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thing that hasn’t changed is the tenacity of farmers: “Farmers never give up … other than when our health gets to the point we can’t farm anymore, we stick around,” he said. While their cattle and hog feeding operations are long gone, Roger and Kathleen are still active on the crop side. According to Roger, “In the spring, Travis does the planting and I haul the seed. In the summertime, we do some hay for his sheep. In the fall, he runs the combine, my wife runs the grain cart and I run the semi. We’re still involved, but I don’t know how many more years I’ll be driving a semi.” Travis and Kaylene’s oldest son, Richard, 6½, made sure to interject that he helps Grandma drive the grain cart and Grandma said younger grandson, John, 2½, helps out, too. Kathleen’s parents and grandparents were farmers south of Ireton. “My dad started with nothing. He went through some hard times. But they were savers and they put the money back into the farm and bought more land. They worked hard, they did it themselves.” Her father died in a farm accident when she was 18. Her brother took over and her mom was hands-on with field work. Kathleen emulated her mom by purchasing her own farm land and by working in the field. “I’ve been on tractors all my life. When I was in high school, I windrowed the hay. When we were first married, my father-in-law didn't think I needed to help with the field work and drive tractors. But, after he had heart issues, I think he asked me to help.” Kathleen is a graduate of Westmar College and taught school for six years before becoming a stay-at-home mom and volunteer. Over the years, she’s been active in the Plymouth County Cattlewomen, the county 4-H and Youth Committee and at Seney United Methodist Church. Roger is a long-time church council member plus has been in county leadership positions for the pork producers, cattlemen’s, Farm Bureau and Sportsman’s Club.

He went to South Dakota State University with the intention of becoming an ag engineer. “After the first semester, I found out I wasn’t smart enough for that.” He switched his major to animal science and worked for $1 an hour baling hay and hauling manure for his dad and uncle. Three days after graduating from SDSU, he got his draft notice. He joined the U.S. Navy and served four years. “When I was in the navy, I figured out I couldn’t work for anybody else. I’d had enough being told what to do, when to do and how to do.” So he returned to farming. “I think I got in at the right time. I paid plenty of rent at the time, but that’s what was available.” He was fortunate to be in a position to purchase land during the 1980s. The Hawkins family is committed to soil and water conservation. In 2018, Roger and Kathleen received the Outstanding Conservation Farmer Award from the Sioux County Soil & Water Conservation District. For 40 years, Kathleen has been improving the conservation ethic on her land in Washington Township of Sioux County. She has installed terraces, grassed waterways, tile lines, the county’s first rock chute outlet. Roger farmed this land for many years and, since 2008, both the

Kathleen and Richard Hawkins were recognized as an Iowa Farm Environmental Leader in 2018. Kathleen is third from left, daughter Emily, Roger, daughter-in-law Kaylene, son Travis holding his son Richard, and Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The Hawkins family in August 2021: Kaylene and Travis with son, Richard (front) and John; Roger and Kathleen; Emily and Matt Casillas with sons Izayah and Anthony.

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Above: The Richard and Kathleen Hawkins farm north of Le Mars. Below: Hawkins Sheep Valley Ranch south of Akron.

Sioux County and Plymouth County land has been 100 percent no-till. Roger and Kathleen’s daughter, Emily, is an associate editor of acquisitions for the University of Nebraska Press. She’s married to Matt Casillas and has two step-sons, Izayah and Anthony. Kathleen said Emily loves the farm and always returns home for the Plymouth County Fair. “We only had horses because of Emily. She wanted a horse just like I did when I was a girl. My dad and mom said ‘no’ to me. But Emily's dad was convinced and, in the course of a few years, each of us had a horse of our own.”

VETERINARY MEDICINE MEETS MILITARY TRAINING

Even though his parents fed cattle and hogs, Travis’ first 4-H livestock project was showing six lambs when he was 10 years old. “My parents gave me a small amount of money to start out with. I made a little bit of money, so the next year I raised seven, and the next year I raised eight. I did that from age 10 until about 15. Then I bought a few ewes.” In high school, he was inspired by a demonstration presented by a veterinarian from South Dakota State University. “The farm economy looked pretty cruddy at the time. I thought I needed to do something different.” He graduated from SDSU with a degree in animal science. Then he studied veterinary medicine at Iowa State University, graduating in 2008. He worked at the Akron Veterinary Clinic full-time from 2008-2016. Although “retired,” from that career, he has maintained his veterinary license. Travis and Kaylene met when she was visiting her aunt and uncle in Orange City. At the time, her uncle was the pastor at Seney United Methodist Church. Kaylene said her aunt and Travis’ mom conspired to get the pair together. The romance started with email correspondence and grew from there. Kaylene visited during lambing season and that’s when Travis knew the relationship was the real deal. When the office manager at Akron Veterinary Clinic asked how it went, Travis said, “Kaylene was not in the corner puking and she found lambing fascinating, rather than thinking it was disgusting.” Kaylene said, “My dad’s a science teacher, so nothing really grosses me out.” The couple married in June 2012. Kaylene spent much of her childhood at Milligan, Neb., and a short time in Kansas. Her parents are teachers and they both grew up on farms. She attended Doane University in Crete where she majored in mass communications and religious studies. She has a master’s degree in history from the University of Nebraska-Kearney. (Her family’s century farm was the subject of her master’s thesis.) She took part in ROTC during college and decided to join the U.S. Army after graduation. Kaylene said she and Travis have complementary skill sets for growing and improving their flock of sheep. “All of the things we’ve done over the years have worked together to prepare us well for raising sheep.” He knows animal genet-