John Garrett Schenkel, 30, is reflected in a side-by-side farm vehicle as he does his morning work and checks on cattle gathering in a pasture on his family’s farm on Sept. 24, 2026, in Maryville, Mo. The Schenkel family run a cow calf operation of roughly 200 cattle, raising calves alongside a permanent herd of mostly female cows and a handful of bulls.

John drives a combine traversing through a field of feed corn while talking to his mother, Beverly, who drives the truck that receives the harvested corn. From there, the corn will be transferred to a semi-truck and eventually taken to the local grain elevator. Harvest time is one of the most intense working seasons on a farm, when stretches of good weather mean long hours getting crops out of the fields before rain and colder weather arrive. 

Row after row of dry corn disappears into the combine as John guides it steadily through the field. The repetition can become hypnotic, but the land itself requires attention, with terraces and underground drainage tiles designed to guide water through the rolling fields.

John Alan Schenkel, 63, opens a pasture gate while checking that the family’s cattle are healthy and accounted for. The herds are moved among the farm’s soft, rolling pastures as they graze, part of the constant rhythm of tending cattle on the edges of Maryville.

John Garrett Schenkel, right, meets his father, John Alan Schenkel, near a barn in the morning light. They exchange information before separating for their own tasks. 

Cows stand quietly in the rain as John Garrett Schenkel checks the herd, matching roughly 50 cattle against their ear tag numbers on his phone. He says he is able to recognize some without looking at the numbers, identifying them by the individual markings he has come to know.

John Garrett Schenkel stops along a country road after seeing his father. Even on days spent largely alone, father and son remain connected, meeting briefly to exchange information and check in before heading off again.

Scottie Schenkel, 2, gently tucks freshly collected eggs into an apron handmade by her neighbor. When John makes it home early enough, these smaller chores become something he can share with Scottie and his wife, Katie, 25. 

John Garrett Schenkel leaves his pickup in a field and walks out to clear brush before the sun rises over the farm. The red sky illuminates the cloud formations, it can indicate the weather that determines the pace of the work day. 

Before the rest of his family wakes, John sits alone at the kitchen island with his morning cortado, reviewing the work ahead on his computer. The kitchen light illuminates the house in the quiet hours before sunrise, as another day on the farm begins.