Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2016

eastern iowa farmer photo / contributed photo
From a young age, Will showed interest in the outdoors and farming. He is the eighth generation of the Tubbs family to continue farming on the family’s property.
same family for 150 years. Iowa also has
more than 19,000 Century Farms, which
have been in the same family for more than
100 years.
It takes hard work and commitment by
families to keep a farm in the same family
for 100 or 150 years, said Iowa Secretary
of Agriculture Bill Northey.
“If you consider all the challenges and
unexpected obstacles each of them would
have had to overcome during their life on
the farm, it gives you a greater appreciation
of the dedication and perseverance of each
of the families being recognized,” he said.
Today three generations of Tubbses farm
more than 1,100 acres and manage 5,000
hogs on Highway 136, just west of Delmar.
Joel is the primary operator; Steve, who
retired last year from farm management
at Maquoketa State Bank, is semi-retired
from farming; and Will helps out during
breaks from school and also rents some 40
acres that he manages on his own.
“Farming is more than just a job to
“This is more than just a job. The money
is not always certain, but it’s better than
just about any other job I can think of.”
— will tubbs
me. It’s better than anything I could ever
think of to do with my life,” said Will,
who began his junior year at Iowa State
University this fall.
Will’s parents (who also have son Jack, a
senior in high school, and daughter Allison,
an eighth-grader) aren’t surprised at his
career choice. His mom, Sara Tubbs, recalls
that he was a kid who loved the outdoors.
When he was 2 or 3 years old, his
parents put a latch on the door high enough
to be out of their oldest son’s reach;
otherwise, he’d be out of the house and
running through the fields.
Continuing a legacy
When you grow up on a working farm,
memories revolve around plantings and
harvests, animals being born and other
milestones.
Joel remembers his grandfather talking
about how he did things when he was a
boy, including having to hitch up horses to
pull equipment.
When Ed was young man, he shared a
tractor with a cousin who lived north of
Maquoketa. It reached top speeds of 4 to 5
miles per hour on the highway, and it took
them almost an entire day to move it back
and forth between their farms.
“They packed a lunch and took turns
driving,” Joel said. When he was young,
he recalls how getting a new piece of
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32 Eastern Iowa Farmer | fall 2016