Yenter Family Farms – grit, purpose & good beef raised right

Some farms are born from inheritance. Others begin with nothing more than a bottle calf and the quiet resolve to build something worth handing down.

For Jim Yenter of Marengo, Iowa, farming wasn’t passed on – it was pieced together from childhood summers in the tractor seat, ten years in the National Guard, and a family willing to start from scratch.

A dream that waited for its moment

Jim didn’t grow up in rural Iowa, but his summers were spent on his grandfather’s and uncle’s farms. At seven or eight years old, they trusted him with a tractor and the responsibility to go solve problems on his own. That early taste of independence never left him.

After high school, he set his dream of farming aside and joined the military. He served for a decade, including a deployment to Afghanistan – years that shaped his discipline, resilience, and leadership. But that meant time away from home.

His daughter was only six months old when he left. He missed her first steps, first words, whole stretches of her growing up. When his son was born, he knew he couldn’t keep missing moments he could never get back.

He and his wife sat down, looked at their options, and made a decision together: if he was going to leave the military, it would be to finally pursue the life he had wanted since childhood.

And so they started from the ground up.

From one Hereford bottle calf to a working farm

Yenter Family Farms began with one Hereford bottle calf the kids raised for 4-H – a heifer who is still in the herd today at 14 years old, now surrounded by daughters and granddaughters.

Jim formally started the farm in 2010 after leaving the military. For years he rented his grandfather’s 80 acres, working the same ground season after season until more opportunities gradually opened. Neighbours noticed the way he cared for his soil and livestock, and over time, more acres followed.

Today the operation spans about 400 acres of pasture, hay, and non-GMO soybeans and waxy corn.

The cropping side matters. Jim chose systems that fit the land and keep inputs practical. Being first-generation means every acre has to pull its weight. Small efficiencies – cattle grazing crop residue, cover crops following row crops, integrating livestock whenever possible – all compound over time.

The herd remains anchored in Herefords: calm, dependable, consistent, and efficient, with the meat being naturally tender and well-marbled.

Pasture-to-plate – with respect at every step

Jim’s philosophy is straightforward:

I don’t sell anything I wouldn’t want my family to eat.

Yenter Family Farms keeps the whole process close to home. Calves are born, raised, finished, and processed locally, creating a clear, transparent line from pasture to plate.

Their beef programme reflects Jim’s values:

• Pasture raised and grain finished
• No growth hormones
• No antibiotics unless an animal genuinely needs them
• Cattle graze diverse pastures, cover crops, and row-crop residue
• Quality feed, quality genetics, and quality animal husbandry

The direct-to-consumer side grew steadily over the years. In 2020, when national supply chains faltered, more families turned to local farms – and Jim’s orders jumped from quarters to halves, and then whole beef. Growth came not from elaborate marketing, but from trust – customers who knew exactly who raised their food and how.

Finding strength in the hard days

Farming hands out challenges: breakdowns, storms, cattle out just before church, long days that start before sunrise and stretch long after dark.

Jim says what keeps him going is simple: his kids. They were raised to push through the tough days, not quit when things get hard, and appreciate the everyday small wins.

And those wins are everywhere if you pay attention. Jim talks about being grateful for the “little” things:

• a beautiful sunrise
• a new calf taking its first steps
• cattle settling onto lush pasture
• working with great animals
• being around people who share his passion
• seeing God’s work in the everyday rhythm of the farm

These are the moments that make this lifestyle worthwhile.

Rooted in community

Jim’s commitment extends beyond his own farm. He has served on:

• the local Lutheran school board
• his church board
• the county extension council

For him, farming is not isolated work – it is tied to community, stewardship, and showing up where he’s needed.

Building something worth handing down

First-generation farming demands resilience. Progress comes slowly, sometimes painfully, one season at a time. But for Jim, satisfaction comes from building something with integrity – something solid enough that one of his children, or even a future grandchild, might one day choose to carry it forward.

His hope isn’t for size or scale. It’s for continuity, character, and the understanding that honest work matters.

What he hopes customers feel

More than anything, Jim wants customers to feel assured – to know they’re buying beef raised by a family who respects their animals, their land, and the people they feed.

He hopes people see the intention behind every decision: the cattle genetics he chooses, the feed he grows, the calm nature of the herd, the local processing, and the care that shapes every step from conception to harvest.

What he offers isn’t complicated.

As he put it plainly:

I just want my customers to get a quality product at a fair price.

For Jim Yenter, that’s what farming is meant to be – honest work, healthy animals, and food you can trust from a farm built with grit, purpose, and the hope of a generation yet to come.