Kolton Bailey Wins State Star Award
Published: Friday, June 24, 2022
Kolton Bailey, 18, of Kendallville was awarded State Star in agribusiness last Wednesday during the Indiana FFA State Convention in Indianapolis.
His business, K.B. Hay Supply, was started in 2017-18 after Bailey was approached by Protexia during the Louisville Farm Show. Protexia supplies farmers with baler twine, net wrap, hay tarps and other equipment needed for hay storage and harvest. K.B. Hay Supplies serves as a dealer for local farmers and the surrounding states.
He is now managing Protexia dealers in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.
The biggest challenge Bailey faced when starting his business was his age. Many people did not originally take him at his word, thinking he was not well-versed in the area of business, he said.
"Over the course of the years and as people saw me repeatedly at different farm shows, that has changed a lot. I have a lot of older people ask me for advice now all the time," he added.
Other challenges included prices of plastic, trucking and having the time to visit his supply dealers in the school season.
K.B. Hay Supplies grew bigger than Bailey had imagined, he said. They quickly ran out of space, which was another challenge he faced with his business. It was remedied earlier this year after the purchase of a warehouse in Albion.
"Dad helped me a lot. Every farm show I've been to; he's been there," Kolton said.
His ag teachers also helped with records and making sure he had everything in place for awards. Other than that, most of the work has been done by Bailey.
From day to day, Kolton works with customers, calling them up, making a sale and discussing the products. Customer service is an important part of his business; most of his time is spent on the phone helping people with the product and gathering reviews.
Other duties with the job include managing invoices and inventory, delivering products and breaking down pallets of product into the individual orders. Kolton puts in approximately 30 hours of work into his business each week, and the rest of the time goes into the farm, FFA farm shows and school.
Bailey enjoys working his business because "you can actually go out and see the customer," he said. "The goal of farmers is to help feed the world. I get to help them achieve that."
In the next 10 years, Bailey is planning on growing the business. The warehouse he owns is 14,000 square feet and is 85-90 percent full, he said. He also wants to keep expanding dealers and providing the best customer service possible.
Protexia has placed Bailey in charge of the tri-state area dealers, so in addition to managing his own business, he also keeps other dealers supplied.
The FFA convention was special for the Central Noble FFA chapter, and all of the sessions were good, he said. It was very exciting for Bailey to see everyone in his chapter go up and get an award.
"Our chapter broke some records this year with convention. We were up 16 different times this year (for awards)," Bailey said. "It was very exciting, but the intensity was definitely building throughout Wednesday. It took a lot of hard work and dedication. It wouldn't be possible without the Lord, my family, friends and, of course, my ag teachers," he said.
Bailey has been in the FFA since he transferred from East Noble in the eighth grade.
His father, Kyle, had advanced to the final four in America Star in agribusiness when he was in the FFA, he said.
"It was something I wanted to follow his footsteps in. It has taken a lot of hard work and dedication, and that is one area in FFA where you can really show all that work and time."
Bailey learned a lot from the FFA, he said. He learned good public speaking and about the manufacturing and distribution portion of farming. He now has a better, well-rounded knowledge of farming. Being put into leadership positions and working his business has expanded his abilities, he added.
"They really allowed me to grow my business faster and larger," Bailey said.
Bailey lives with his parents, Kyle and Kari, and two siblings, Kord and Kyanne. He is going to attend Huntington University in the fall to study ag marketing to help continue growing and improving his company, and is beginning to work more closely with Protexia.
Kolton thanks his family, friends and ag teachers for their help and support throughout and attributes his success to them, hard work and his faith in God.
Other Star awards include Star in agricultural placement, awarded to Cason Lambert of the Carroll at Flora FFA chapter; Star in agriscience, awarded to Reagan Koester of the North Posey FFA chapter; and Star farmer, awarded to Seth Ariens of the North Putnam FFA chapter.
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