By RHIANNON BRANCH
Note: This story is being published with permission from FarmWeekNow.com.
Growing corn and soybeans has been an integral part of David Bliss’ life for the past 70 years. And now, at age 87, he’s parking the combine.
“I’ve got Parkinson’s disease and I’m getting worse all the time,” Bliss told FarmWeek. “There’s no cure for it and I want to spend a little time while I’m still able to get around to just kind of relax and enjoy life.”
The Knox County farmer planted his first crop, alongside his dad, as a high school senior in the spring of 1956. He subleased ground the next year and farmed in between classes at the University of Illinois.
A yearlong stint in ground communications with the U.S. Air National Guard didn’t keep him from farming. He put 30,000 miles on a car during that time driving back and forth from the base in Peoria to the farm to keep things running.
Seven decades later, he has only some paperwork left to do before his official retirement. Bliss plans to rent his land, and the equipment will go up for auction in February.
Despite an interesting growing season, his final crop was one for the books.
“On almost 1,000 acres of corn we’re averaging close to 260 bushels per acre,” he said. “And we’ve had a tremendous year in soybeans. I can’t believe we’ve had beans up to almost 90 bushels.”
“To anyone that’s involved in farming — do the best you can and do what you can to serve your community.” — David Bliss
Bliss said it was a weird weather year, but his farm always seemed to get rain right when it needed it.
“In terms of total moisture, we’re quite a bit short, but when it got to where we were critical, we’d have a nice shower come up, just enough that everything clicked,” he said.
Looking back, Bliss noted advancements in machinery as one of the biggest changes throughout his farming career.
“My dad was still planting corn with a team of horses when I was just a little tot and I was running a steel wheel John Deere tractor in the field when I was 7 years old. That’s changed tremendously,” he recalled, noting his current equipment is GPS compatible.
Bliss became a Knox County Farm Bureau member in 1957 and served two terms on the board throughout his membership for a total of 20 years. He received the Knox Agri Center Meritorious Service to Agriculture Award in 2014 and he and his wife, Brenda, were key contributors to the county’s centennial celebration in 2018.
Bliss said a big highlight of his Farm Bureau membership has been attending marketing club meetings for the past 30 years.
“We invite different people in to go over markets with us and we study them,” he said. “It has been a real asset. We’ve had a lot of good information and been able to use that to our advantage for profits.”
Bliss said his fondest memories while farming are of planting and harvest, knowing he will miss those the most in retirement. But he enjoys traveling, something he did not get to do often as a farmer, so one of the first things on his list is to see fall foliage in the eastern U.S. with his wife.
Although he won’t be farming, Bliss will remain an admirable figure in the agriculture community.
“David is so knowledgeable, respected and someone that everyone looks up to,” said Knox County Farm Bureau Executive Director Hailey Hennenfent. “When he speaks, everyone listens.”
Bliss’ words of advice after 70 years of farming: “To anyone that’s involved in farming — do the best you can and do what you can to serve your community.”
