This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dix Roberts, 88, and Ruth Roberts, 82, a married couple who run Roberts Family Farms in Utah with their family, including their son, Tyson, who joined them for the interview. Both still do some physical labor, though they’ve slowed down somewhat. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Dix: Our farm started with my second great-grandfather, Levi. My family farmed dairy until the 1930s, and then they grew vegetable crops that they sold to markets.
My first memories of the farm are when I was four or five. We brought in hay to our big red barn, and my job was to help move the horse.
Ruth: When we got married, he was in the Army. He served for two years, and we farmed after that.
I was not raised on a farm, so that first year was difficult because I didn’t understand things. I became the main truck driver for onions, potatoes, corn, and any other crops. I loved the farm and the way of life.
We still help run the farm with our son, Tyson, and the rest of our family because we enjoy it, and we don’t plan on retiring.
Taking over the farm
Dix: In 1970, we purchased the farm that had been in the family since the homestead times but was lost during the Depression. My dad died in his 70s. It was then, in the early 1980s, that Ruth and I took full control.
There was a time when the farm was up to 400 acres of vegetable crops. My father would buy 300 to 400 calves, and we would feed them during the winter. When my father died, my brother and I decided we would just focus on the crops.
In 10 years, we had it paid for, so we had some backing that we could use if we needed to borrow money, but we couldn’t afford life or medical insurance at some points.
Ruth: When we had all seven of our children home, it was pretty frugal at times. We’ve always tried to have the philosophy that when a bill comes, you pay your bill, and you pay it in full. You try not to put things on credit. When they were in school, we shopped at secondhand stores a lot, and they still do.
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We can do what we want now, and if we wanted to take a trip, we could probably do so. We’ve never been ones to spend a lot of money on vacations, and we’re happy doing what we’re doing.
Technology has changed drastically
Dix: Over the years, we’ve tried drip irrigation, which uses less water. It’s been a blessing to see the changes. I saw the first tractor come onto the farm.
Ruth: The biggest change I’ve seen in my lifetime is the cellphone. If I had a phone back then, when he was out in all these different fields, life would’ve been much easier.
Tyson: One of dad’s roles has been and continues to be product development. We’ll put an idea in his head of a piece of machinery that we need, and he’ll lose sleep a few nights over it.
He’ll design it during the night and start implementing it when he wakes up in the morning. He’s got a very keen mind for solving problems and developing equipment that makes farming easy for us.
Taking on less work
Dix: I’m slowing down now. I’m doing the amount of work that I can do while feeling safe doing it. My sons are doing most of the work, and I’m able to choose the jobs I like to do.
I help control the weeds, which is an easy job. I ride a four-wheeler with a 15-gallon tank on the side and a 100-foot hose. My grandkids help us with some projects. We have 24 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren.
We spend more than 15 hours working on the farm, as we attend two markets every weekend.
Tyson: Our average income varies but is between $50,000 and $150,000 a year. We only earn revenue from mid-July until the end of October.
My parents built a beautiful home about an hour away 25 years ago, but they still drive here often, especially during farming season. We built a bunkhouse in my backyard on the farm so they have a place to stay when they’re down here.
Ruth: We still go to farmers’ markets and sell Tyson’s crops. We enjoy being able to tell people about the crops we grow. We’ve been selling in Murray, Utah, for over 30 years. Our customers are like family.
We did sell part of the farm. We told people that we didn’t have a lot of money, and to live, we would sell one acre one year and two acres the next. Our farm is now about 30 acres.
Dix: Between my brother and me, we’ve also got almost 500 acres in Box Elder County that we lease out. That investment has tripled in value in about 20 years. That’s where our retirement is based — buying low and selling high.
No plans to retire
Ruth: We’ve always said you need to keep your mind and body active. When we get up every day, we’re just glad we can do the things we want to do, but you have to have a reason.
Tyson got all of my siblings and their kids to help harvest the garlic once, which would take him two or three weeks on his own. We had four generations on the farm harvesting garlic. We got the entire patch done in three hours. Our other son taught them how to braid garlic. We were amazed at the turnout.
Dix: It’s hard to say what’s going to happen with the last piece of land. We made the best choices we could, and the next generation will have challenges. Our children will divide the farm equally, and it’ll be up to them how that will work.
I’m still enjoying watching things grow and flourish. Developers keep hounding us and saying we could make $1M if we sold, but I don’t want to be the one to do so.
I like challenges and working toward goals. One of my motivations now is finding things that need to be fixed.
Ruth: People ask in the market, “When is he going to retire?” I say, “Why do I want him to retire when he loves doing what he’s doing?”
I don’t think you plan for retirement. Healthwise, we try to do the best we can, and then we’ll just see what the future brings. As long as we can keep working on the farm, we will, because that’s where our love is.