History
Farm roots run deep in Greene County for both Ethan and Penny (Seely) Cox. Anthony Seely, brick layer, farmer and entrepreneur, came to Greene County in 1823 from St. Louis, Missouri. He made his first investment in eighty acres of prairie land west of White Hall. He was a progressive businessman and at one time owned more than two thousand acres in the area. Americus (1849-1934), and son, Claude, (1878-1938) farmed in the area. Claude’s son and Penny’s father, Glen Carpenter Seely (1904-1975) farmed his entire life in Hillview.
In 1852, Joseph Cox (1801-1878), his wife, and several of their children traveled by covered wagon from Ohio to homestead southwest of White Hall. One of their children, William Daniel Cox (1845-1925), was a sharecropper. His son, Benjamin Frederick Cox (1879-1966), farmed southwest of White Hall his entire life. Fred’s son and Ethan’s father, John Daniel Cox (1914-1990), also farmed.
Ethan got his start in farming with his father, John, and rented his first farm in 1968, a year before Ethan and Penny married. John and Ethan grew corn and beans and had cow-calf pairs. Ethan and Penny received the first FHA participation loan in Greene County in 1971 to purchase the farm where they live today. Ethan added feeder pigs to the mix in the 1970’s until 1998, at which time he focused more on grain production. Ethan expanded grain and hay production in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. In 2006, Ethan built cattle feedlots to expand the cattle operation. Today, Ethan and Penny live within a mile from where Ethan’s parents and grandparents lived and farmed. Maria, one of Ethan and Penny’s daughters, became the sixth generation of both families to farm in 2012.
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Our Team
Owner/Operator
Maria Cox
Graduated from University of IL in 2006 with a B.S. in Agribusiness and Purdue University with a M.S. in Ag Economics in 2008. Returned to farm in 2012. Field operations, hay sales, marketing, finance, and purchasing. In her free time, you can most likely find her watching Illini basketball, fishing, or on a local trail riding her bike.
Owner/operator
Ethan Cox
51 years of farming knowledge. Feeds cattle every day. Cover crop planting expert. The visionary. In his spare time he enjoys following the cattle markets and watching westerns.
Owner/Operator
Penny Cox
Penny and Ethan have been married for 51 years. She is not only the mom, grandma, and cook of the family, but she also handles all of the bookwork and finances of the business.
Operations
Justin Damm
Justin has helped here full-time for 13 years. He is that guy who can do it all…from hauling grain, to welding, to working with cattle, to planting crops. His CB handle “hay hauler” is fitting as he hauls thousands of round bales to hay customers each year.
Operations
Charlie Steinacher
After a 40 year career at Kroger, Charlie has been our hay mower for over 20 years. He is the most prompt guy guy on the farm and the best country singer in the neighborhood.
Operations
Danny Cotter
Danny aka Uncle Danny has emerged from retirement every year since 1997 to ted hay and run the grain cart. In 2019 he lost his cell phone in the hay field so the best way to contact him is via 2-way radio.
Operations
Faan Esterhuizen
Faan joined us in March of 2020. He is a sheep, cattle, and crop farmer from South Africa and helps us with spring fieldwork, the summer hay season, and fall harvest.