Wheelock family recognized for Heritage Farm

(Editor’s note: this is the third of three stories profiling this year’s Heritage Farm honorees from Grundy County. The Millers of Beaman and the Shellers of Ivester were also recognized at the state fair in August)
 
CONRAD- Although longtime Conrad area farmer Calvin Wheelock didn’t live to see his family honored for its Heritage Farm at the state fair last month, his presence was felt all around as his three children accepted the award in Des Moines.
 
Gerald Wheelock of Huntsville, Alabama, Russel Wheelock of Independence, Missouri and Bonnie (Wheelock) Harmon of Omaha were all on hand for the ceremony and joined two other Grundy County families in being honored this year. Since 1993, the 80-acre farm, located north of Conrad, has been operated through a trust and is rented to a local farmer in the area, and it was first purchased by Simon Daggett in 1867.
 
“The local community is still a big part of maintaining the 80 acres,” Gerald said.
 
Calvin, who passed away in 2004 at the age of 92, had a story familiar to many farmers of his time: he worked through the turbulent years of the Great Depression and always believed firmly in soil conservation practices to prolong the life of the land. 
 
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