Jada: Meet Ross Hoerner

For the better part of 30-some-odd years, Ross Hoerner has been our customer. His philosophy on farming has been to be the best you can be. Ross has done exactly that since he began his career as a farmer at the young age of 15 when his father passed away. While he always kind of wished he could have continued his education by attending college, Ross is an optimistic person and an intuitive farmer. Both of these attributes have led to the success of his farming operation.

Ross has withstood hard times with farming and losing a wife to cancer, but has continued to thrive throughout the difficult times. He has always farmed with the idea that quality is better than quantity. This has proved to be a great rule of thumb to follow, as he continued to raise crops that have continuous high yields.

While a lot has changed since Ross began farming in the 50’s, such as equipment, he has always seen the changes as a useful tool to improve his operation. He is not afraid to experiment with new varieties to get better yields. Ross also has found some techniques like minimum tillage and leaving more residue, to be vital to farming in this area. Overall Ross feels hard work and perseverance are the key to successful farming. He also feels things need to be done timely.

In 1973, Ross married Jeannie. He has three children, Wayne, Susan and Donna. Wayne (Becky) have three children and live in Des Moines were he sells seed. Susan (C.L.) has one daughter (Shannon) and serves the community as a teacher. Donna (Don) is a court service officer and has a daughter.

A fun fact about Ross: After all these years, Ross still feels like his biggest challenge in farming is grain marketing.

 

Ross and Jeanie Hoerner farm in Iuka, Kan.Ross and Jeanie Hoerner farm in Iuka KS

Jada can be reached at jada@allaboardharvest.com. All Aboard 2011 is sponsored by High Plains Journal and DuPont Crop Protection.

 

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