Farming as a Family: The Waldschmidts

There is much to admire about those who work hard in silence. They’re guaranteed to be kind, humble and people you can rely on. What they probably won’t be is someone to jump into the spotlight. This rings true for the Waldschmidts; they exemplify the importance of family and working together toward common goals.

For the Waldschmidts, farming runs in their blood.

“It goes back clear to the beginning,” Ron Waldschmidt said. “We were always farmers. My grandfather, my great grandfather, both sides of the family, they were all farmers.”

The Waldschmidt family has spent several generations farming in their township, four of which have been on the same home farm.

“The farm where we live, my grandfather bought it in 1938,” Ron said.

Ron is the third generation on his family’s row crop operation in Iowa City. Preceding Ron on the family operation were his parents, Harold and Helen Waldschmidt, and his grandparents, Louis and Alice Waldschmidt.

Today, Ron works alongside his son, Mike Waldschmidt, and two of Mike’s children, Alyssa Moran and Clayton Waldschmidt. Both Alyssa and Clayton have brought with them their unique experiences and skills to the operation.

“[Clayton] does the mechanics stuff a lot better than I ever could,” Alyssa said, “and I do more of the agronomy.”

While each member of the operation has a little bit of their own ground, the family works together to tackle the growing season.

“It’s really a family affair,” Ron said.

A Long History

The Waldschmidts have been and continue to be exceptional people to work alongside in many ways. Multiple generations of the Waldschmidts have placed trust in Stutsmans, something we certainly don’t take lightly.

One such showing of faith dates back to the start of Stutsman’s involvement in fertilizer. Around 1964, Ron Stutsman, our Chairman of the Board, held his very first fertilizer meeting and invited five local farmers. One of them was Ron Waldschmidt’s father, Harold. After the meeting, Harold trusted Ron Stutsman to apply a little bit of 41% liquid nitrogen that year.

“I didn’t get all of [the five local farmers in attendance’s] business,” Ron Stutsman remarked, “but if I would have gotten all of their business, I couldn’t have done it.”

In addition to the agronomy side of things, the Waldschmidts were one of our early grain bin customers. Special Project Lead, Roger Slaughter, recalls going on service calls to the Waldschmidt bin site in the ’70s.

“You couldn’t ask for a better customer in a lot of ways,” Roger said.

The relationship between the Waldschmidts and Stutsmans grew even more when Alyssa spent some time with our agronomy team as an intern and a sales agronomist before returning to farm with her family.

From the very beginnings of Stutsmans to now, we’re proud of the partnership we have still standing strong with the Waldschmidts.

Reflecting on the Waldschmidt Farm Throughout the Years

Ron Waldschmidt has witnessed many changes on the farm from the time he was a young boy until now, especially in equipment. Some of Ron’s earliest farm memories include the team of horses his parents had when he was around three to four years old.

“We hooked them onto the wagon,” Ron said, “and we went around the outside of the field and we’d pick corn to open up the field for the picker.”

This team of horses was also used to seed oats, which served as the fertilizer program of the time.

Then, when Ron was a few years older, they got a little VAC Case tractor to replace some of the jobs the horses performed before. As farming equipment continued to advance, the Waldschmidts were eventually able to get their first combine.

“We started out with our AC (Allis Chalmers) combine my dad had,” Ron said. “It was 5’, and of course, a pull type.”

When Ron got out of high school, he helped pay for his first combine, a self-propelled 45 John Deere.

“It didn’t have a cab on it,” Ron said. “We ran that for 10 years.”

Ron recalls the days of using two- and three-bottom moldboard plows, along with the push to get the ground plowed before it froze. He’s also experienced advancement in chemicals such as the introduction of herbicides.

For Mike, some of the biggest advancements he’s witnessed have been in yield monitors and other electronics as precision ag has taken off.

Alyssa and Clayton will also certainly see many evolutions as they carry on the operation, which they speculate might be more automation, a focus on carbon farming and continued consolidation in the industry.

While the Waldschmidt operation has seen many changes in equipment and practices, what hasn’t changed is how members of the family, no matter their age, work together to get the job done.

Keeping Up the Farming Tradition

“Our long-term goals are to keep farming our farm,” Ron said. “It’s been in the family some time, and I would sure like to keep it that way.”

Mike echoed his father’s sentiment by saying his goal was also to “keep it in the family.”

Ron and Mike’s caretaking mindset has ensured their farm is in a good place to be ready for the next generation when the time arises. Their love for what they do has also instilled a passion for their occupation in Alyssa and Clayton.

“Farming … there’s a good opportunity there, but you gotta have it in your blood,” Ron said. “It’s gotta be your cup of tea, but it’s a heck of a good occupation and a great way to raise a family.”

Both Alyssa and Clayton have fond memories of growing up on the farm, even though a few of those memories include a few mishaps while learning to operate equipment. Alyssa remembers the many heart attacks she gave her dad while learning to drive a semi, and Clayton recalls the time he learned to drive a tractor.

“I didn’t know the difference between a clutch and a brake,” Clayton said. “I pushed in on the clutch and rolled into a fuel barrel.”

Beyond the many learning experiences, Alyssa and Clayton cherish the time they’ve been able to spend with their grandpa and dad.

“I spent a lot of time in a combine cab with [my grandpa],” Alyssa said.

The opportunity to grow up on the farm surrounded by family is something Alyssa is thankful her daughters get to have today.

“I’ve got my daughters,” Alyssa said, “and I’m pretty excited to see them grow up in and around farming like we did and farming the family farm. [My daughters] get to spend time with great grandpa, which is not something every girl gets to do.”

For the Waldschmidts, farming truly runs in their blood. It is their heritage and what has brought them to where they are today. It is also their future — one which is filled with the next generation in place to continue the legacy started by those before them.