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recognizes that a good reputation and hard work alone doesn’t always means you’re going to succeed. “If God hadn’t taken my brother, there might not have been a place in farming for me,” he said, referring to his older brother, Todd, who died in a car accident just a few months after purchasing the acreage where Tom and Brooke make their home and farm headquarters today. “I’ve probably made some of the same mistakes of those guys who didn’t make it through the ‘80s. But I’ve been lucky. I’ve been at the right place at the right time.” Tom credited his parents for his work ethic. “I couldn’t have farmed, period, without mom and dad’s help. When I was growing up, my mom worked on the farm right beside us … milked the cows, ran the tractor, she did everything on the farm. At the time she left the farm when I was 22 years old, there was nothing I was doing that she couldn’t do.” Brooke isn’t involved in the production side of farming at the same level her mother-in-law was, but Tom said his wife is his most important partner in life and farming. “My grandpa used to say ‘My wife made me.’ It’s the same way for me. Without Brooke by my side, farming and family life just wouldn’t work.” She helps care for the bucket calves, runs for parts, delivers meals to the field and helps wherever she’s needed. Most importantly, Tom said she’s “99 percent” in charge of raising six-year-old Graham. “There’s times I don’t see him much … depending upon the time of year, I might just talk to him on the phone to say good night.” On top of all of the farm and family work, Brooke, who is a native of Akron, has also worked full-time at Perspective Insurance for about 15 years. Tom hopes Graham keeps the family farming tradition going. “He’s a lot like I was. His interest in livestock is crazy. He could spot a sick calf in the yard when he was four years old. My grandpa was a farmer, my dad was a farmer – I hope that Graham keeps that interest. I hope things grow enough that my partners will all grow with me. If there’s time to get the work done, we’ll do it. That’s why they put lights on tractors.” His partners have replaced the seasonal part-time help he used to hire. “We have some guys who have percentages and everybody’s got a stake in the game.” Paul Knapp started working with Tom when he was 14. “He’s a young buck. If somebody’s got to scoot up a bin to set the auger, I don’t have to ask him, he just does it.” The other two partners are Jason Combs, who is a mechanic by day at Siouxland Bobcat and Heath Dumas, who is a welder. “We’ve got it covered if we break down,” Tom said.
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