One of a Kind

September was Grandparent’s Month. Even though I am a little late I cannot resist blogging about my Grandpa Don. Born and raised a Central Illinois farm boy he has seen many highs and lows of the agricultural industry. Grandpa has raised nearly every animal possible along with corn, soybeans, and wheat. He is one of the most hardworking men I know and along with my dad, greatly influenced my decision to study agriculture. My Grandpa married my Grandma and they have lived on the family farm ever since. My dad always says that the farmers and the coaches are the fathers with daughters and Grandpa was no exception; my mom is the oldest of three daughters. Family has always been Grandpa’s number one priority and I strongly believe it is the farming lifestyle that keeps our family of fifteen so close.



My sister, Jessi, with Grandpa and Grandma
on our annual family vacation to Arkansas!



In order to be a livestock farmer you must have a strong passion for what you do and Grandpa is a perfect example! He does everything to the best of his knowledge to produce the best meat products! After all, the meat he is producing feeds not only families all over the world, but also his own family! Due to the amount of time Grandpa spends with his animals in the barn, pasture, or stalls it would be extremely difficult for him to not care about the best well being of his animals. Throughout his time on the farm he has raised cattle, hogs, sheep, ducks, horses, and chickens. However, his strongest love has always been for the cattle. Grandpa typically raises Charlois, Herefords, and Angus cattle. He has bruised and broken numerous ribs, received a couple of black eyes, and even broke his hip ensuring his animals receive the best care possible. However, he is tougher than anyone I know, and even the broken hip did not keep seventy-five year old Gramps down for more than a couple weeks. In fact, three months after he broke his hip he was behind the boat on his water skis! Grandma water skis too, she claims she can’t let old Grandpa out do her!

My Grandpa also bales a lot of straw and hay. Similar to raising livestock baling is something that you can’t do unless you really like it. Grandpa spends endless hours in the sun on hot summer days out in the alfalfa and wheat fields. While my cousin and a couple of his friends help Grandpa he is not typically on the tractor. Grandpa loves throwing the bales and can almost always outdo the young guns!

I feel very lucky to have such a special Grandpa! It is the farmers like him that continue to pass their love for agriculture down to the next generations and make our industry the largest in the nation.