Owners of Ogle County cattle operation are brothers in farms.
Farmers feed the world, faith feeds the soul, and a church feeds the community. Farm tire fixers have a good tracks record. JoDaviess County cattle operation becomes a big player in the livestock market in just a few years.
But not in the merry, merry month of May — it’ll be on a crisp fall day in October instead, during the annual Ogle County Farm Stroll, when you can meet growers and see what they grow p. 16
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While strolling through the farms one day
... but not in the merry, merry month of May — it’ll be on a crisp fall day in October instead, during the Ogle County Farm Stroll.
4 Tending to the flock
Farmers feed the world, faith feeds the soul, a church feeds the community — and they all come together at an annual farm festival.
10
A good tracks record
Whether the rubber meets the road or the field, Harry’s Farm Tire has been keeping its shoulder to the wheels for decades.
24 Brothers in farms
A pair of Ogle County siblings have found that when it comes to success, it’s a matter of something Ventures, something gained.
30 Meanwhile, back at the Ranch ...
Cattle are the bred and butter at a JoDaviess County operation that’s become a big player in the livestock market in short time.
Grasshopper zero-turn mowers are built to last, but when service is needed, we can help. With a full line of repair and tune-up services, OEM parts and more, we’re standing by to help keep your mower in peak condition.
PEABUDY’S 2900 Polo Rd Sterling, IL 61081 www.peabudysinc.com 815-626-4600
s Jim Miller wandered around the old tractors and hit-and-miss engines that had come to his church’s annual Farm Heritage Festival Show at East Jordan United Methodist Church last August, the pastor noticed something missing from the long-running event. It could use a little more outreach, he thought.
Heritage and horsepower had helped sustain the event through its nearly 20-year history, along with the camaraderie of those who were a part of it and the people who attended it — but Miller was thinking about more than just a tractor ride down memory lane: He was looking toward the future. He wanted to plant seeds that would help the event grow into something more. He envisioned a show that would not only celebrate farming, but reach out to the community. He wanted to see younger generations come to appreciate not only the horsepower, but the power of good, and extend a hand to people in need of food and guidance.
It was a vision that aligned with the mission of his church: To reach the least and the lost, and feed the lonely and the hungry — and along the way, give people a taste of what life on the farm used to be like.
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East Jordan United Methodist Church, between Sterling and Polo, has hosted its Farm Heritage Festival since 2007. This year’s show is at 7 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23, on the church grounds (see “More Info” on page 9 for details). Admission is free, and breakfast and lunch will be served for a nominal fee. It features antique farm equipment, live demonstrations of old-fashioned farm tasks, and children’s activities. Last year’s event brought in around 75 tractors and meals fed around 350 to 400 people, Miller said.
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East Jordan
United Methodist
Church pastor Jim Miller is finding ways for his church's annual Farm Heritage Festival, which began in 2007, to have more of an impact on the community.
18+/- Acres. S23 of Marion Twp. 15+/tillable, 4BR/2BA Farmette, 3 car
FESTIVAL cont’d from page 5
This year’s event is also scheduled to have a mobile food pantry for people facing issues of food insecurity. Miller is working with Sauk Valley Foodbank of Sterling to help him in his mission.
“I can envision a couple of hundred cars lined up Saturday morning getting free food,” Miller said. “We’re reaching the least and the lost.”
Miller came to East Jordan in 2014 after serving as pastor at First United Methodist Church in Princeton. He took over operation of the festival in 2024, after it was run by another church member. In Princeton, Miller organized the nonprofit Our Table organization of volunteers who provide free meals and fellowship to those in need on the second and fourth Monday of each month. Our Table continues to be a resource for the community, and its success has helped fuel Miller’s desire to continue to find ways to combat food insecurity.
FESTIVAL cont’d to page 7
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“I’ve been involved with church all of my life, and if I could identify what my forte would be, it would be feeding the hungry and the lonely until hunger is gone,” Miller said. “I found out that a lot of people were having a hard time managing how they were going to pay their doctor’s bills and buy groceries, or gas for their car. They needed a lot of help. I decided we couldn’t do everything for them, but we can feed them.”
As part of the outreach effort, Miller plans to have a few tents at the event where people can pray and seek guidance. “To me, the Farm Heritage Festival is a way to show the community a way of coming together around Jesus Christ,” he said. “I want people to know that there’s help out here for them.”
Miller also plans to resurrect a Cross Ministry that he started in 2022. The idea was to help support awareness of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Church members made around a couple of thousand white crosses and planted them throughout the church’s property. Each cross has
a typewritten notes, one with a prayer for those affected by the war and another that shares a story about a rally in Frankenmuth, Mich., where an athiest’s complaint about the cross was countered by support of religious beliefs. Crosses will be available throughout the property for people to take home.
“I have this idea of feeding the lonely and the hungry, that is, blessing our communities,” Miller said. “Every church should be a blessing to the community. I don’t think we should be set apart from the community, I think we should be set with the community.”
Along with all the tractors, farm implements and hit-andmisses, the show will also have a demonstration of threshing machines, sawmills, blacksmithing and rope making. Members of Boy Scout Troop 337 from Polo will be on hand to teach outdoor skills such as tying knots, casting fishing lines, building fires and boiling water; there will be a fastest fire build contest as well.
FESTIVAL cont’d to page 9
It takes faith to move a mountain, but it takes man and machine to move the earth. The history of horsepower on the farm has been a big part of the Farm Heritage Show’s success through the years.
FESTIVAL cont’d from page 7
The show also includes a petting zoo with chickens, cattle and goats, with some of the goats being part of a milking demonstration. Local farmers will set up stands to sell their produce, and the show also includes a bake sale and a bounce house for children. As of mid-June, Miller was trying to find someone to bring an apple cider press and give a demonstration. Additional activities will be announced on the church’s Facebook page closer to the event.
With 20 years of history behind it, the Farm Heritage Festival has become as much a part of the local landscape as the fields and farms that surround the church, and Miller looks forward to seeing the show continue to grow, a mission that’s close to his heart at a church in the heart of the country.
“That’s why I want to do this. I want to feed the lonely and the hungry until hunger’s gone, and want to reach the least and the lost, and let them know there’s a place for them.” n Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
The Farm Heritage Show at East Jordan United Methodist Church, 22027 Polo Road in rural Sterling, will start at 7 a.m. Aug. 23. Admission is free; breakfast and lunch will be served for a nominal fee. Find “East Jordan United Methodist Church of Sterling” Facebook, email willowemoc@gmail.com or call pastor Jim Miller at 815-866-6088 for more information.
CODY CUTTER/CCUTTER@SHAWMEDIA.COM
Whether the rubber meets the road or the field,
Whether the rubber meets the road or the field,
Harry’s Farm Tire has been keeping its shoulder to the wheels for decades, making sure its customers never have to sit still for long
Harry’s Farm Tire has been keeping its shoulder to the wheels for decades, making sure its customers never have to sit still for long
Farmers have a lot riding on their tires.
They can’t plow a field or pick a crop if their machinery is sitting on a flat, and it’s not like they can just whip out a jack, crank up a 10-ton combine, pop off a tire and slap a new one on. It takes someone with the right tools and talent to get that machine moving again.
Meet Harry — or rather, meet the crew at Harry’s Farm Tire, a full-service tire and wheel shop serving eastern Iowa and western Illinois with locations in both states. With started out as a small service station more than 60 years ago has grown into big business today that can handle just about anything on wheels, from trailers to tractors, cars to combines, little lawnmowers to big rigs. If it moves, Harry’s can keep it moving.
Shop manager Jeff VanderEide oversees a staff of seven service techs at the Fulton shop. He’s worked at Harry’s since 1993, when the current location was based in Albany. It moved north along state Route 84 close to Fulton in 2012 with the construction of a much larger shop.
Despite its name, there’s more to Harry’s than just farm tires; the business works on all types of tires.
“Tires are the main thing that we do, and farm tires are our niche in the market,” VanderEide said. “We do all tires from lawn and garden, trucks, semis, construction equipment and all of that type — ATV, lawn mower, whatever you got, we can take care of it for you” — and they can take care of it even if the job’s too big to bring to the shop.
HARRY’S cont’d to page 12
Jeff VanderEire (left), manager of Harry’s Farm Tire in Fulton, oversees a staff of experienced technicians who work on not just tires for farm equipment, but a lot more. “We do all tires from lawn and garden, trucks, semis, construction equipment and all of that type, ATV, lawn mower, whatever you got, we can take care of it for you.”
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“We have two service trucks that can go on site and can work on the big equipment right on the farm. Not many other places around the area can do that,” he said, adding that the trucks can service a pretty broad area, having traveled as far as 90 minutes away from the shop to take care of customers.
The company is based in Wheatland, Iowa, and also has a location in Wenona in Marshall County. The “Harry” in its name is for founder Harry Rowold, who started the business in Wheatland in 1963; his son, Ross, now owns the company. The Albany location opened in 1983 before its move to Fulton.
Tractors and farm tire technology has changed over the years, and Harry’s staff keeps up to date on what’s going on in the industry, and helps keep their customers up to date, too. One of the newest advances is push-button control from the cab to adjust tire pressure, helpful for when tractors are on the softer surface of a farm field vs. a harder surface. Air pressure may not seem like a big deal, but it can make a big difference on the farm, especially in soil compaction.
“It can affect your yields,” VanderEide said. The more compacted the soil, the harder it is for root systems to break through, which can lead to stunted growth and reduced yields. Reducing tire pressure can help reduce the risk of that happening, distributing the weight so that soil compaction is minimized. But when you’re hauling a load down the road: “Transporting equipment … you need more pressure for that,” he said.
“There’s a lot of variables with what they’re doing with the farm equipment, where, for instance, with your car, you’re putting one amount of pressure in it and it’s good no matter where you go and what you do. With the farm equipment, you got to know what they’re using the tractor for and what the application is, so there’s a little more research that you have to do.”
“It’s important for us to know where to set the pressure and to educate the farmer on how they do that, and what they should look for,” he added. “Sometimes you got to help people make the decision on what’s best for them,” VanderEide said.
Harry’s is an independent tire dealer, and can sell any brand, including major ones such as Michelin, Cooper, Goodyear and Bridgestone, and a wide range of sizes are available. Harry’s also offers a selection of used tires. “Tires are expensive, and sometimes people are looking for something just to get by for a while until they can afford new ones,” VanderEide said. “Price is a huge thing, but sometimes cheaper isn’t always better, and sometimes you have to educate the customer that, yes, this is the cheapest one, but this is the better one for you because you’re going to be doing these things for your vehicle.”
If it’s steel instead of rubber that you need, Harry’s can help with that, too. The business stocks wheels for most machinery — and if they don’t have it, they can make it in their shop, where they can build ag rims.
HARRY’S cont’d to page 14
Get the financial solutions you need to achieve the success you
Customers appreciate seeing familiar faces when they come to Harry’s “It helps to have the experienced employees who know what they’re doing, because customers can trust us,” says shop manager Jeff VanderEide (at left). “They’ve been here before, they’ve seen their faces, and they want them to do the job because they know what they’re doing.”
HARRY’S cont’d from page 12
While Harry’s history began as a service station, these days the company’s focus is on tires. They’ll do oil changes, too, but that’s it.
“We stay busy enough just doing tires, especially with being so broad in our market with tires,” VanderEide said. “If you’re a place that strictly does car tires, then, yes, you need to fill that space with something else, but we’re kind of known as being the tire place to go to in the area.”
Being the go-to place for tires means being able to service older equipment, too. It’s not unusual for Harry’s to work on vintage machinery.
“We have a lot of older farmers who still tinker around with their old tractors,” VanderEide said. “It’s kind of enjoyable to see them and go out and work on them because all of those tractors have stories behind them. They’re not just chore tractors. There are people who’ll say, ‘This is my dad’s,’ or ‘This is my grandpa’s.’”
The same goes for car tires, too. Harry’s has had a number of classic rides roll into the shop, along with new models. From a Model T to a Tesla, Harry’s team can help — in fact, according to the shop’s Facebook page, they got the T and Tesla jobs “because no one else in the area was willing or knew how to work on either one.”
When the staff hears something to the tune of “You guys are the only ones that ...” it’s mechanical music to their ears.
HARRY’S cont’d to page 15
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“It helps to have the experienced employees who know what they’re doing, because customers can trust us,” VanderEide said. “They’ve been here before, they’ve seen their faces, and they want them to do the job because they know what they’re doing.”
Blown tires and other issues with rubber on the road and rows can be frustrating for farmers — and costly, too, keeping them from getting their fields plowed and picked. Farming is a field where time is of the essence. Profits can rise and fall based on deadlines missed or met, but having a good shop to go to can ease the tension, VanderEide said.
“It can be satisfying to help people out and teach people the importance of tires, safety-wise and maintenance-wise,” VanderEide said. “Lots of times people are calling us not having their best day, whether they have a flat tire or are stuck in the field and want to get their crops in or picked. The key is calming them down a bit and explaining what we need to do to help them out and get there as quick as we can.” n
Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
TRACKS TO HARRY’S
Harry’s Farm Tire, 16262 Waller Road in Fulton, is open from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to noon Saturday. Find it on Facebook, email harrysfarmtire@frontier.com or call 309-8874447 to schedule service or for more information.
NORTHERN ILLINOISAGMAG
you’re one of the thousands of people who drive through Ogle County on any given day, you’ve no doubt passed by the farms that have put down roots there.
But have you ever strolled through one of them?
If not, then you’ll want to set aside a Sunday in October to take part in the Ogle County Farm Stroll. That’s when some farmers in Ogle County will dust the dirt off their welcome mat and throw open their barn doors to greet guests who stop by during the annual event coordinated by the University of Illinois Extension’s Boone-DeKalb-Ogle office in Oregon.
The self-guided tour gives people a chance to visit farms throughout the county, learning more about their operations and farming in general. Whether you’re a local who just wants to meet a neighbor who lives a country mile away, or a visitor who enjoys cruising country miles, the tour offers a chance to meet growers on their home, and farm, turf.
This year’s Stroll is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 12 and features 10 family farms, each within a 10-mile radius from Oregon. There’ll be food for sale, animals to see, interesting sights, and equipment on display. The Extension’s Master Gardeners will also be at some of the farms providing activities for the kids.
Visitors can document their visits to each farm through “passports” — stickers available at each site that can be filled out and turned in at their final stop for a chance to win prizes, some of which are donated from participating farms.
Teresa Schwarz, an office support specialist with the Ogle Extension office, has coordinated the Farm Stroll since 2022. The Extension started the event in 2017, modeling it after similar events Extension offices had operated in other counties, and has held it nearly every year since, aside from a brief period during the coronavirus pandemic when it was run by the Oregon Area Chamber of Commerce.
STROLL cont’d to page 18
STROLL cont’d from page 17
“It kind of shows the whole farm-to-table concept, growing your own produce and seeing what the farms in the area can help you with, with what they do,” Schwarz said.
“It’s great getting the word out there to the community that we have all of these different home-based farms, and for people to come out and witness all of the goings-on everywhere.”
Amy Miller, who works with Schwarz and is also an office support specialist, enjoys the Farm Stroll’s diversity — some places raise crops, some livestock, some both, and all with their own story to tell.
“We wanted to have an opportunity for people to be able to visit different types of local agriculture,” Miller said. “There are different types of farms, and some that people wouldn’t think of as a farm. We wanted to have a nice variety.”
The Farm Stroll attracts both farmers and non-farmers, and those who come from a more urban setting are bound to learn something new at each stop, and that’s what Extension program coordinator Jan Saglier likes about the event.
“I’m excited about the idea of people getting to know that these places are here, and the educational aspect of going to these different sites,” she said. “You can learn about them if you don’t live on a farm, and get a feel and a taste for what it’s like.”
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is Oct. 12 and features 10 farms within a 10-mile radius of Oregon, each displaying their practices and products to help educate visitors about locally sources food and life on a farm.
STROLL
University of Illinois Extension Boone-DeKalb-Ogle staff (from left) Jen Saglier, Teresa Schwarz and Amy Miller talk during a meeting with farmers participating in the annual Ogle County Farm Stroll. The event
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STROLL cont’d from page 18
This year’s Farm Stroll participants are BerryView Orchard, Hough’s Maple Lane Farm and Dietrich Ranch in Mount Morris; Barnhart’s Stone Corner, Jen’s Sunshine Farm, Happily Homegrown and the Hinrichs Farm in Oregon; Ponto Ranch and Triple Creek Bison in Chana; and Orion Organics in Franklin Grove, which is located along the Ogle-Lee county line. Both Chana sites and Jen’s are new to the event, and Hinrichs is returning after a brief absence.
Along with Hinrichs, Barnhart’s and BerryView, Dietrich Ranch was one of the Farm Stroll’s original six stops when it began, and owner Dan Dietrich has been on both sides of the farm fence — as a visitor to other farms and host at his own. He and his children have attended similar events in surrounding counties, and he’s brought some of those experiences to what he and his family do when the welcome visitors during the Stroll. They try to do something different each year, he said. The ranch raises grass-finished beef, lamb, free-range pasture chickens and pork in an all-natural process.
“Us and our kids have gone to the other counties, and we’ve enjoyed it as farmers,” Dietrich said. “We’ve got to see what other farms are doing. For us, we get a lot of requests from people wanting farm tours throughout the year, and one thing that I like about this is that we can open up and get a lot of people on a single day. This is a good way to systematize and streamline that process.”
Elizabeth Bruns, owner of Happily Homegrown, raises cows, pigs, chicken, rabbits and all kinds of fruits and vegetables, with her young children involved each step of the way. She has been part of the Farm Stroll for three years, and enjoys seeing Stroll visitors come back each year, some to get inspiration and ideas for their own farm.
STROLL cont’d to page 20
This year's Stroll is 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12 Event brochures can be picked up at the Ogle County Extension Office at 421 W. Pines Road, Suite 10, Oregon, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday., and can be found at extension.illinois.edu/bdo.
Thinking about going on the Farm Stroll?
Organizers have a few tips … Bring cash — Some farms will have products for sale, but not everyone takes plastic. Don’t bring pets — They could spook the livestock or not be welcome by other participants
Go to the website, or find “University of Illinois Extension - Boone, DeKalb and Ogle Counties” or “Northern Illinois Farm Stroll” on Facebook for more information.
Dress for a farm visit — Take a jacket in case it gets chilly or rains, and it’s best to wear closed-toe shoes (high-heels, sandals, or flip-flops aren’t advised). STROLL cont’d from page 19
“For my family, it’s nice to show people the diversity that you can have in a little community,” Bruns said. “For us, it’s about raising our kids and showing them how to do everything more on their own, like raising their own meat and raising their own vegetables. I think it’s cool to have people come out and watch our kids show them around and give the tours. I think it’s great for people to see that kids can do these things, too.”
Tim Benedict, owner of Orion Organics, has an aviary along the Ogle-Lee county line where he raises bees for honey and grows garlic. He enjoys the educational aspect of being a part of the Farm Stroll, which he’s participated in for two years.
Benedict is taking part again, despite it being a tough year for beekeepers throughout the nation, with various diseases causing a decline in colonies, which will lead to a later and smaller honey harvest this year.
“I’ve gotten to know a lot of other farmers in the area that I didn’t know about,” Benedict said. “Especially after Covid, people really started wanting to have a connection to their food, and I’ve always opened up my place for people to come and see the bees. I grow garlic and teach them how to grow it, when to plant and how to harvest. Farming is a pretty isolating and hard working experience, and it’s great for us to have that personal connection, instead of just going to a grocery store, and you actually get to see a smile on someone’s face when they get something fresh and local.”
A map and details about each stop are available at the Ogle County Extension’s website (extension.illinois.edu/bdo) or at its office in Oregon. Descriptions of each stop also appear on the following pages, beginning on page 21.
“There’s something for everybody,” Dietrich said. “If someone goes on this, you can see the diversity and the creativity of each place and what they have to offer.” n
Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
AG FINANCING
2169 Honey Creek Road, Oregon
John and Cindy Barnhart collect and display antique farm equipment and a wide collection of historical agriculture oddities. As its name suggests, it also has thousands – and tons – of unique stones, many of which are marked with dates and points of origin. The stones are arranged in a wall-like setup or as sculptures on their property, which is how the property’s original settler, Civil War veteran Virgil Reed, arranged them. The house on the Barnhart’s property, which sits on the corner of Honey Creek and Watertown roads, was built around the time the corner once was the site of the small community of Watertown: once a thriving stagecoach crossroads with a sawmill and blacksmith shop along the Kyte River, a mile east of Daysville.
BerryView Orchard
7504 W. Midtown Road, Mount Morris Online: Facebook, berryvieworchard.com
Jeff and Julie Warren grow aronia berries, which are considered a “super fruit” due to their high amount of antioxidants, using organic practices –they also are known as chokeberries. Get a taste of aronias, learn about their benefits and find ways to add them to food and drink recipes. Pick them yourself or buy them pre-picked. Several varities of apples also are available. Sample jams, jellies and cookies. Walk its orchards and see what’s growing.
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Dietrich Ranch
4575 N. Leaf River
Animals at Dietrich Ranch are 100 percent grass-fed in a process that involves intensive rotational grazing and holistic management. The ranch raises grass finished beef, lamb, freerange pastured chicken and pork. All of the products it offers are raised without use of chemicals, antibiotics and hormones. Its meat will be available for sale.
The farm is the site of the annual AJ’s Garden Tractor Jamboree each May. The Hinrichses offer interactive events such as corn shelling, corn grinding and rope making. Hit-and-miss engines, John Deere two-cylinder tractors and vintage garden tractors also are among the machines on display, as well as tools and iron collectibles from a large collection. Free popcorn will be offered.
Hough’s Maple Lane Farm
3788 N. Mount Morris Road, Mount Morris
Online: Facebook
Going to the grocery store isn’t a trip that the Bruns Fam- ily takes very often. Instead, they live on a 12-acre homestead where they grow and raise most of their food. They raise cows, pigs, chicken, rabbits and all kinds of fruits and vegetables, with the aid of a greenhouse during the winter months.
Rob and Lynnette Hough and their two children collect maple sap in the winter and spring from trees throughout the community and boils it down in their sugar house to make maple goodness.
Up to 50 gallons of maple syrup are made and sold each year, which also includes smoked syrup and bourbon maple syrup. Maple flavored treats made at Hough’s also will be available; they include candy, pecans, cinnamon rolls, applesauce, cookies and pickles.
Jen’s Sunshine Farm
1774 S. Columbian Road, Oregon
Online: Facebook, jensfarm.com
Jen and Scott Immel and their children, Wesley and Bryan, care for the soil at their farm with cover crops such as hairy vetch and tillage radishes. They grow seasonal favorites including sweet corn, birdhouse gourds and pumpkins. Homemade cookies, coiled fabric baskets and memory bears are Jen’s specialties and are made in a workshop on site.
Orion Organics
885 W. Stone Barn Road, Franklin Grove
Online: Facebook, orion.farm
Ponto Ranch
1188 N. Blind Road, Chana
Online: Facebook
Tim and Dede Ponto have lived on a 15-acre homestead since 2002 where they raise registered Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats. The goats are raised for pets, milk production and breed improvement with an emphasis on competitive showing. That’s not all: The farm also is in the process of growing Christmas trees that will be part of a choose-and-cut tree farm in the future.
Located along the Lee-Ogle county line, Tim Benedict’s apiary and garlic farm is surrounded by thousands of acres of native prairie and woodlands. He adheres to strict organic farming methods to produce artisan raw honey from the native prairie wildflowers among the Nachusa Grasslands, where bison roam the grounds.
Triple Creek Bison
1236 N. Blind Road, Chana Jim Rogers operates an eco-agriculture facility that gives off zero emissions. It’s a holistic approach to farming that aims to minimize environmental impact. Regenera tive and sustainable practices are rooted in a native habitat. The farm plans to sell a variety of bison products, as well as fruit and honey.
rowing up among the farms and woods east of Oregon, Michael and Joseph Ring had a pretty big playground. There was no shortage of places to play as they’d run and roam through the countryside, exploring nature’s nooks and crannies, making forts, and learning to appreciate all that the land had to offer.
Today, they’re still appreciating it, but in a different way.
The twin brothers raise Angus and Gelbvieh cattle from conception to market on rented land in Ogle County and sell the meat as Ring Brothers Beef. They also grow and raise crops, both for feed and sale, and have turned their talent for land management and equipment repair into a business, Nashua Ventures.
For Michael and Joseph, growth — not only in the land, but personally and professionally too — is a big part of their lives. So is having agency in what they do: taking initiative, taking control and making their own choices. And it’s all built on a strong foundation, one they’ve each built with their families, with seven children between them. Their hope is that one day they’ll follow in their footsteps and into the field, tapping into their own talents to carry on the family farming tradition.
Joseph and Michael represent the fourth generation of cattle farmers in their family, and through the years have built a bond that could only come from the closeness of family. It’s a brotherly bond that’s served them well.
BROTHERS cont’d to page 26
Joseph (left) and Michael Ring talk about their working relationship at their shop in Oregon on June 3. “One of the things that we’ve figured out to make things functional is that you have to have a lot of aligned incentives and understand how different people have different goals. If you have someone who’s pretty close to that, then I think it works better,” Michael said.
ALEX T. PASCHAL/APASCHAL@SHAWMEDIA.COM
BROTHERS cont’d from page 25
“We understand each other’s motivations quite a bit, and that is something that we’ve concentrated on in the past with different relationships in business that we’ve had, whether it’s partnerships with family or other outside deals,” Michael said. “One of the things that we’ve figured out: To make things functional, you have to have a lot of aligned incentives and understand how different people have different goals. If you have someone who’s pretty close to that, then I think it works better.”
The time the Rings spent growing up together, with their parents allowing them time to be left to their own devices, helped shape their drive to be successful in business.
“It’s taking the things that I have talent for and finding a market for them,” Joseph said. “Some of them aren’t terribly marketable, but some of them are, and I’m interested in being profitable in whatever pursuits I’m in. Finding that product market fit has been a big part of it — that and being able to do it with my family and friends.”
It also helps to get an early start. For the Rings, that meant raising cows when they were 6 years old.
The Ring’s grandfather, Roger Nordman, bought three head one day, keeping one for himself and gifting the other two to the twin grandsons. The cows were solely their responsibility — feeding and fattening them up, caring for them — and that served as a catalyst for a growing herd, paving the way for their future raising cattle. For a couple of grade-schoolers, it was a learning experience that added another building block on a firm foundation their family had already built for them, and one that Michael remembers “as clear as day,”
BROTHERS cont’d to page 27
“It was one of those things where I felt a sense of responsibility,” Michael recalled. “It’s something that’s really common in ag, where responsibility at a young age is something that is just assumed to start being given to young kids. I think there are a lot of things around that you have to keep track of. You can only give kids what they can handle. Now we have this cow, and every day we’re going take the wagon and go to the hay barn and you’re going to fill it and you’re going to put it in their bunk.
As the brothers grew, so too did their responsibilities, including property maintenance by the time they were in their teens. By then, the Rings were living with their aunt and uncle and their children after their parents died when they were young.
The Ring brothers converted their dad’s carpentry building into a workshop for their ag projects.
The twins rented ground for their growing herd when they were 15. Said Joseph: “We wanted to be able to manage it on our own, and we’ve continued to rent more land and build our cow herd in that way” — and it’s a good thing the brothers got an early start, he added: “Cattle are so capital intensive now, that I’m glad we started when we did. It would be very hard to get into it now.”
Of the two breeds they raise, Joseph focuses on Angus and Michael on Gelbvieh. Their calves are grass fed until weaning and finished on grain to facilitate a high-quality beef taste.
BROTHERS cont’d to page 28
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BROTHERS cont’d from page 27
Their experience growing up on a family farm proved invaluable, and the brothers have carried what they’ve learned with them as they raise their own families, including the lessons their grandfather taught them. Taking a page from their grandfather’s book, Michael put his young children in charge of raising their own chickens.
“Now you have this thing that you get to do, and you get to feel that responsibility that you need to fill that obligation. You also get to feel the pride in that,” Michael said. “I think it’s really important to start that at a young age, even if it’s not a cow.”
They may be just chickens today, but they’ll be memories and valuable lessons tomorrow.
“Kids are learning from you, and you’re being an example for them,” Michael said. “You feel a lot of responsibility around that. If you can work up into things like that, it gives you all of those practical skills for how to think about working in groups, developing as a person and dealing with conflict and all kinds of other things.”
One of the challenges they had to deal with was a global pandemic — but getting through the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 proved to be another opportunity for sibling teamwork. At the time, slaughter plants were shutting down due to safety restrictions, and shipments of livestock stalled. Not one head that was ready to go to market was shipped out for a two-month period; normally, cattle would have been shipped out every week or two by the semi load, Michael said.
As the disruptions put a financial pinch on the market, they managed to find processors and began Ring Brothers Beef to sell quarters and halves, first through Facebook and by word of mouth, and then on their own website (ringbrothersbeef.com) where they sell ground beef, steaks, sirloin tip roast and beef sticks, and even their own business apparel. Items are available for delivery or pickup at the farm.
BROTHERS cont’d to page 29
When Joseph and Michael’s grandfather gifted them two head of cattle, he wound up having a steak in his grandson’s future. Roger Nordman started the brothers out on their road to the pasture by giving them the cows to take care of when they were still in grade school. The two would turn that early experience with responsibility into their own herd, and eventually their own cattle operation, Ring Brothers Beef.
Getting into the meat business when they did came during a rise in demand for dry-aged beef, which helped them turn an economic downturn right-side up again.
“We had this product that we were either going to lose a bunch of money on, or add value to,” Joseph said. “We aren’t people who sit idly by and let the world happen to us, and we try to have a lot of agency in the things that we do, so we just said: ‘What are we going to do about this?’”
Expanding their business footprint to other farms, the Rings started Nashua Ventures in 2024 to help farmers with tasks such as land clearing, driveway maintenance, equipment repair, gravel hauling, snow plowing and heavy fence line clean up. The Nashua name comes from the former Ogle County township that part of the Rings’ land is on (Nashua merged with Oregon Township in 1995).
Joseph also owns Ring DJ Service, emceeing wedding receptions in the area. He also ran for Oregon Township Road Commissioner in 2024, but lost the close contest on the counting of mail-in ballots after Election Day.
“I think that a lot of the things that we do are designed around lifestyle, and being able to have an area where we can raise our families in and can foster community in the next circle out with our friends and neighbors,” Michael said. “That’s how we think about a lot of things, having a certain amount of agency about the way that we choose what to work on, intentionally, to design those things. If we’re able to work in areas that allow us
Find Ring Brothers Beef and Nashua Ventures on Facebook, or go to ringbrothersbeef.com to learn more about Joseph and Michael Ring’s cattle operation in rural Oregon and to shop for meat at its online store.
some degree of freedom in that, then we can prioritize those things and manage our time.”
Diligence and determination, faith in their abilities, planning and prioritizing, and a firm family foundation: The journey from the brothers’ budding bovine business as children to their own cattle operation as adults is one that’s been full of choices for the Rings, with each decision they make focusing on the future and on the big picture. And with the family’s budding young poultry producers already waiting in the wings, the future of farming is likely to have members of the Ring family in the picture for years to come. n
Shaw Media reporter Cody Cutter can be reached at 815-632-2532 or ccutter@shawmedia.com.
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here’s a lot that goes into turning cows into cash: Good stock, plenty of land, a hard-working and knowledgeable staff, and a good grasp of reproductive science. It also helps to have a herd mentality — operators should know what their cows need in order to raise a healthy herd.
If producers bring all those things together, there’s a good chance they’ll be as successful as TWG Ranch, a cattle operation outside of Elizabeth, in JoDaviess County, that’s gone from a single herd of commercial cows to hundreds of head and thousands of acres in just a few short years.
The focus at TWG Ranch is to raise reproductive, maternal cattle with longevity and product merit.
“We are a purebred Angus operation, but we’re always making our breeding decisions based on what the commercial producers are going to need,” said Jarad Carroll, the ranch’s cattle operations manager.
Rapid expansion has occurred at the ranch since the first cows were purchased in the spring of 2022.
TWG cont’d to page 32
“An investor started buying ground in this area, and a friend of mine, David Walter, asked me if I would like to manage a largescale cow ranch,” Carroll said.
The operation began with the purchase of a herd of commercial cows, and in the fall of 2022, about 100 purebred Angus cows were added — and things just kept on going, and growing, from there.
In the summer of 2023, TWG Ranch bought the Woodhill cow herd from Brian McCulloh.
“I had no idea we would get this big this fast, but when I was contacted by Brian about the Woodhill herd, it was a once-ina-lifetime opportunity,” he said. “Brian spent 40 years building his herd and he is a great mentor, helping me with breeding decisions.”
cattle and he’s still a private contractor for Equity.
“Today we have about 700 cows and about half of the commercial cows are used for recips (‘recipient’ — a cow or heifer implanted with an embryo from a donor cow and bull with desired genetics),” Carroll said.
TWG Ranch was featured in the April 2025 issue of the Angus Beef Bulletin, in a special section highlighting the importance of producers picking the right females for their herd. Go to https://tinyurl. com/sjwtzx7t to read the article.
Carroll, who was raised in Lanark, moved to Mount Carroll, where he’s been farming and running cows ever since. He’s also worked for Equity Livestock for 17 years as a field rep, buying and selling feeder
“We’re pretty much to the point where we’re done growing. We might get a little bigger.”
Two hoop buildings were built on the ranch in the summer of 2023 and a third one in January of this year.“There can be a lot of mud in March, so we calve in the hoop barns and keep the pairs in for 50 to 60 days,” Carroll said.
The buildings have curtains on the north side.
“We keep the curtains open, but if it’s raining or snowing a lot we can lower them,” Carroll said. “The cold weather does not bother cows, they just need dry backs and the calf alley is all the way down the backside so the calves can go in there and lay and get their creep feed.”
TWG cont’d to page 34
Jarad Carroll, TWG Ranch’s cattle operations manager talks about the
during the ranch’s inaugural sale on April 12. The bull development
where future female sales will also be held in the
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that up,” Carroll said, “but you can’t do that in just one year. Our goal is 75 to 90 days for calving.”
The cows are divided into breeding groups of 80 to 140 head.
“We sync all the females and they all get one shot at artificial insemination, and then the herd bulls go in,” Carroll said.
“We’re doing extensive embryo transfer work. Tomorrow we’re putting in 40 embryos,” he said. “I have technicians to do the embryo work and the artificial insemination breeding.”
The ranch includes 1,800 acres of pasture, 2,000 acres of row crops where corn, beans and wheat are grown and 450 acres of alfalfa production.
buyer for them,” he said. “Then we can get carcass data back on the cattle to help us stay in check for what we need to be doing.”
Over the past three years, a lot of fence has been built at the TWG Ranch. “We’re approaching eight miles of perimeter fence that is high-tensile barb fence,” the cattleman said. “Another goal for us is rotational grazing so we’re working on watering and getting fences built for better pasture management.”
Carroll is concerned about the moisture conditions going into the growing season.
TWG Ranch 11118 S. Massbach Road, Elizabeth
Contact info: 1-815-631-5926 or Jccattle07@gmail.com
Online: twgranch.com/ or find it on Facebook
“We have four full-time people with the cattle and three full-time people for the crops,” the cattle manager said.
One of the goals for the ranch, Carroll said, is to develop a calf buyback program.
“For those who buy a bull from us, I will look at their calves and try to get them placed in a feedlot or find a
“The grass is green and the top 18 inches has moisture, but when you get below that it’s dry,” he said. “I’m so nervous that I bought 500 bales of hay because if we have to start feeding cows this summer the hay goes fast.”
Last summer, construction started on the sale facility at TWG Ranch and its inaugural bull sale was held this year, on April 12, where 105 bulls were sold.
“[The] annual bull sale [will be] the second Saturday in April,” Carroll said, and they also plan to have a female sale in the fall, though “it might not be every year … We’re working on getting a date for that locked down.”
Plans like these are just one step on the path forward for the once upand-coming operation that’s come into its own, and if where that path has taken them in just a few short years is any indication of where it will lead them, the TWG Ranch should be able to look forward to success for years to come. n
Shaw Media’s Martha Blum can be reach at mblum@shawmedia.com.
Read more farm news at Shaw Media’s Agrinews, at agrinews-pubs.com.
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