Building From the Ground Up

Robert Lager is a leader in soil conservation and community service in northwest Missouri.

- By Lisa Foust Prater

Success can be measured in many ways, but having three children follow in your footsteps is one indication you've done something right.

Robert Lager took over the family farm south of Maryville, Missouri, when he was just 20 years old, and now has 40 seasons under his belt. He and wife Terri raised sons Shelby and Fritz and daughter Anna on the farm Robert's parents bought in 1957. Today, Robert farms 3,000 acres of corn and soybeans, has 120 cow-calf pairs, and does custom farming.

Shelby works with Robert and has his own cattle and cropland. He and wife Tannah just welcomed their first child, a son named Hesston, a few months ago. Shelby earned a degree in ag science from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville, which is also his dad's alma mater.

The younger Lager children also decided to stay close to home and go to Northwest Missouri State. Fritz is a junior studying ag science, and Anna is a freshman majoring in ag business.

Generations of Conservation

Caring for the soil is one of Robert's primary missions. "It was instilled in me from my father," he says. "He bought this farm and started terracing it. I finished terracing it, then I bought a couple of farms around here, and soil conservation has been one of my top priorities."

In the 1980s, a neighbor started using no-till practices. "I couldn't even imagine what he was doing there by not working the ground," Robert says. "I tried it the next year on a little bit of ground and now I'm 99% no-till."