Gragerts recognized for farming, conservation, volunteer practices

LIME SPRINGS - Damon and Sherry Gragert and son, Jared, were named the Kiwanis Farm Family of the Year for 2019. 

 

Farming

Damon and Jared take care of most of the daily chores, including crop farming and raising around 70 cows and calves and finishing another 100 fat cattle. They also custom farm for others, planting and combining for them.

Damon also began custom baling for others in 1982, a few years after he graduated from Crestwood. “Now Jared does most of the baling. He started in high school,” he explained. They bale both big round bales and small square ones. They use the round bales for the beef cows and the square ones for the calves, as well as selling them to horse owners.

Although Jared is just a few years out of high school himself, he has his own machinery, but also helps on the family farm.

Damon got started helping his parents, Gerald and Marian. They moved to the farm in Forest City Township, four miles northwest of Lime Springs in 1958. When his dad passed in 1994, he and his bride of two years, Sherry, exchanged houses with Marian, and Damon took over the work.

It was about 1993 when the Gragerts got rid of their dairy cows. They used to milk 55 cows twice a day.

They plant corn, beans and hay. Some of the hay is sold, but they also use it for their own cattle. In fact, about 40% of their crops are used for their own feed.

In addition to working on their own farm, the men both work at Cresco Livestock Market on Mondays.

The farming part of the Gragert family is mostly done by the men in the family as Sherry has a full-time job at Bethany Housewares in Cresco. 

 

Changes

Technology is the biggest change Damon has observed in his 50-plus years of living on a farm. “We have a lot more acres than we used to. It is also less labor intensive. When I was a kid, everything was done with a shovel.” Now there are machines to help with much of the heavy work.

 

Conservation

The family does what they can to promote conservation practices. They take part in CRP waterways and grassed headlands to help prevent erosion. In turn, those acres support wildlife habitat.

 

Volunteering

Damon has been helping or was in charge of local tractor pulls for many years, including at Chester and Lime Springs. “I even got talked into being in charge of the one at LeRoy this year, too,” he laughed.

Sherry helps at those, as well as the one at Lourdes Steeple Day, her home church. 

They are also members of Farm Bureau and Pheasants Forever.

In addition, Jared is a volunteer firefighter for Lime Springs.

A person might suspect that with all their work in the fields and at tractor pulls, the Gragerts would have a favorite brand of tractor. “We are not prejudiced about tractors,” Damon smiled. “We have used and purchased them all!” They have red, White, blue and green.

And now the next generation is feeling the itch to be a farmer. Damon and Sherry’s grandson, Daniel Schwickerath (son of Jami and Nathan and brother to Kendall and Cali), has participated in the tractor pulls for a few years and helps with other chores on the farm.

Farming is in all their blood. Kiwanis Chapter in Cresco certainly made the right choice for a Farm Family!