KTA MOTOR CARRIER SPOTLIGHT Warner Fertilizer Co. AN INTERVIEW WITH CURTIS BRADLEY Warner Fertilizer Co. (WFC) was founded in 1965 by C.M. Warner and his three sons, C.V., J.C. and Richard Warner. Located in Somerset, Kentucky, the company manufactured its own fertilizer and sold it bagged and in bulk. Eventually, they expanded to offer crop protection products, field seeds, seed corn, feed and farm supplies along with a number of services including hauling products to location, custom applications, spreader rentals, custom spraying, no-till drill rental, pasture sprayers, soil testing and agronomic consultation. The company’s philosophy to provide a quality product with outstanding service at a fair, competitive price resonated. With its focus on local farmers and catering to the agricultural community, WFC grew quickly and soon had 11 locations throughout southern Kentucky. Over the years, customers have come to rely on their great products and excellent service. In fact, Crop Life Magazine has recognized WFC as a “Top 100 Dealership” for the past 26 years. In March of 2021, WFC was acquired by Demetrios Haseotes, owner of Hemisphere Limited LLC. Demetrios had a long-term strategy for WFC. He wanted to keep the company’s service-oriented mindset and adopt value-added products and services into the existing offerings. That same year, Demetrios hired Curtis Bradley to be WFC’s new general manager. Curtis’s background made him the perfect person to join the company. Growing up, his father was an agricultural chemical salesman, so he was familiar with the business. His grandfather owned a family farm in southeastern Illinois. Curtis looked forward to the times he would visit the farm: “As soon as the car door would open, I would take off running across the yard, jump on a tractor and get behind the wheel. It just fascinated me.” In 1976, his father decided to become a full-time partner on the family farm. Curtis was thrilled when he found out the family was moving there. “I loved the wide-open spaces and the ability to hop on a tractor and go flying across the fields,” he recalled. “There weren’t a lot of people around, and I found value in connecting with nature and animals.” When it came time to go to college, Curtis attended Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky. He graduated with a degree in agricultural mechanization and immediately applied it to his family’s farming operation. He also owned a trucking business that moved products for the oil and gas industry. Curtis would purchase the crude oil, and his trucks would pick it up and deliver it to refineries across Illinois and Kentucky. In fact, it was through his trucking business that Curtis first met the new owner of WFC. “I’m very familiar with the trucking business and transportation. I have done it all my life — whether hauling commodities with my farming operation, crude oil or fertilizer — trucking has been a huge part of my life.” Curtis has had his Class A CDL for almost 30 years. It is important to him to keep it up. “As a leader, I understand what it feels like to be behind the wheel and what it takes to operate the equipment. I think that helps me to connect with my employees on a different level,” he said. “I feel my past work prepared me well for where I am today.” Since the acquisition in 2021, there have been many exciting changes at WFC. “We are known for the innovative technology that we’ve implemented,” Curtis said. “We have started using drones to spray crops. Drones can get to places where you can’t take a regular sprayer. It doesn’t matter if it rains and gets muddy, you can just fly right over the field.” WFC invested over $1 million in a specialized computer-controlled blending system called the Declining Weight System at their Somerset branch. “The branch is so efficient now, and it’s able to blend fertilizer so effectively that we can service bigger areas from one location,” Curtis said. “We are doing more with what we have and being more efficient.” Another new addition is the Vector spreader machine that precisely puts the exact amount of fertilizer on each acre. By using soil mapping and 8 | Kentucky Trucker
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODQxMjUw