OWNER SPOTLIGHT: Steve Howley

Pictured above: Steve Howley and his wife, Marilyn.

Meet our owner spotlight from the Republic, Kansas location, STEVE HOWLEY. Steve grew up on a farming operation, went to school, and began a career at his local cooperative. In 1994 his father-in-law was looking to retire so the opportunity came available for him to take over the operation. Steve jumped at the chance.

“One of the main reasons we moved back to the farm was driven by our family,” Steve said. “I was working a lot of long hours on the agronomy and grain side of the business at the cooperative and it was hard to balance everything with family time. Coming home to farm gave me more flexibility in my schedule. I could take off to go to kids’ activities and it has been very rewarding to get to manage my own schedule.”

Steve said it is very gratifying to take his agronomics training and apply that to his own farming operation.

“I have always enjoyed the agronomic part of farming,” he said. “Being in the field for me has always been a good stress reliever. I enjoy putting the seed in the ground and raising a good crop. I enjoy learning something from trying new things. It is so rewarding to see the crop come in at harvest, better than expected.”

Steve has been working closely with Aurora Cooperative ever since we opened our doors in the southern territory of the Hardy, Byron, and Republic locations.

“I have been fortunate to have known a lot of the Aurora Cooperative employees for years and some of them are even family,” Steve said. “I worked with Rick Albertson before he was with Aurora Cooperative and I trust his opinions, his knowledge, and his skills. Aurora Cooperative is a good fit for my operation not only because of its proximity to my farm but because they have quality information and stay up-to-date on new products that are available for me to try to continue to improve my operation. They are very timely, and they are good at getting me whatever I need.”