The farm name under which Marty and Becky Evans operate in partnership with their children says it all: Be-N-Ag Farms. Both Marty and Becky, Terre Haute, Ind., wanted to be in agriculture since they were kids, even though both grew up in town, in Vincennes, Ind.

“I first worked for a neighbor in the melon business when I was 10 years old,” Marty says. “I simply loved it. I knew then that I wanted to be in agriculture.”

How do you go from young, married and living in town to running an established farming operation? For Marty and Becky, it involved spending time in the ag business world, working hard, studying carefully before leaping when opportunities presented themselves, and simply refusing to fail.

Foundation in ag business

Marty drove a fertilizer truck for a retail ag business after high school. The company offered training to gain managerial skills, and he took advantage of it. Marty became manager of the Clay City CFS outlet in 1978, and Becky helped in the office. In 1982, the couple transferred to the Spencer plant.

“Our goal was to own our own business, and we took that leap of faith in 1983,” Marty explains. To make it happen, they partnered with two other businesspeople and opened in Blackhawk at the location of a fertilizer business that had been closed for 10 years. They ran the fertilizer outlet until they sold it in the mid-’90s.

Why sell the business? “We wanted to pursue our dream of farming, and another opportunity came along,” Marty explains. A neighbor, Ron Laswell, rented them 1,000 acres, which they added to 160 acres they already owned — and by 1998, Marty was farming full time.

“We chose no-till because we were short on labor and equipment,” Marty recalls. “I started with a John Deere 4430, a 12-row planter and a Great Plains drill. It had to work. Failure was not an option!”

The next opportunity came in 2005. Terry Jarvis and his son, Denny, hosts of the 1995 Farm Progress Show, decided to exit farming to concentrate on the coal business. They felt Marty and Becky were the right people to take over their operation. The deal would nearly triple the Evans farm overnight.

“We went to see Bob Taylor in ag economics at Purdue and laid out what we wanted to do,” Becky says. “When he realized we were serious, I think he was shocked.

“He didn’t sugarcoat anything. But by the time we got done, he allowed that if we were committed and worked hard, it just might work.”

They bought 7 acres, including grain bins, a shop and office space, from the Jarvis family, and with their help, convinced most of the Jarvises landlords to rent to them. At the same time, they formed Be-N-Ag as a partnership and brought in their children.

Farming today

About one-third of the corn Be-N-Ag Farms raises is food-grade white corn. They also raise non-GMO yellow corn. About one-third of their soybeans are raised for seed for Beck’s. To maintain soil health, they emphasize cover crops, seeding cereal rye on the combine pass as they shell corn.

Their daughter Amber and her husband, Brad Burbrink, are partners, along with their son, Casey, and his wife, Lynsey. Daughter Jamalyn and her husband, Tim Sarver, operate Legacy Seeds, a Beck’s dealership, and Legacy Ag Solutions as part of the farm enterprise.

“We wanted to give our children the opportunity to be connected to farming, and we’ve been able to do so,” Becky concludes.

Master Farmers at a glance

Age: 65 (Marty)

Location: Terre Haute, Vigo County, Ind.

Beginning: Marty and Becky Evans both grew up in Vincennes, Ind. After Becky graduated from high school, they married, and Marty took ag retail manager training while driving a retail fertilizer truck. The couple struck out on their own in 1983, reopening a closed retail fertilizer outlet in Blackhawk, Ind. Marty began farming full time in 1998, renting 1,000 acres from a neighbor. In 2005, their farm mushroomed in size when they took over Terry and Denny Jarvis’ farm.

Farm today: Marty and Becky operate Be-N-Ag Farms with their daughter Amber and her husband, Brad Burbrink, and son Casey and his wife, Lynsey. They farm in Vigo, Clay and Sullivan counties. Their daughter Jamalyn and her husband, Tim Sarver, operate a Beck’s seed dealership and Legacy Ag Solutions.

Family: Their children are Amber and husband Brad Burbrink, Jamalyn and husband Tim Sarver, and Casey Evans and wife Lynsey. They have 11 grandchildren.

Employees: Full-time employees include Justin Baumunk and David Brown. Roger Sturgeon works part time.

Leadership activities: Marty and Becky helped restore vocational-agriculture education to Vigo County Schools, and Marty is on the Ag Advisory Board. He also is on the Vigo County Farm Bureau board and was president in 2018-21. He is a former director for the Indiana Soybean Alliance and a former supervisor for the Vigo County Soil and Water Conservation District. He is vice president of the River Bottom Improvement Association, which rebuilt a levee to protect 3,500 acres from the Eel River. Becky is a Vigo County Farm Bureau director and was the women’s leader.

Notable: Marty and Becky farm land that was part of the 1995 Farm Progress Show. They bought the parcel in 2005.