For Jill Harker, her passion for the livestock industry is something that has come naturally to her. She was born into it. She and her husband, Dan, alongside their two boys, Luke and Chase, have carried on their families combined twelve generations of raising Angus and Simmental cattle with Harker Simmentals. With her passion for the industry and her involvement in her family’s cattle operation, you’ll soon understand why Jill Harker was selected as the 2020 Best of the Barns Show Mom of the Year.
Jill is honored to be the seventh generation to continue the history of her family, and she even prouder that her sons are choosing to do the same. When we sat down with Jill a quote, she said stuck out to us. “Some believe that without our history, our lives amount to nothing. At some point, we have to choose, do we fall back in what we know or do we step forward into the unknown. Our history is what shapes us, what guides us, we have to remember that sometimes that the most important history is the history that we are making today.” For Jill, she is grateful for what the six generations of her family did before her but is proud that she has an eighth-generation to continue on the legacy. Her wish is to keep her family firmly grounded on the history that came before them and focuses on the narrative going forward.
To maintain the tradition and continue with her family’s history, Jill stays heavily involved in their Angus and Simmental operation. When asked what her day-to-day role was at Harker Simmentals, Jill laughed at said, “I’m the Jack of all Trades, Master of None at Harker Simmentals.” Anything from record keeping in the office to getting cattle in off the pasture, Jill has done it all while also balancing her work life at Farm Credit Mid-America. You could use a lot of phrases to explain what being a show mom encompasses, but the term that comes to Jill’s mind is “You’ve got to have grit.” “Grit is being able to wake up at 3:30, get everybody rounded up and ready to go, be there for your kids no matter how they placed. It’s going through all of the motions throughout the day and being able to sit down at the end of the day and say ‘I wouldn’t trade my life for anything,’” states Jill.
Raising her boys to go out into the world and be successful, strong, and independent is one of Jill’s favorite parts of being a show mom. “For me, it’s to see how each one of them has developed into their own person. And Danny and I have realized that we have provided our boys with enough experiences to teach them right from wrong, that they will be great adults.” Jill remarked. There’s a lot of things that can make a mom proud, but one of the most rewarding is seeing the fruits of your labor pay off with your kids, and knowing that they are going to grow up to be successful adults is genuinely gratifying.
There is no question why our industry chose Jill Harker as the 2020 Best of the Barns Show Mom of the Year. With her history, her passion, and her grit, she is truly one of the best. Today, on this Mother’s Day, we want to honor Jill, and all of the other amazing show mom’s in our industry for their passion and dedication to raising our next generation of farmers, ranchers, cattlemen, and livestock enthusiasts.