SEATTLE — The farmer woke early and worked late. He understood that growth was gradual; success took time. For nearly seven years, he operated a hog farm in northwest Iowa. He utilized the rugged physicality formed through college football, playing multiple positions — fullback, tailback, stand-up tight end — for the nearby Buena Vista Beavers.
After graduating with a business administration degree in 1999, he traded football for the family business — tending to the hogs, purchasing grains, negotiating with banks and buyers. He noted that "I grew up on a farm. My dad grew up on a farm. His dad grew up on a farm, et cetera, et cetera."
For a kid from Kingsley, Iowa — a town of 1,411 with the motto, "Some bigger, none better" — this was a profitable, often predestined path. The et ceteras were infinite.
