have Carl Akey to thank for that. He was almost like a father figure to me,”

taught nutritionist. “I’m not a PhD nutritionist but I know nutrition, and I have Carl Akey to thank for that. He was almost like a father figure to me,” said Gene who grew up in Montgomery County and lost his father at age 17 in a tractor accident. After his father’s death, the farm was sold and Gene traveled around, managing farms in Ohio, Missouri and Virginia. He worked his way back to Ohio, settling in Preble County and not only starting his own business but raising brood cows like his father did so many years earlier. At the height of his cattle operation, Gene had about 200 cows with a friend but the herd was dispersed in 2008 with Gene keeping about 40 cows. Today, he’s in partnership with Shawn Cox and they have a total of 60 registered Maine-Anjou and Angus-Simmental brood cows on Gene’s 85 acres. In a way, Gene has become a mentor to Shawn. “I’m not getting any younger and I’m helping Shawn out,” he said. “We’re trying to breed back up to how it was before (the dispersal). He’s a real go-getter like I was 20 years ago, and I’m having him take the lead on this.” Gene, who believes in giving back and being fully invested in what he believes in, has been a member of various industry boards over the years, including Chianina Association, American Maine-Anjou Association, Ohio Cattlemen’s Association and Ohio Beef Council. “I felt like I should be involved and if asked to help promote the (industry), I agreed,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed being part of the cattle industry. You meet a lot of good people. It’s like working at the different cattle farms so many years ago – you get to know people far away and if you need anything, you can call up and they’ll help you out.” Recently, Gene was honored with the Ohio Cattlemen’s Industry Excellence Award. True to his nature, Gene said he was humbled and surprised by the award. Longtime friend Jim Sutherly said Gene was well deserving of the honor, saying “they don’t make them any better – he’s true salt of the Earth.” Despite a 20-year gap in age, the two have been friends ever since Jim started fitting cattle for Gene when he was 14 years old. They both served on the Ohio Beef Expo planning committee with Gene as chair and Jim as vice chair. “He’s one of the best common sense nutritionists you’ll ever meet and really good with math,” said Jim, a former Ohio State University Extension educator and currently manager of Miami Valley Feed and Grain. Jim laughed when describing Gene as a creature of habit, saying he can never be reached between 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. because he always goes to lunch then and usually at the same restaurant where he loves a slice of pie. “If he knows you, he will come up and say hi, and he’s as humble as can be,” Jim said. “If he was a billionaire, he’d still wear bib overalls and a flannel shirt. He always says ‘Never outdress your customer’ and that’s good advice. If there’s anything not right, he’ll go out of his way to make it right.” As long as he’s able, Gene plans to continue to work at the business he founded 42 years ago and on the nearby farm where he lives with his wife, Sharon. “I’ll raise cattle and work here until I die. I’m not one of those guys who wants to move to Florida,” he said. “I just enjoy the cattle and having something to do and working on the farm. I enjoy fixing things and even hauling manure. You’ve got to have something to do and it isn’t work if you enjoy

BEST & BUCKEYE BREEDERS SERIES SPONSORS

Thanks to these sponsoring partners, cattle industry youth are able to participate in the state’s premiere youth development program and receive awards and recognition each year at our annual banquet. To learn more about the BEST program, go to ohiocattle.org/best.