White County is home this year to a new Indiana Master Farmer. Bill Schroeder from Reynolds was honored by Purdue Extension and Indiana Prairie Farmer. He was quick to share the honor with others in his family.
“You farm your whole life and to receive an honor like this is just unbelievable, that other people nominate you for this and recognize the hard work. But it’s not just you, it’s the family, you know my family before me, my wife, my sons, and it’s something that we’ve achieved together as a family.”
Schroeder joined his father and brother fulltime on the farm after graduating in 1973. The family operation started with a grocery store near Reynolds.
“And it started with Herman J. Schroeder and he was also the bank president at the Bank of Reynolds. My grandfather ran a grain elevator there. My grandmother and her brother in law ran the store in a huckster wagon, and that’s where we started buying the farm ground clear back then. My dad came back from World War II and was actually the first fulltime farmer for our family. His brother joined him after the Korean War and so the two of them have farm grounds there that we farm just south of Reynolds.”
And the future looks good for Schroeder’s continuing on the family farm.
“I have 3 sons and two are employed and work on the farm,” Schroeder explained. “My oldest son is really a partner and he’s really joined me and done a lot of work with the farm building the hog buildings together. We do contract finishing and have about 16,000 head of hogs on feed at all times there and we turn that a couple times a year.”
Additionally at the Schroeder farm is a small beef operation and about 5,500 acres devoted to corn and soybeans, but primarily corn.
What are Bill Schroeder’s keys to a successful farming operation? He says hard work and always looking to the future.
“You just need every day to pull your boots on and go out and try your best. And you try to look forward and see things coming down the road and take advantage of opportunities.”[audio:https://www.hoosieragtoday.com//wp-content/uploads//2012/11/Bill-Schroeder-on-becoming-a-Master-Farmer.mp3|titles=Bill Schroeder on becoming a Master Farmer]Click play for the full HAT interview:[audio:https://www.hoosieragtoday.com//wp-content/uploads//2012/11/Master-Farmer-Bill-Schroeder.mp3|titles=Master Farmer Bill Schroeder]