Competing for Profits by a Family-Run Business

By Jim.Robinson|October 5, 2009

By Roger Haldenby
Plains Cotton Growers

Buz Poage created a legacy for High Plains farmers and for his family when, back in 1974, he began Levelland Delinting and All-Tex Seed in Levelland, TX.

After Buz’s passing in the spring of this year, his son Cody took the reins of All-Tex.

The story of how the business is holding its own in a very competitive world is told in the most recent “Competing for Profit,” written by Samantha Yates, Publications Specialist with the Cotton Economics Research Institute at Texas Tech University.

The article starts, “There is something about a family run business in today’s fast-paced and money-driven world that defines the American dream. Although members of the agricultural community have always been committed to this dream and local loyalty, they are also trying to run businesses with the bottom dollar as a main concern. So how does a small, family owned and managed cottonseed business with 15 full-time employees keep this dream alive and stay in-step with today’s corporate industry giants? According to Cody Poage, owner and manager of All-Tex Seed and Levelland Delinting, it takes a great product, a better price and unmatchable service.”