What Does Grit with Grace Look Like?
If you know me, you know I’m always looking for ways to tell real stories of resilience in agriculture. I’m inspired and challenged by the way people look a challenge in the eye and find a way to overcome it. I’m moved by hard work, sweat and tears. I’m motivated to be a better person when I learn how others are serving and making a difference in their community. One thing is for sure – 2020 gave us all a lot of opportunity to practice and live out “Grit with Grace.” Here's a recap.
From the Streets to the Swine Barn
The first thing Gracee Workman will tell you about her story is that she is not a victim. But her story is not easy to take in and most people, try as they might, will never be able to understand what she’s been through.
The Day Derecho Hit Our Farm
At 11:44 a.m. on Aug. 10, Kelly Sheets, an Iowa pig farmer, posted a simple plea on Facebook as 100-mph winds devastated his farm: “Please pray. This is ugly.”
Speechless: The Call That Saved One Hog Producer’s Farm
Having raised pigs for many years, the news of a new virus was nothing new to Steve Rommereim, a pig farmer in South Dakota. But then he got the news that the packing plant they send hogs to was shuttering.
Our Derecho Story: The Trees Saved Our Pigs
When your 91-year-old mother says a storm is coming and it’s coming fast, you better listen, says David Martin of DCM Hampshires and Durocs in Marion, Iowa.
San Antonio Barrow Show Winner Captures Hearts and Breaks Records
There wasn’t a dry eye in the barn when Samantha Nicole Iselt of Lexington, Texas, was named the exhibitor of the Grand Champion Market Barrow at the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo.
How Smock Farms Survived Plant Closures
The fear of the unknown kept Ashlyn Imus awake at night when packing plants began to shutter last spring due to employee absenteeism and COVID-19.
When the Unexpected Knocks: How Cancer Gave Audrey Angus Perspective
Audrey Angus, a swine specialist with Furst-McNess, opens up about her battle with cancer and how she refuses to let it define her.
Why Wait for Someday? The Moglers Share their Foster Parent Journey
Chet and Cassie Mogler open up about their journey to become foster parents and how they are sharing the gift of farm life.
Derecho Forces Evacuation of 25,000 Pigs After Winds Rip Barns Apart
It started off as any other Monday. Abby Maxwell made the 73-mile drive to Keystone, Iowa, where she oversees 53,000 head of hogs for JBS Live Pork. Then, she got an unexpected phone call.
