Eastern Iowa Farmer Spring 2021

Country chores
“We’ve always hoped that
our kids would have a passion
for something. It didn’t
have to be farming necessarily,”
he said, adding that
he wanted them to take their
good work ethic and dive into
whatever path they chose.
“If they come back to farm,
great, but that’s not the sole
concern,” he said.
After graduating from college
in 2016, Peyton returned
to Maquoketa helping his
father run the feeder to finish
cattle operation.
On a chilly Saturday last
fall the 26-year-old walked
along the pens holding Angus
cattle ready to be trucked out
that morning.
“I think I was 4 or 5-years
old,” he recalled of his start
in the family business. “Dad
needed the help, my interest
level was high enough, and I
wanted to help.
Eastern Iowa Farmer photos / kevin e. schmidt
Bruce River and his four siblings started doing chores when they
were 3- or 4-years-old. When he was a boy his parents ran a
hatchery, and he helped with feeding and pitching manure.
“We helped with the pigs,
and I remember picking rocks
out of the fields so they didn’t
get stuck in the heads of the
combine while harvesting
beans, keeping the tool boxes
clean, yeah, keeping the tool
boxes clean,” he paused for a
moment, “and keeping an eye
on mama cows getting ready
to calve.”
Peyton learned work on the
“It forces you to
prioritize things and
yeah, that was very
crucial for me and my
brother to learn. That
was also a way Dad
was telling us to stay
out of trouble.”
— peyton river
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eifarmer.com spring 2021 | Eastern Iowa Farmer 17