Eastern Iowa Farmer Spring 2017

Life Lessons
Deven King sits
with her grandpa,
Howard King, in
the living room
where he often
watched RFD-TV
and shared his
knowledege of
cattle with her.
eastern iowa
farmer photo /
Contributed
Ag education started grandpa’s lap
‘You’ll never hit the snooze button if you love what you do’
At the young age of 23, after four long years of
high school and a complicated college career,
I can easily explain where my drive, passion
and character come from. I grew up with a single
mother, and my grandparents played a vital role in
helping to raise me. In the very short 14 years I spent
with my Grandpa Howard, I found exactly who I
wanted to be and set forth to be just that.
He grew up in the country and spent his life raising
five daughters on a 2,000-acre farm with 200 head of
cows in Michigan. Needless to say, I was bred to love
anything agriculture. From as early as I can remember,
Grandpa had record books and magazines about
cattle sitting next to his chair in the living room.
RFD-TV (Rural Free Delivery TV) was always on the
television, with the occasional switch to a Michigan
State ball game. Sitting on his lap, I learned a lot
Deven King
Eastern Iowa Farmer
about not only evaluating cattle
but also what it takes to run
an operation. At the time, I’m
not sure I even knew I was
learning, but as I have taken
on many of my own challenges,
his words often linger in
my mind.
Grandpa was my biggest
fan and toughest critic. He
never missed an opportunity to
watch me show cattle or hogs.
He never shied from telling
me what I could have done better – until the day came
when he just said “good job,” a memory that told me
I was really good in his mind.
From the outside looking in, many people thought
32 Eastern Iowa Farmer | spring 2017