By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

You could say farming is in Terry Vinduska‘s blood.

The Marion man grew up on the same farm his father did. Before that, it was where his grandfather lived and farmed. Now it’s where his daughter and son-in-law farm and operate a seed operation.

Vinduska, long an activist for corn growing and marketing, received a 2023 Kansas Corn Impact Award last month from the Kansas Corn Growers Association.

Vinduska’s advice to young people thinking of starting careers in farming is to spend time doing something else before settling down on the farm.

That could be going to trade school or a university, working in a different field, or whatever they want to try.

“Then come back and you’ll appreciate it a whole lot more,” Vinduska said. “When you’re committing to a farm, you’re committing to a lifestyle.”

When he went to Kansas State University after high school, Vinduska didn’t have any thoughts of returning to the family farm.

“I got a great job with Hesston Corp.,” he said.

As time went on, he and his wife decided his schedule of seldom being home made the “great job” not so appealing.

“I came back to the farm in 1975,” Vinduska said.

Since then, Vinduska has been a state and national leader in the corn industry. He is past president of the U.S. Grains Council, for which he visited many other countries to help with trade agreements.

Although Vinduska is retiring from his involvement in Kansas Corn, he plans to remain an advocate for corn growers and remain on the board of directors of a group called Sustainable Corn Exports.

A sustainable grower takes care of the land and is concerned about preserving the land, he said.

That includes doing such things as using adequate fertilizer without overusing it, and rotating crops.

“I hope my legacy has always been about the kind of man I am. I hope my legacy has always been about helping the next generation,” Vinduska said.