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<br /> <br />.:. BY KR.lSTIN KLOBERDANZ BURLINGTON <br /> <br />Every morning at 5, Barb Bakshis chugs some <br />coffee and feeds her animals-including 30 sheep, 14 chick- <br />ens and a horse-before slipping on heels and heading to the <br />bank she co-owns. After work, she and husband Mike Zang, a <br />54-year-old boat salesman, stay up late doing chores on their <br /> <br />150-acre limn in Burlington, \Vis. "Yes, I do <br />this fOf enjo}ment, ~ says Bakshis, 43, and <br />laughs. Former suburbanites, the couple <br />bought their century-old farm in 1993 and <br />are learning as they go. When they have <br />questions about lamb birthing, they call <br /> <br />their neighbors. And when they need fenc- <br />ing materials or a pressure washer breaks <br />down or they run out of feed, they head to <br />their local Tractor Supply Co. (TSC) store. <br />Given the work required, hobby farm- <br />ing sounds a hit like hobby coal mining, but <br /> <br />it turns out there are a lot of amateur sod- <br />busters like Bakshis and Zang. Which is <br />one reason TSC, based in Nashville, Teno., <br />expects sales to increase to $2 billion this <br />year. In 2004 profits rose 10%, though in <br />April quarterly net income fell. The com- <br />pany blamed higher costs. The stock, <br />which has roughly doubled since 2003, <br />tumbled briefly but recovered. "We have <br />zeroed in on hobby farmers;' says chair- <br />man Joe Scarlett. TSC has revived itself <br />by expanding into exurban areas where <br />there's a deepening pool of wealthy cus- <br />tomers who farm but are not dependent on <br />agriculture fur a living. <br />TSC's road to the ag lifestyle was not <br />exactly a straight one. Tractor Supply Co. <br /> <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />TIME INSIDE BUSINESS JUNE 2005 A27 <br />