James Ray Schronk tried to talk his son out of farming.

Then he tried to talk his grandson out of it, too. It wasn’t because he didn’t love agriculture. As a lifelong farmer himself, James Ray knew exactly what the life could ask of them.

However, some things are hard to talk a person out of. “That’s in your heart, to do something like that,” James Ray said. Today, three generations of the Schronk family are part of the family’s six-generation farming story: James Ray, his son Rodney and his grandson Ryan.

Agriculture has been part of the Schronk family for generations.

“My parents, my grandparents farmed, and now I’ve got a son and a grandson who farm,” James Ray said.

In the early 2000s, the family brought the operation together as Schronk Agricultural Joint Venture, with Rodney eventually taking over from his father. Years later, another transition began. Rodney’s oldest son, Ryan, came home and began taking on more responsibility in the operation, just as Rodney had once done with his own father.

For Rodney, Ryan’s return came at a meaningful time. After years of navigating the inevitable highs and lows of agriculture, Rodney admits he was tired. “I was kind of worn out, to be honest with you, from years of trials in agriculture,” Rodney said.

Ryan brought the perspective of a new generation to the operation, along with fresh energy and ideas that gave Rodney a renewed excitement for what they could continue building together.

“It’s kind of been a breath of fresh air to have Ryan come back,” Rodney said. “Not to say that it’s easy some days, but it has given me a new perspective and new energy to continue forward.”

For Ryan, coming home carries the weight of knowing how many generations came before him. “I am a sixth-generation Schronk farmer, which is very meaningful to me,” Ryan said. But he doesn’t see his role as simply maintaining what previous generations built, he has dreams of continuing to innovate to address growing farming concerns.

Ryan believes farming connects people across history in a way few occupations can. His faith is part of how he sees that connection. “Farming originated in the Bible,” Ryan said. “There’s not many things that are traceable throughout the time of history, and farming is something that you can trace back all the way to the very beginning of time.”

Six generations may not stretch quite that far, he acknowledges, but it’s a history he doesn’t take lightly. Each generation of his family has had the opportunity to build on the work of the one before it, and now it’s Ryan’s turn.

For a family farm, succession isn’t something that happens all at once. It’s a gradual passing of responsibility, knowledge and trust. James Ray passed the operation to Rodney, now Rodney is beginning that process with Ryan.

Ryan is already thinking about what could come after him. “I feel blessed to have the opportunity to maybe grow it,” Ryan said. “I think each generation it’s grown.” What means the most is the trust his father, grandfather and the generations before them have placed in him. “For my dad and granddad to give me the opportunity to turn it into a seventh-generation farm really means a lot to me.”

There are no guarantees in agriculture. James Ray knew that when he encouraged the younger generations to consider another path. Rodney knows it after weathering years of trials himself. Ryan knows it, too.

And still, generation after generation, the Schronks have chosen to farm. Not because it’s easy, but because, sometimes, it’s simply in your heart.