My name is Russ VonBehren. I was born in the early 1970’s. I was raised on a hog and crop farm near the Wapsipinicon River north of Olin, a small town in eastern Iowa. I spent my youth working on the family farm and on numerous other farms in and near our community. When I wasn’t working on the farm, I was hunting, trapping and fishing. While most people were sleeping, I was night fishing for catfish on the river bank or listening to my Walker coonhounds ring throughout the valley. Times were tough due to the 1980s farm crisis, but I bought my first truck with money made from selling furs, shoveling manure, or stacking small square hay bales for all of the neighboring farmers. I also enjoyed sports, especially playing linebacker for the Olin Lions football team.
I married my high school sweetheart and we raised 3 children a half mile from where I grew up. My professional career included working construction, doing project management, and managing 2 truss manufacturing plants for 16 years. In 2008 I returned to my roots and started an excavation business and a family farm consisting of crops and registered angus cattle. My wife and I are also proud to have four grandchildren with another on the way due to arrive in April.
Off the farm, I previously served on the Iowa Trappers Association for 13 years and Turn In Poachers of Iowa for 12 years, along with being involved in many local boards and committees. I also found time to coach several of my kids sports teams. I am presently on the Jones County Conservation Board, of which I have served for 25 years, and I am happy to be returning to the TIP Board as it serves a cause that I truly believe in. |
