For anyone who loves sweet corn, this should be music to your ears…it sure is for the Garner family in Adams County. This is their first go at sweet corn in their operation of 5,500 acres of corn, soybeans and cattle. Logan Garner, the eldest Garner child, gives her approval by eating it right off the stalk.

“It makes you feel good to know you’re providing food for people, helping feed America,” said Caroline Garner.

On this day, with the temperature nearing 100 degrees, its roll up your sleeves and “get the job done no matter what” work. From the picker, to the forklift, sorting out the good ears, weighing the bags, and stacking the bag on the pallets.

Even at three, Ben Garner, knows what makes a good ear of sweet corn.

“You have to want to do this to be successful at it because it’s just like anything else,” Dane Garner said. “It all, your success is determined by how much you’re willing to put into it, and just like out here today, it’s 100 and something degrees, it’s hot, the sun is shining, there’s barely any wind blowing, we’re all sweating and it’s work.”

“We want to raise children that we can leave this to at some point,” Caroline said. “We don’t want them to not have a work ethic to continue this, so we want them to see us out here working every day. That way when it’s their turn, they know how to continue this and make it successful for them.”

The Garners are first generation farmers, beginning with just a few hundred acres. Both Dane and Caroline say the reward is growing a crop from the ground up.

“Everybody drives down the road and they see a farm field and they see all this stuff, but they don’t know what goes into it,” Dane said. “And as I grew and got more intrigued by how to make stuff really grow and how to make a good crop, not just a crop, but a good crop.”

“We come out here when it’s just dirt here and we plant a seed and hope the weather cooperates, hope prices cooperate and everything like that, and then when we see the finished product, it’s rewarding,” Caroline said.

Now, both Dane and Caroline work on the Adams County Farm Bureau Board of Directors to spread the message of agriculture in their local community and schools. The Garners are still humbled to think they were chosen as the Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award winner.

“Over the last few years, we’ve really grown a lot,” Dane said. “Our operation is steady growing, our family is growing, our involvement in Farm Bureau is growing, so, you know, we just said, why not?  We’ll try it, let’s go.  So we did and here we are, you know.  It’s definitely a great experience.”