Jeff Steingass Owner and Operater of School Creek Farms

 

Biography

SCHOOL CREEK FARMS

      School Creek Farms is truly a dream come true. I didn’t grow up on a farm, yet as far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a farmer.When I was just a young kid playing in a sandbox with toy tractors and dump trucks with I dreamed of being a farmer. Considering that start up costs for a farm are nearly prohibitive except for all but the most financially secure. My dream seemed to remain exactly that. My parents weren’t wealthy, nor did they own a farm. That didn’t stop me from dreaming of one day running my own operation.
      My Uncle Mel owned a dairy farm and whenever I could. I was out there working with him working in the fields, milking cows, baling hay or doing whatever other chores were needed to be done. When I wasn’t working for my uncle I would sometimes help neighboring farmers work their fields. It was as if soil ran through my veins. Upon graduating from high school 1975, I went to work part time for Paul Pfau who owned School Creek Grain. After several years Mr. Pfau and I became close friends and he decided to retire. Mr. Pfau's children were not interested in farming , so Paul made an offer I couldn’t refuse. He offered School Creek Grain to me. I didn’t hesitate for a moment to take this offer. I took over the operation and renamed it School Creek Farms in 1992.
     When I began running School Creek Farms it amounted to 900 acres. The farm currently consists of 1800 acres. The farm consists of approximately 500 acres of corn, 900 acres of soybeans; 300 acres of  wheat, 30 acres of alfalfa and 70 acres of crp for wildlife. The farm has 80,000 bushel of grain storage. The farm also does custom farm work for many area farmers. This would include field preparation, planting and harvesting.
     Farming will most likely become more specialized than it is today. A greater emphasis will be put on growing specialized crops like high protein corn and lowfat soybeans.
I hope that School Creek Farms will be able to grow in the future.