I grew up on our family’s hog farm that was started by my great-grandpa and his brother back in 1895. I began working with the hogs before I started kindergarten and spent 25 years in every area of the operation, from working with the mommas and their babies, to sales in the office. Taking care of animals always came first. It didn’t matter what day it was, Christmas or birthday, everything waited for chores to be done. After I married, I moved on to grain farming. This work is more seasonal and dependent on the weather. My husband, Ken, and I farmed about 1,200 acres of irrigated corn and soybeans near Shickley. This kept us busy from spring into late fall, but also gave us time to spend with our family and nine grandchildren. Through most of the year, I was the support staff, helping Ken with the farming in any way I could. During harvest, I ran the combine. Ken and I have now retired from farming, but we continue to live on the farm and still enjoy being involved in farm organizations and promoting agriculture. We love to travel and attend meetings and conferences relating to farming.