When Dillion Smith, a fifth-generation wheat farmer, didn't get into medical school, little did he know that he would return to his roots.
Smith got his degree in chemical biology sciences from the University of Oklahoma. “I applied to medical school twice [and] didn't get in,” he said.
Shortly after, he found a job as the director of marketing for a local land brokerage in Oklahoma City.
“That was where I learned the world of real estate,” Smith said. He ran the brokerage’s marketing campaigns for two years before getting his real estate license three years ago.
Now he specializes in the sale of farmland, ranches and residential properties — on multiple acres.
He went from the medical field to open fields
He said his drive to be a doctor was more driven by ego and pride, but his experience in the medical field did offer important insights.
“I think that really clarified what I didn't want to do with my life,” he said. He wanted to get back to nature after spending his nights in a windowless room running tests in a diagnostic lab during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I realized I was missing something important. I grew up spending fall weekends hunting with my dad, grandpa, and brother, surrounded by open fields where you couldn’t even see your neighbors,” Smith said.
But his brief time as a real estate agent hasn't been without its trials.
Smith said he’s experienced some bizarre encounters, including having a gun pointed at him while he was touring a property he was hired to sell.
“I was out there walking the property, just checking the fence line, and this little 80-year-old woman pointed a shotgun in my face and said, ‘Get the hell off my land,”’ Smith said.
It wasn't her property, he said; she was just using it for her goats.
'You keep working hard no matter what you do'
Smith said his family arrived in Oklahoma, about two great-grandparents ago, and staked their claim just after the famous Land Run.
"They built a house — "dug out the basement with a mule — and just bought up as much land as they could to run a few cattle and grow wheat,” he said.
Their farm, in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, spans well over 160 acres.
While he now helps clients who want to sell their land or start their own farming operation, every year he’s out in his favorite wheat field planting, harvesting and selling.
“That's a crucial part of why I am the way I am,” Smith said. “I was always working hard as a kid, and I kind of just expected you to keep working hard no matter what you do.”
It's like doing ‘business with my dad or grandpa’
Now, as a real estate agent, Smith said he has clients like the people he grew up working with and admiring.
“A lot of the clients that I have are farmers and ranchers,” he said. “It's like I'm doing business with my dad or Grandpa.”
He said he is like his clients and understands the risks and workings of buying and selling farmland.
“A lot of people look at it through rose-colored lenses,” Smith said. “You're going to estimate X percent return on every harvest ... But I've seen multiple years where you don't get enough rain or the price of cattle bottoms out. So being able to empathize and understand where those people are coming from helps for sure.”
They're at the mercy of Mother Nature
For Smith, the best aspect of farming is its simplicity.
“There are no Excel spreadsheets and networking and all this stuff,” he said. “It's just you out there in the middle of a field running a tractor that four or five generations before you have done.”
He added that he also admires being at the mercy of Mother Nature.
“There's not a lot that man can do. We can't make it rain. We don't know the exact correct time to plant, no matter how much science tells us,” he said.
The following interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
How would you describe the home that you grew up in?
Where I grew up, just in the middle of a wheat field. It was different than all of my buddies that I went to college with, but very good. I would be able to just go and walk down to my creek that was like a half mile from my house. Four beds, three baths, open space, living room where everyone could congregate. And we still have Thanksgivings and Christmases all together. A wraparound porch. It's a brick home to survive the Oklahoma weather elements. We have a lot of barns for all the equipment.
What was your favorite spot on your land?
We had a hunting spot about an hour away, just to go hunt with my dad and Grandpa and brother.
How would you describe the market that you work in?
Right now, I’d say the land market feels less volatile than the residential housing market. Farms are still selling. In fact, we have five farms under contract from just the past few weeks and about 26 farms listed for sale. We’re seeing consistent interest. Just yesterday, on a Sunday, we had two showings. As for the residential market, I’d say sellers are having to adjust their expectations. They need to be more realistic with pricing to get their properties sold.
What would you say is the difference between selling homes with land versus just a regular house?
The number of people who actually can take on something large is very small. It's fun finding the right people to fill those shoes and take the reins from the last property owner.
(Bonus question) What are you binge-watching? I don't really watch TV, but I will watch stuff with my wife. (Smith got married in April and is expecting a daughter in January.) She's super into the Eddie Munson ("Stranger Things") documentary. She'll have nightmares about Scooby Doo, but she started watching the Eddie Munson documentary on Netflix.