Farmers

About Brent Scholl

BEING A FARMER

Every day brings new challenges when it comes to farming. It’s one of the reasons I get excited to go outside every morning. I enjoy seeing our crops grow and caring for our livestock. Just as the last generation left this land bountiful for us to farm, we will do the same for the next to come. It’s how we were raised.

PIGS IN A BLANKET

Wouldn’t it be nice to regulate our body temperatures to the perfect comfort zone? Our pigs sure like it. They live comfortably in temperature controlled barns where they are protected from disease and predators, with constant access to water and plenty of fans to keep them cool. Our family works hard to provide healthy pork products for consumers and we are able to do this with our specially designed barns.

OUR FARM

We raise about 6,500 pigs every year. We have a wean-to-finish farm where we get the pigs at about 15 pounds and raise them for market at around 275 pounds. We also raise cattle and sheep, and grow corn, soybeans, hay, wheat and oats on 1,100 acres of farmland. Our farm is a centennial farm, started by my great-great-grandfather, Conrad Scholl.

CHANGE IN DIRECTION

I went to Illinois State University and never intended to come back to the farm. By my junior year though, I changed my direction and rented 200 acres split 50/50 with my dad. I’ve been farming over 30 years now and wouldn’t trade it for anything. When my brother, Bruce, graduated from college, we rented another 80 acres and started a partnership. Bruce’s oldest son, Matt, wants to come back home and be the sixth generation to farm our land. My dad, Irv, at 78 years old still helps feed the animals every day. Bruce and I are in the process of acquiring the land my dad still owns, and are continuing to add more farmland and animals to support the next generation on our farm.