EIF-A_Lasting Contributions

OCTOGENARIAN FARMERS
“Everyone else has
a 12-row combine.
Some big guys have
two combines. Put
us to shame. It costs
$400,000 for a small
combine, and prices go
up from there. If you got
the money, life can be
easy. But we’re happy
where we’re at.”
— DARWIN BEHN
“Younger generations may take over more of
the management issues,” he said. “Dealing with
pesticide recommendations, seed varieties, and
purchasing can be handled by younger generations,
and older generations can focus on what
they enjoy such as finance, public relations,
community relations, and running the business.
These are roles older generations can participate
in and still have time for the things they
want to do.”
In the Behns’ case, they work as a team, each
performing the role he or she enjoys. In harvest
season Behn drives the grain cart, Darwin
runs the combine, and Behn’s other son, Dale,
unloads the semi-trucks into the grain bins just
down the road.
Behn also works in the spring, pulling the
chisel plow and field cultivator to prepare the
fields for planting corn and beans. She drives
the truck with the hay cart at haying time and
helps white-wrap the bales. Darwin also serves
as the manager after his father Wes passed in
2007.
“Darwin is a very good manager,” Behn said.
“He took after Wes. Wes was very particular;
everything had to be done right. If we ever
spilled corn, Wes and I got off and picked up
every kernel. I give a huge amount of credit
to Wes for his hard work and what he did for
us. But good thing Dar don’t give me heck if I
screw up!”
What Behn likes to do is work in the fields.
“It’s better than any vacation,” she said.
Schnoor stays aware of current trends and
prices of land, crops, and cattle, and takes on an
advisor role as he gives guidance to his renters
on what to do with the fields.
“He constantly reads and listens to the news
and is pretty much always up to date,” Sheets
said.
Cultivating the garden also keeps both of
the Schnoors very busy. They have many fruits
such as blackberries, raspberries, grapes, apples,
peaches, watermelons, and muskmelons,
along with a full garden of vegetables, and lots
of tomatoes.
“This year we didn’t do as good,” Schnoor
said. “The weather was bad. I had to water a
lot. We also had some sort of tomato blight. It
was a rough year all around.”
According to Sheets, there is never a lack of
effort on the part of her parents, even in chal-
Feeding fields for over
45 YEARS!
Chemicals • Seed
Dry & Liquid Fertilizer
Custom Dry
Fertilizer Application
Dry Fertilizer Spreader Rental
Baling Materials
Pictured from left to right: Jake Lammers, Matt Link, Amber Engesser,
Bret Funke, Teresa Coons, Bruce Lammers, Josh Smith, and Jason Kurt.
901 Johnson St. SW
Cascade, IA
(563) 852-7559
info@whitefrontfeed.com
whitefrontfeed.com
18 EASTERN IOWA FARMER | SPRING 2024 eifarmer.com