Name: Ben Huber
In Town: Ben has been a Diesel Technician for Diamond International in Joplin, Mo., for 10 years. He spends his days servicing big rigs and doing all the work necessary to keep them on the road.
In the Country: Ben lives in the small community of Kenoma, Mo. He rents 600 acres of cropland and runs 22 head of cattle. He keeps his heifers and markets his steers to local families looking for high quality home-grown beef. Ben researches to find the most efficient ways to get the job done and has extensively modified and upgraded older equipment to fit his purposes. He utilizes No-Till and minimum tillage methods to save time and improve the quality of his soil. He even custom made several implements to serve specific purposes in his operation.
What have you learned at work that helps you on the farm?
“When you have been at work all day, and you are trying to get your field work done after dark, you can’t have any surprises. Don’t hold anything back on maintenance. If you think something might need replaced during the season, even something minor, do it before you go to the field.” At Ben’s job, he does a lot of routine service on commercial trucks. While he is doing the basic maintenance, it is also part of his job to find and fix problems before they happen. He treats his equipment the same way.
How do you manage your time?
Ben says he is a family man. He spends as much time as he can with his wife Leann and his three small children Aleena, four, Aubrie, two years old, and Silas, 10 months. He also helps his father with his farming and hog operation. Though Ben does a lot for his family, he acknowledged, “They help me more than I help them.” His father, Tom, and Leann also, often helps him in the field, even into the early morning hours when necessary. Ben works hard, but he doesn’t accept the credit for his accomplishments. “God gives us everything we need.”
By Adam Stratton
