USK, Wash. — Jon Paul Driver gets a farm’s whole story the moment he sets foot on the soil.

“When you work for a bank and you show up on a farm, you get to hear about everything that’s going right,” he said.

Working for Washington State University Extension, “I walk onto a farm and I get to hear about the normal family dynamics that can be wonderful and trying at the same time.”

That includes sibling fights, substance abuse, the stress of generational transfers.

“Those are the hard things and the realities,” Driver said. “I get to hear about the isolation. Agricultural work is kind of lonely work.”

What does he worry about?

“When producers are lying to themselves about their finances,” he said. “Those are strong words, but I use those strong words to make sure I get people’s attention.”

Driver is farm and ranch management specialist for WSU Extension. He is also owner and founder of Hay Kings, an online resource for hay farmers.

Working with different farm groups and trade associations, Driver speaks to farmers about how global economic conditions translate back to their farms.

“I farm enough ground to know many, many, many of the problems the farmers have,” he said. “I have that boots on the ground, real world experience to ask, ‘I see that you have this going on.’”

His services are free, and he helps connect growers with other resources at WSU. He’s consulted one-on-one with about 150 farmers.

He’s based out of the Spokane County Extension office, but his service area covers the entire state, working from home on his hay farm in Usk, Wash., and meeting farmers on their own farms.

“We know that many, many ag commodities are in a bad spot,” Driver said. “We’re still just a little too early for most people to have their books finished for 2024. I anticipate we will see a lot more producers who have looked at their books and said, ‘I need to do something different, and I don’t know what that is. What are my resources?’

“I am absolutely one of those resources,” Driver continued. “Industry health is part of mental health, financial health is part of mental health. All of those things are one and the same.”

‘Godsend’

Driver recommends farmers carefully evaluate and manage their assets and marketing.

Poulsbo, Wash., rancher Roni Ryan connected with Driver through WSU’s farm stress prevention program.

Driver helped her create mathematical formulas to ensure she was covering her costs of her animals per head and getting the best nutritional value from her feed.

Ryan keeps 42 sheep and 42 goats on 5 acres.

“It’s a scary thing to look at finances as a farmer,” she said. “To talk to somebody that’s so confident and knows so much is incredibly helpful, especially if you’re going through hard times. There are certain things you need to think about as a farmer and he has got those in the forefront of my mind now … If you want to do the right thing and get a grip and understanding of your financial picture of your farm, he’s really a godsend.”

Some farmers just need tactical help forming a plan. WSU offers free virtual or in-person psychological counseling for growers who have greater needs. Driver helps growers connect to those additional resources.

“The first thing I tell people is ‘You’re never alone,’” Driver said. “It doesn’t matter whether you have $1 billion or $10, everybody has money issues, everybody has family issues. Nobody just has it easy. There are ways, processes and tools you can acquire to deal with those stressors.”

Hay Kings

Driver raises alfalfa and timothy hay on a hobby farm near Usk, Wash. Next year will mark his 20th year of farming, 100 years since his great-grandfather started the family dairy farm and 80 years since his grandfather started farming.

Driver’s dad and grandfather sold the family dairy in 2005, downsizing to 20 acres. With their help, Driver started “from scratch” on 100 acres of hay, recalling the summers he spent harvesting hay and silage.

When he was 19, his dad and grandfather died. Driver found himself without his two closest mentors, with no other farmers to talk to.

“North of Spokane is no agricultural metropolis here, it’s pretty destitute in terms of farming,” Driver said. “The season is too short, we’re 100 days in between frosts, the only month that I’ve not seen a frost is July … It’s just a tough place to farm.”

Driver took out a bluegrass field and put in a mixture of oats and barley, but wanted to know the difference between the two.

He looked on Facebook for hay and forage groups, but didn’t find any.  So he made his own.

“The next day, there was 100 people,” Driver recalled. “A week later, there was 1,000 people in the group. A year later, there was 9,225.”

Today, Hay Kings has nearly 87,000 members worldwide. That represents “a meaningful portion” of all the hay farmers globally, Driver said.

The group expanded to include the Hay Kings podcast in early 2020, now 85 episodes in, with each episode getting up to 2,000 listens.

“We just started telling good stories about hay farms and things farm-related,” Driver said. “A couple thousand people in the hay world is a lot. It’s a niche that’s not that big.”

Hay’s biggest need

There are about 36 million acres of hay and 15 million acres of alfalfa in the U.S. Combined, they’re the third largest crop in the U.S., behind corn and soybeans, Driver said.

But the industry has lagged behind in crop insurance, disaster payments, lobbying, yields and research.

“When there’s a drought, hay farmers don’t get paid a nickel,” he said. “That’s pretty damning, especially for young farmers.”

Some sort of checkoff program, assessment collection or commission is needed, Driver said.

Connection and planning

WSU also offers the Pizza for Producers program, helping farmers connect with one another during stressful times.

“All of the hard things we talked about, they’re not unique to any one operation,” Driver said.

What would Jon Paul Driver the counselor tell Jon Paul Driver the farmer?

“Jon, you’re going to do your bookkeeping before you get busy in the spring,” Driver said, noting that February is the best time for planning and talking to bankers, insurance agents and family members. “Set yourself up well going into the new season so you have your management processes in place ahead of time.”

About Jon Paul Driver

Title: Farm and ranch management specialist, WSU Extension; Owner and founder, Hay Kings

Age: 35

Hometown: Usk, Wash.

Current location: Usk, Wash.

Education: Agribusiness management and economics degree, Washington State University; graduate of AgForestry leadership program Class 37

Family: Wife Leah; son Landon Durant, 15; son Cieran, 6 months

Other involvement: Recently became the new chair of the Washington FFA Association and legislative chair for the Stevens County Farm Bureau.

Hobbies: “All I do is ag stuff. It might seem like a lot to farm, podcast and work for the university, but I really don’t distinguish between that and fun. That concept of, if you enjoy what you’re doing, you’re not really working – that’s very much my sentiment. It just doesn’t feel like work.”

Websites: WSU Farm Stress and Suicide Prevention Program: https://extension.wsu.edu/lincoln-adams/agriculture-2-farm-stress-suicide-prevention/farm-stress-suicide-prevention/

Hay Kings: https://hay-kings.com/