Faces & places in the country: Brent & Debra Johnson

Tell us about your farm. I farm 3,500 acres with my step-son, Donald; daughter, Leah; two full-time employees and a handful of part-time employees primarily during harvest, including my step-daughter, Jana. My wife, Debra, is the CFO. Johnson Farms manages a multitude of properties, each with a purpose. Whether it is my collection of military trucks, tractors, combines, cultivators, sprayers, pickups or semitrucks, we own many buildings to store and maintain our operating equipment. Our bin site holds a fair amount of our corn and soybeans. We also farm over by Millerville and enjoy spending time at our lake cabin when we can. From the 1980s to the 2000s, my family had cattle and ran a dairy farm near Millerville. I didn’t grow up with cattle though; I spent all my time with the combines. Since the 1960s, our family has been in the custom harvest business. For 45 years, I traveled to Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Canada. 2007 was my last year.

What are moments during the year that you really cherish being on the farm? For 35 years, I was always behind on projects, but now, I am home all the time, and I don’t have a problem getting up in the morning and going to work — it’s fun. I tell everybody I volunteered for this job — I am not bragging or complaining. I don’t do it for the money, I do it for the land. Farming is something you figure out from a very early age that you want to do it. I never pictured anything different. The whole time growing up it was me thinking and planning out my future, and I was able to fulfill a lot of those dreams.

What are some accomplishments you are proud of? The harvest was the thing that I am the most proud of. It was challenging, but it kept the farm afloat, and it built a lot of character. We met a lot of people along the way. My father always said I never worked for anyone I didn’t learn something from; either I could apply that to my farm, or I’d learn that I was not going to do it that way. We’re in a very successful area, and there are a lot of good farmers around us, so there’s not a lot of heavy competition. There is still integrity amongst the majority of the neighbors, and everybody gets along, and that’s kind of the goal.

Tell us about your daily routine on the farm. That’s what is nice about not having livestock anymore; I don’t have those daily chores, per say, but I still start each day by getting things organized before the guys get here. If it’s spring planting or fall harvest, I make sure things are fueled and organized. In the summer, there is grain to haul, and after each season, we do all our maintenance. We rebuild the field cultivators, the tractors (and) everything we use. We make sure everything’s washed, greased and parked, so it’s ready to go. We have tillage equipment, yard work and land to maintain. We also build approaches and haul gravel.

What is the hardest and best part of your day? Leaving home was by far the hardest part, but I am home all the time now. The best parts of my day are that I like looking at the country, fields and wildlife, checking crops and planning the next adventure — it’s fun to look for work. That’s how I grew up; my dad was always buying stuff that needed fixing.

What motivates you on the farm? The excitement of the chase. I enjoy making every acre the best acre — whether that’s the best acre for farm land or for wildlife. Whatever it takes to make the land the best it can be, that’s the hobby in it, always has been.

What do you hope the next five to 10 years look like on your farm? We are leaving the doors open for the next generation to move in, should they choose to.

What words of wisdom do you have for future generations of farmers? You need good machinery, not necessarily new, but well-maintained. Lastly, don’t pass up opportunities simply because it doesn’t pencil out. I have never bought a piece of land that worked out on paper. You need to have blind faith and stay focused on the days that are important.