Greckel Farms

Welcome to our page - take a glimpse of what we have to offer and how we make our livelihood.
We are passionate about agriculture and are a diverse operation raising commodities as well as offering services. 

Our operation is in an ideal location, still private enough to have the peace and quiet of countryside living with rolling pasture lands and crops. But we are the perfect distance away from larger communities like Yankton SD, Norfolk NE and Sioux City IA. Being in the heartland is a wonderful location as we see each season, with our favorite being Winter due to no bugs! 

Being diverse means we have multiple commodities that can be sold either as is or used in our operation to have a different output. Farmers and Ranchers gamble their commodities or end products every day, week, and year. Just like inflation for us, our price per bushel, price per hundred weight varies day to day, year to year. We never know what we might get for the end product.

For crop produers who grow their plants in large open fields are hoping mother nature spreads the timely rains during the growing season. Farmers are also hopeful the insects and pests along with un wanted plants (weeds) do not overtake their field of produce. Then we get to harvest time, hopefully we have a decent enough crop to pay all the inputs it cost to get the crop to where it is - Seed, Chemical/Fertilization, Fuel in the equipment, transportation and machinery costs. If the crop doesn't produce because it didn't rain, because a natural disaster occurred, or an army of pests wiped out the leaves to the point the plant couldn't even producer a crop - well, you hope you had paid for insurance (which is yet another expense) so you can at least have some sort of income to pay your expenses. Yes - row crop producers may get the winters off in snowy conditions but that doesn't mean they are not working. They have to service their equipment, make a marketing plan for the next year and maybe a 5-10 year plan to make sure their operation is productive. 

For the livestock producers who raise their own stock - could be cattle, sheep or hogs - they are on the clock 24-7, 365 days out of the year. Just like humans, animals need daily care and some sort of monitoring. For some species, the winter months are easier to have the livestock, some may say the summer months are the easiest. Each Season brings its own set of challenges but if you prepare, implement, and, well, have a back up plan, you should have a good product. But don't expect to be paid $22/hr for your labor. Livestock care is a livelilhood, you are expected to be there even when the weather isn't cooperating because the animals cannot fend for themselves.  For us, we have primarily beef cattle. We raise our own calves and also purchase more weanlings or yearlings to feed out. The cow/calf operation by far takes the most labor but you decrease your input cost because you do not have to purchase the animal. The feeder cattle operation takes daily commitment and sometimes your day goes sideways because you notice a couple sick ones who need treated (similar to you and me being ill and needing the doctor to prescribe medicine - but it can even be as simple as needing to take ibuprofen... well cattle can't do that themselves... so we need to notice the animal being 'off', droopy earred, not coming to the bunk to eat - then we know they need some attention). So not only feeding daily, as you want the best gain in the cattle, you have to observe their health. Treating a calf who ate too quickly or might have gotten pregnant in the pasture as a 6 month old... it's happened to us - nature: always keeps you guessing. 

Beyond the daily tasks, we are also a family, we have friends, we have hobbies, we have goals. So how does a farmer or rancher find time to do all his daily chores, plus added jobs during different seasons such as calving, field prep, planting, fence fixing, spraying, weaning calves, harvesting crops, hauling commodities to sales or coops... paying bills, maintenance on machinery, snow removal, tax preparation, laundry, cooking, house upkeep and hobbies? It's a balancing act. You make goals, you lean on those who know you can trust, you ask for help and you communicate. 

Being in a farming operation, you learn to forgive and learn from the hard times. You make a plan to move forward by setting goals and making those goals known to those within your operation. After all, we are only on this earth for a short time. Live it to the fullest, forgive, love, and care for those who you want to be with you through this life on earth.