LEAVENWORTH, Kan. — Those living in a city likely don’t think about labor shortages on farms, but a lack of farmworkers could have major impacts on food bought in grocery stores.
Farmers in Kansas are worried about the future of their farms, but KSHB 41 News learned veterans could be part of the solution.
“It’s hard work, no guaranteed income, no vacations,” said Larry Theis, who helps run April Valley Farms.
April Valley Farms has been in the Theis family since 1957. Along with his mother and two brothers, Larry Theis runs the farm in Leavenworth, Kansas.
“They named it that way because they purchased it in April and it’s in Salt Creek Valley,” Theis said.
At 62, he’s still one of the younger farmers in the community, but Theis worries about the next generation not picking up the trade.
“In history, the farms are passed to the kids that grew up on the farm," he said. "That’s no longer taking place. The kids are leaving the farm."
Recent data from the Census of Agriculture says the average age of a farmer in Kansas is 58. In Missouri, it’s 59.
“I’m on the younger aspect of that. I’m 46 years old. I’ve tried to encourage the younger generation to keep going, but it’s kind of hard to do,” said veteran Rob Ober.
Ober trained at April Valley Farms in 2019 after serving in the military for 21 years.
“I was just ready to retire and do something else,” Ober said.
Ober grew up on a farm and wanted to get back to his roots, so he connected with Ken DeVan from the Farmer Veteran Coalition, which helps veterans return to agriculture.
“The military is a planning culture. A successful farmer has to be a planner,” DeVan said.
DeVan — who is also on the board for the SAVE program, which helps train veterans, says when leaving the service, veterans have to go through a transition assistance program.
Military installations like Fort Leavenworth now give him a call when they know about a veteran interested in agriculture.
“I knew how to do the equipment, but the business aspect was kind of unfamiliar to me,” Ober said.
Ober says he learned such business knowledge from the Theis family during his three months at April Valley.
“Didn’t really know we were doing it. It was just kind of in a conversation,” Theis said.
Moving forward, the Theis family is trying to be part of the solution in more ways than one with plans for their kids to take over and keep the farm running.
“They’ve kind of been set down by my wife and I, and they are not to sell this land,” Theis said.
Because of his training, Ober now runs his father-in-law's farm in Alden, Kansas. He says he's grateful to keep it in the family.
“I’ve just been lucky, basically,” Ober said.
Ober hopes his experience will spark interest from other veterans and inspire them to get involved with farming.
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Two Americas is part of a KSHB and Scripps signature issue to help introduce our community to the America you know and the America you might not know. Our role as the media is to share the news of the day, but we also seek to give a voice to people we don't hear from often.
Of course, there are many parts that make up our community, so we’re not just showing you two and we’re not pitting two sides against each other. Instead, we’re hoping to highlight solutions and showcase different perspectives to help us all better understand our area's culture, our area's past, and why our community feels the way it does today.
