Meet Tim, Jill, and their family, who are part of the fifth generation of Tureks who have been passionately farming in Sumner County for over 30 years. The Turek family’s farming legacy began with Tim’s great-great-grandfather, who farmed in Nebraska for two decades. Unfortunately, he passed away while traveling to south central Kansas to participate in the 1893 land run from Caldwell with his pregnant wife, three sons, and two daughters, who ranged in age from one to twenty-one years old. His wife passed away the following spring while helping to dig a water well on their newly acquired farm near Renfrow, Oklahoma. Joseph, one of the deceased’s sons, was only twelve years old when this happened.

Despite the setback, Joseph bought the farm from his older brother a few years later and then farmed there until 1927. He then sold the farm and purchased several quarters in Sumner County, where he moved to one of them, northwest of Caldwell. His sons, John James and George, Tim’s grandfather, spent their entire lives farming. Tim’s parents, Gene and Joy, began farming and raising their family north of South Haven in the late 60s. Even though Tim, Greg (Tim’s brother), and their families have individual farms, they still work closely together.

Tim and Jill’s story began in 1994 when Tim helped Jill escape the city life by bringing her to Corbin, Kansas, and, eventually, to their current farm north of South Haven. Since then, Jill has been working on and off the farm, and the family gained a new crop of three daughters: Whitney, Paige, and Rachel. Whitney and Paige graduated from the College of Agriculture at Oklahoma State University. Whitney works for Koch Industries in the Koch Ag Services division, while Paige began working on the farm a year and a half ago. Rachel attended KSU and will be starting nursing school at KU in Kansas City this fall. The Turek family’s farming legacy continues to thrive, thanks to their passion and dedication to their work.