In this week's episode we kickoff the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame series where we will showcase conversations with the 2024 honorees who will be inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in February 2024. The first conversation is with John Conner Jr., President of Holden-Conner Company. John, who hails from Newport, Arkansas and comes from a legacy of Arkansas farmers. He discusses his lifelong commitment to farming and his leadership role at the Holden Conner Company. He touches upon the significance of relationships in business and the Conner family's multi-generational ties to the University of Arkansas. Brent also delves into John's approach to expanding his family's farming operations, his strategic insights into land development, and the hard work that has been instrumental in cultivating a successful agricultural enterprise in Arkansas. This episode is a celebration of John's contributions to the industry and the values that have propelled his family's legacy through five generations.

John Conner, Jr.: If you have the relationship with people,

and you got the trust with the people you're doing business

with, then they're gonna be a lot more likely to, to do

business with you.

Welcome to the Be Epic Podcast brought to you

by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of

Arkansas. I'm your host Brent Williams. Together, we'll

explore the dynamic landscape of business and uncover the

strategies, insights and stories that drive business today.

Well, today I have with me John Connor Jr. John is with Holden

Connor Company, and is a member of the Walton College Dean's

Executive Advisory Board. And most importantly, for this

particular podcast is a member of the 2024 Arkansas Business

Hall of Fame class, John, congratulations on being elected

into the Hall of Fame.

John Conner, Jr.: Thank you, Brent. It's quite an honor for

myself for my family. And I certainly do appreciate it.

Well, certainly,

John Conner, Jr.: Confidence that the selection committee has

shown in me and my family.

Well, certainly, I think was a pretty obvious

case, what you've done in business, and particularly,

you've done it all in Arkansas, based out of Arkansas was was

quite the compelling case. I want to get to your story,

really, of building your businesses, primarily in

agriculture. But first, let me start with the U of A and the

Walton College if I can. Your family has a really, really long

history at the University of Arkansas. And that's been really

important to you.

John Conner, Jr.: Yes, it has and I'm very thankful to have

been able to go to university. I love the University of Arkansas.

My grandmother graduated here in 1918 class, my dad graduated in

1947. I graduated 1970. My son graduated in 1994. And my

granddaughter graduated in 2022. So we five, five generations

That's pretty unusual. There's not many

families in this state I don't think that that can say that.

And you know, what's kind of special here, right is to walk

around this campus and get to see names on the sidewalks of

all your of all your family members.

John Conner, Jr.: Yes Brent, that was one of my goals, came

up in the 50s with my parents, there's a Razorback games, and I

saw those names, saw my dad's name honorable grandmothers, and

I want to be on that wall and I was able to accomplish that. And

then my brother and sister also graduated here too shortly after

I did.

Well, John, most people probably don't know this.

I don't know why they would. But one thing we have in common is,

is growing up in the same town, Newport over in Northeast

Arkansas. And for those of you that don't know, Newport's a

small town, a small town in the Arkansas Delta. And it's pretty

easy to be pretty tightly connected. And here's one thing

I remember knowing about you growing up, I can remember the

one thing I've always known and my dad actually told me this,

you know, years and years ago, of just how hard you worked. And

it seems to me like hard work has really kind of been kind of

the core of who you are and how you built the company and the

people around you.

John Conner, Jr.: Well, I want to think all worked hard, but I

probably could have worked harder, but I grew up my

granddad and my dad working hard. And I saw that and and I

started working on a farm when I was in high school before real

job, and I liked it and I came here to Fayetteville and I

decided to go back home and work with my family. And that's when

I got out of university in 1970. I went back started working on

my dad and my granddad started farming then.

And if I remember your story, right, your

family at that time was farming 7, 8000 acres of farmland

probably primarily in Jackson County. And then I think slowly

over time, that's one place you focus a lot of your career was

on the development of land in that area.

John Conner, Jr.: Yes, when I came back there, my family had

about 8,000 acres and as I like to say my granddad left me a

little bit seed corn to get started on. And, and so I

started learning how to farm and farming and, and and started

purchasing properties there in 72. And I bought the first

property there in 72 is 520 acres and, and then I just kept

buying property and kept buying property. And it worked out and

we farmed part of it for a while. And then we rented part

of it out. And to this, at this point in time, we're renting it

all out to other producers, we got several tenants that farm

rice, soybeans, corn, wheat, cotton.

John, I think, you know, knowing how to, I

guess buy the right properties, and know how to invest in those

properties and and develop those properties takes a great deal of

expertise. It seems like it's something you've studied pretty

carefully.

John Conner, Jr.: Well, I realized that after we went

through that drought in 1980, which was brutal. For most

people in agriculture, we didn't have the irrigation in eastern

Arkansas we have today, I realized that it was going to be

necessary to improve these farms. And so there during the

80s, we started a leveling program and improvement program.

And we've started grading our property. And we've we've got

irrigation on about every 80 acres, we got a well, and we got

it where the people that are farming it are able to count on

making a crop because they know they got water and they got

drainage and and they got things it takes to to make, make a good

crop and make a good living.

Well, you know, you kind of alluded to this, but

you mentioned 1980 drought, which was pretty well known to

be pretty, pretty devastating in many ways. Agriculture row crop

in general, usually has some pretty big swings in in the

cycle. And you've I guess, over a 50 year period, you've seen

lots of those swings

John Conner, Jr.: I have and of course it was 80 and then during

up till about 85, six or seven, it was extremely difficult. We

were having 20% interest rates, high crop loan rates to borrow

but at that time I was farming and then they changed the farm

programs up to where you had paba limitation. So I just ran

my ground out and quit farming myself. And in in in the 90s we

had some difficult times and then in the 2000s. But it

agriculture's always been a cycle. And we've just thank

goodness been able to weather the storms.

Well, and you know, I guess you've well, we've

we've primarily talked about, you know, your land holdings at

John Conner, Jr.: We in 88

this point and what you've built over over this period. But at

some point, you know, you started to broaden out and and

to go out into other industries that were connected to

agriculture, and the the agricultural equipment industry,

John Deere dealerships is is been a big part of your story as

Okay,

John Conner, Jr.: is when we had the first dealership there at

well. When, when did you acquire your first Greenway dealership?

Newport and operated that for a while and, and then in the

middle of late 90s, we bought three more stores. And then

Deere was changing their philosophy from being a one or

two store operation to go in what they call the dealer of

tomorrow operations, where they put several stores together. And

I've they've allowed us to expand our franchise and grow to

the footprint we have today. And the reason that the footprints

important is because having the stores we can afford to have the

better technicians, the better parts people the better AMS

people that work with the technology we have today work

with our farmers. And so by having that scale, we're able to

give our customers better service and hopefully have a

better place for our employees to work and a better environment

for everybody concerned.

And that's grown to how many dealerships?

John Conner, Jr.: We have 32 open at this time.

and that's Arkansas, Mississippi

John Conner, Jr.: Arkansas and Missouri,

Missouri

John Conner, Jr.: We're John Deere stores in Arkansas and

Missouri.

Okay. What has you know, so, you know, started

in 1988 with that and grown to 32 stores, you know, what have

you seen as you have you built that business? Kind of maybe,

you know, kind of the ups and downs of of that business as

John Conner, Jr.: Well when we started expanding in the late

well.

90s, we decided to go with some more professional top

management, Marshall Stewart came in with us. And he was a

store manager for a while. And then he became the general

manager of everything. And he's a partner in the Greenway

Equipment Company. Now, he says the thing that we're able to do

with getting a scale, we're not only able to get better people,

to help our customers and our farmers, we're able to get

better management people, we were able to built a team. And

and we want to think we've got the best managed Deere operation

in the entire Deere system. And, and hopefully we're giving the

best service and to our customers, the best value for

what they get what they are using,

In terms of, you know, your scale in Greenway.

It's it's one of the top franchises in the country, if

I'm not mistaken

John Conner, Jr.: Yes.

You know, so land, Greenway, and maybe more

recently, you've started to expand in to some other

businesses as well.

John Conner, Jr.: Well, about seven, about 10, 12 years ago,

I assume with you know, so petroleum business,

Marshall and I bought a small fuel company in Jackson County

farmers oil together. And we operate that for a while. And

then I'd been friends with a man named Sulles, got to know Scott

we haven't talked about I think you got a construction company.

Petroleum, it'd been in Mississippi. And he called me up

one day and says why don't you come down here and buy this. He

said, I'm my family wants to be sell it, my age is 84 years old,

and I need to do something. So we went down there and talked to

You got land, you got the the Greenway Equipment Company, all

him. And we worked out something and we expanded into

Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas with a fuel business,

which was separate than a Newport Jackson County

operation. And we've since then combined them and bought some

other fuel companies that are in central South Central Stuttgart

are pretty adjacent to agriculture. And I assume that

area. And in northern, the Northeast Louisiana part. And

then also here in Northwest Arkansas. We have Anderson Propane.

that there's some synergy across those?

John Conner, Jr.: Yes, we had done business with Frank A.

Rogers company in Newport for my dad had in the had since I'd

been back there, built, built commercial buildings, for us

shop buildings, for us grain bins, for us and various and

under construction projects. And they people that owned it, or

the Scoggins family had decided to divest of it and sell it. And

so Marshall and I bought that. And we've run that now as a

separate independent business. And actually, we gotta U of A

graduate.

That's right.

John Conner, Jr.: Taylor Maherd running that business now doing

a really good job. And and it's been a good, a good operation

Absolutely. Well, you know, as you've built

for us.

this company, these companies, might be the better way to say

it over the last 50 years. You know, being in Northeast

Arkansas, how did you know finding capital to do that, you

know, is, you know, probably an art of its own. You probably

know, every banker in the state if I had to guess.

John Conner, Jr.: That's a really good question. I probably

been in many banks, just about anybody, you know, and you just,

it's a land the land business is very capital intensive business.

And it takes a significant amount of capital. And then when

you start improvement work, it takes a whole lot more capital.

And so so yes, I was always gauge short, capital short,

looking for money every day, seven days a week, lot quieter

for many, many, many, many years. And it's, you've just got

to establish the relationship with your bankers and you got to

do what you say you're going to do, and, and get the track

record to where you have the relationship where they believe

in what you're going to do and they go along with you, I've

have had several bankers who believed in me and I've got the

good team and a good organization and I couldn't have

done all the things I've been able to accomplish without the

team I've gotten and all the people from the top to the

bottom who've helped me do this. And, and then also, I've had

many bankers that believed in me, and we re in or had been a

big help in getting it done. And many suppliers that have been

helpful there when I needed it to get my farms improved or make

the needed adjustments where we need to make them. And so it's

it's been a it's been a long journey. And it's it's just

because I had a lot of good people in the organization and

the team and there to help.

Well, I'm sure all that's true, I think, I

think some vision and leadership on your part was also in that

mix. And, you know, it can't be understated, that the power of

relationships to fuel business, and it doesn't matter if you're

in finance, or supply chain, or agriculture, to really grow

successful companies, it takes great teams, and it takes great

external relationships.

John Conner, Jr.: I think you're exactly right. And I think that

sometimes people don't don't put enough emphasis and enough

importance on the relationship with different people. Because

if you have the relationship with people, and you got the

trust with the people you're doing business with, then

they're gonna be a lot more likely to, to do business with

you. And it's just when you're extremely capital intensive

business, like the equipment business is and the farming

business is and, and, you know, pretty much the fuel businesses

too, because if you go from $2.50 cent fuel to $5 fuel, it's

just takes a lot more capital. So, so you've got to have

relationships to have, have your credits worked out.

Well, you know, kind of pivoting on

relationships just a little bit. I know, I know, family is one

thing, that's, that's pretty important to you. And I think

you you know, few, the younger generations are starting to get

involved in your business I know which is which is got to be

really exciting.

John Conner, Jr.: Yes, my granddaughter graduated in 22,

with an accounting degree here from the University of Arkansas.

And she came back this past April, and started working with

me and glad to have her in the business. Now I've got a family

member that's involved in the business. And so far, she says

she likes it and was glad she came back. So I think it's

working well.

Well, I know personally, that she's quite

bright, and was glad to see her join the company and apply the

skills that she's gotten into Walton College not too long ago

and start applying those in the business. You know, John, is

you're just looking forward, you're looking forward to kind

of at your, at your industry. What are what do you think is

coming in agriculture? What's the what's the change that sort

of has you interested in and excited?

John Conner, Jr.: Well we seem to still continue to have more

consolidation. And I guess that's good and bad, really, you

don't have as many small family farmers as you once had, by any

means. Some of these guys are getting so big that it's it's

hard to manage the large large operations on a tenant basis

when they're when are running these large operations. And so

there'll be some challenges going forward. And as we have

more consolidation, it's gonna change this industry, I just

don't know how it's gonna look and another 50 years.

I do, I do know that some of the recipes will

look different. But some of the things that won't change is, is

is needing really smart people, you know, back to that, like the

right teams and the right relationships will still that

won't change.

John Conner, Jr.: Yes, you know, talking about the changes we've

had, John Deere has developed a sprayer that will go through the

field at normal speed, and pick out a particular weed you don't

want and spray that one plant and not spray the rest of them.

So that technology's changed so much and it'll be changing more.

But that's just one example of a pretty significant change that

we've seen. And so we're gonna see more and more probably at a

more faster clip than we've seen in the past.

Yeah, technology right technology is whew, moving

really fast, I think particularly in agriculture, I'd

say some of the challenges workforce wise is, you know,

having, having people prepared and able to operate and, and

deal with that technology.

John Conner, Jr.: Yes, yes. And you'll probably wind up having a

better trained workforce, in the not too distant future, to run

some of this equipment that you're talking about. Many of

these pieces are coach machinery today are $600 to a million in

so you need people who are more skilled probably to run these

machines, and not taking anything away from people we've

had in the past. It's just, they're becoming more and more

technical.

Yeah. Well, you know, John, kind of kind of

wrapping up a little bit. Just kind of looking back, you know,

I mean, any, is, if you were talking to the future

entrepreneurs, which you do, you know, when you're when you're

here on campus with us, any advice for them?

John Conner, Jr.: Well, there's not anything that takes place

hard work. And then probably the other thing has helped me as

much as anything has been persistence. It's, it can't give

up don't met those bankers while ago. If you get a no here, just

go across the street. And til you get a yes, somewhere, may be

next town or two towns down or something you can't give up.

Don't ever give up

The hard work and persistence.

John Conner, Jr.: Probably served me fairly well.

Yeah, well, I can say that it has. And I can

say, as the Walton College one first we're really proud of the

career that you've had, the companies you've built. And

we're thankful you're an alum, and that you've stayed engaged.

So thank you for serving on the Dean's Executive Advisory Board.

I appreciate that for sure. And then more broadly, just

congratulations on being recognized in this state as one

of the leading business people, you know, throughout its

history, I think this year's class will be the 25th class,

inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame, I think

that'll be in total about 100 people. And to be one of those

100 is, it's truly quite an honor so congratulations.

John Conner, Jr.: Well, thank you, Brent. And I do feel very

honored. And it's just a big honor for myself as well as my

family and, and it's probably more recognition then we're due

or entitled to. We just been hard working people and tried to

do the things we thought were right for our family and our

community and our employees and our team and our associates. And

that's what we want to do and moving forward and have a good,

strong organization.

Well you certainly made a big impact on

this state, this university. Look forward to seeing everybody

on February 16.

John Conner, Jr.: We're looking forward to it will be there.

Thanks, John.

John Conner, Jr.: Thank you, Brent.

On behalf of the Walton College thank you for

joining us for this captivating conversation. To stay connected

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