Don

Why I chose agriculture

I’ve always enjoyed being outside and manual labor never bothered me. Each day is different and I like the variety having livestock and crops provides. My first year of college helped me realize that, if I was going to be working all day, I didn’t want it to be in an office. After graduating from Iowa State, I knew I wanted to return home to dairy.

Our greatest challenge

Time. Equipment needs repaired, livestock need fed or treated, fieldwork needs completed. There is always so much to do and only so much time.

My business approach

To build something I can be proud of. When planning for the business, we always look for the best option, which isn’t necessarily the cheapest or fastest. We also put the cows first and prioritize their needs.

How we know we’re heading in the right direction

We are always trying to improve our operation and learn new and better methods to raise livestock and crops. We’re constantly learning through our experiences by trying out new ideas to find what works and what doesn’t and by exchanging information from articles we have recently read. We aren’t afraid of change.

The future of our operation

We want to continue to grow by advancing our use of technology and making better decisions by monitoring and analyzing data over time. We plan to grow the operation as needed but focus more on quality rather than quantity.

What I enjoy most about farming

Every day is different. It keeps me forward thinking and learning new things.