Five generations strong: Berner family celebrates farming legacy
Melvin and Tucker Berner are nurturing their family legacy on their family farm in Calhoun County, Iowa, as they combine together just like they did a decade ago.
Melvin and Tucker Berner are nurturing their family legacy on their family farm in Calhoun County, Iowa, as they combine together just like they did a decade ago.
Melvin and Tucker Berner are nurturing their family legacy on their family farm in Calhoun County, Iowa, as they combine together just like they did a decade ago.
Grandpa and grandson duo, Melvin and Tucker Berner, are cultivating more than crops on the Berner Family Farm; they are preserving a legacy that has endured for generations.
Melvin Berner recalled, "[Tucker] used to ride with me in the combine."
Tucker Berner added, "I just remember sitting up there and watching him click a bunch of buttons."
The Berner Family Farm will mark its 150th anniversary next summer. So, for Tucker Berner, learning how to harvest was not optional.
"It's been in the family for a long time, and I hope it can stay that way," Melvin Berner said.
"Five generations before me have led to this point. And I hope to see the 200th year," Tucker Berner said, reflecting on the family’s deep roots.
Melvin Berner’s passion for farming runs just as deep.
"That's all I ever wanted to do. And I did it for 65 years," he said. Now 83, he still joins his grandson in the combine, even though he has to use a forklift to get up.
As Tucker Berner has grown older, their time together in the field has become less frequent.
"He's involved in sports, and I don't get around anymore like I should or would like to. And, yeah, I miss him," Melvin Berner said.
But they both reminisce on the good memories when they can.
"It's a blessing. I mean, I'm just glad, you know, he can come out some days and just get in the combine with me," Tucker Berner said.
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