BLUE MOUND, Ill. (WAND) — Susan and Malcolm Head are being honored as 2024 Master Farmer's at Prairie Farmer magazine's annual event at the end of March.
"We know other people who have been nominated. So, it's always something that you would attain, but it's actually just an honor to be nominated and then also, it humbles us to be selected," Malcolm Head said.
The award is a lifetime achievement award for farmers that raise good crops and families, while playing a role in their communities.
"We just have done our life as we would've done it," Susan Head said. "We've had wonderful mentors through our lives that have showed us the way through agriculture, we both both studied Ag in college, and we both grew up on farms, so agriculture has been in our lives forever."
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The Heads have grown their operation immensely in the nearly 40 years that they've been working the farm.
Malcolm and Susan Head, Macon County. Malcolm and Susan live near Blue Mound. They farm with sons Rollin and Alex, and grow corn, soybeans, seed corn and beans, wheat, hay and alfalfa, and raise 450 commercial cows while and 300 feeder cattle. The Heads were nominated by the Illinois Beef Association.Â
"We started in 1988 with 13 cows in Leroy, Illinois. We moved down here and took over her father's operation in 1995," Malcolm said, gesturing towards his wife. "We were farming 700 acres and we had probably 30 cows at that time. Now today we have 450 cows, we do custom embryos, and we farm about 4500 acres."
The Heads are honored to receive the award and recognition, but they've committed their life to the farm for different reasons.
"We are back on the farm with four generations," said Susan. "My parents are 91 and 96, then Malcolm and I came into the operation, and we've brought back both of the boys — who are men, and now our grandchildren are involved in the farm."
Susan and Malcolm will be presented the award on March 28th in Bloomington.
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