I’ll never forget cramming into the livestock judging van for our first practice when I was a freshman. As I looked around me at a bunch of faces I didn’t know, I couldn’t help but think, “What am I getting into?”
Then the front passenger’s door opened and our coach, Mr. Dan Hoge, jumped into the van with a Casey’s coffee and a big stack of livestock magazines.
That was the first time, but not the last, that I realized when you’re a student of Dan Hoge, you learn how to never stop learning. Perhaps it’s that drive to keep pushing the boundaries of knowledge and finding ways to become a little better each day that has enabled him to successfully coach and teach young people for 50 years.
That’s a long time to do anything, yet alone invest that time in helping others. When others might have retired or advanced into other roles, Hoge remained focused on his passion – educating young people to make a difference in the livestock industry at Black Hawk College East Campus in Galva, Ill.
Before I really knew him, I saw him as a winning coach, a crowd-dazzler on the mic and a respected multi-species evaluator. But once I got to know him, I saw him as a tireless champion of others, a proud husband and father, and a devout scholar of all things livestock.
I can promise you he didn’t teach for 50 years for the money or the fame – he did it because he sincerely wants to change lives and help young people find their place in agriculture.
After all, that’s how he found his place in this world – growing up on a farm near Walnut, Ill., where his father, Elmer, was a prominent Duroc swine breeder. He married his wife, Deanna Broers, daughter of another well-known stockman, Verden Broers. Together, they built a life devoted to building a livestock judging program while carrying on their parents’ legacies running a show and production swine operation.
(L to R): Deanna Hoge, Jennifer Shike and Dan Hoge at the 2021 Ag Media Summit
Deanna sacrificed so much. I can speak firsthand that being a judging coach’s spouse is no easy job. It requires a mutual appreciation for your spouse’s passion and a willingness to let them go do their thing. Coaches hit the road hard to get their students to workouts and contests and provide opportunities for them to learn. Deanna kept things running smoothly at home on the farm and was his biggest cheerleader when the going got tough.
But even if things were tough, you never knew it. He found a way to bring enthusiasm to every class he taught, like you were getting ready to listen to his best lecture ever – no matter how he felt or what was going on in his life at the time. When he stood in the center of the auditorium, everyone listened.
He taught me about livestock, how to project my voice and how to prioritize my decisions, but he also taught me about being a humble winner and a gracious loser. He taught me to never give up and to keep charging forward even when it was hard. He showed me what it means to care deeply about your passions and to set high goals to make your dreams come true.
In short, Hoge made you feel like you could do anything because that’s what he prepared you for. And we rose to the occasion.
His students have gone on to accomplish a number of achievements, including research on nutrition, growth and development, genetics, reproduction and meat science across multiple species; implementation of genomics testing for abnormalities and genetic evaluation of Hereford cattle, and the creation of the National Junior Swine Association to name a few. He takes great pride in the number of livestock judging coaches he has taught that are now coaching team after team of young people across the country.
His former students are raising livestock for the showring and for commercial production. They are veterinarians, nutritionists, marketing executives, ag lenders, politicians, magazine editors, salesmen, professors, Extension agents, technical managers, photographers, ag teachers, meat processors, bankers, medical professionals and more.
More than 5,000 people have been directly inspired, educated, coached and mentored by Hoge and despite his retirement in 2020, that legacy will not stop as all of those lives he has shaped continue to make the livestock industry better. (Word on the street is that he’s still finding ways to keep teaching...but as his wife jokes, he now does it for free!)
On August 3, I was fortunate to be able to present my mentor, hero and friend Dan Hoge with the Livestock Publications Council’s Headliner Award at the 2021 Agricultural Media Summit for the positive change he has made in the livestock industry. I can think of no one more deserving of this coveted honor.
Dan, Deanna and I had a wonderful evening retelling our favorite Black Hawk stories, talking about our kids and his grandkids, and taking a moment to simply appreciate the gift of being able to share that moment together.
The older I get, the more I realize life is too short to not let people know how much they mean to you. So, Mr. Hoge, I want you to know how much you mean to me and my family. I’ll always be thankful for your extravagant investment of time and example to never stop learning. I’ll forever be grateful for all the hours we spent together in that crowded judging van and how that changed the course of my life. Congratulations, coach!
Here’s Hoge’s take on what it means to him to be the 2021 LPC Headliner.
