Farm: John grows soybeans and corn and raises 10,000 hogs on his farm south of Keota. He and his wife of 41 years, Deanna, have two daughters and one son.

We started planting corn on Tuesday, and the ground was very mellow and unsettled. My goal for this week was to get one farm planted before the rain came. I was really surprised that we didn’t have as much rain as we had been having. After a cold spring with ground temps that didn’t allow us to get in the field until later than usual, I think the most important decision I made this week was to start planting. I’m glad that the rain held off long enough for us to do that.
We thought about sustainability and made management decisions that make our farm a little greener. We’re using GMO seed, and that decreases our use of chemicals and reduces trips across the fields, which both decrease our carbon footprint. I want my international customers to know that their product is being sustainably planted so they’ll have food for themselves and grain to feed their livestock.