Cultivating a Legacy

Earlier this year, Dr. Gordon Spronk shared his experience in agriculture with Jennifer Vermeer for the In All Things “Faithful Stewardship” series. Now, Dr. Spronk is highlighting how his family continues to cultivate a legacy of generational faithfulness through nurturing a curious mind and humble, life-long learning.

Jennifer Vermeer: Can you share a little about your family’s history with agriculture?

Dr. Gordon Spronk: My grandfather immigrated from Northern Europe around the turn of the century. We're now transitioning to our fourth generation in agriculture here on this continent.

If we go back to the Netherlands, we can trace agriculture more than 10 generations—his father was a farmer, and so on. So, there's a deep, long-standing history of agriculture on my father's side.

Jennifer Vermeer: Can you share a little about what you currently farm and how that compares to previous generations of your family’s agricultural experience?

Dr. Gordon Spronk: Our family farm includes land, crops, and livestock. In previous generations, we were more diversified—dairy, beef, chickens, pigs, and sheep. Now, like most farms, we’ve narrowed our focus. For us, we focus on pork production and crop farming.

In southern Minnesota and eastern South Dakota, that means corn, beans, and some cover crops. We primarily farm corn, beans, and pigs today.

Jennifer Vermeer: When you think about how your parents and grandparents talked about farming, what do you remember?

Dr. Gordon Spronk: It wasn’t so much that they talked about farming as a calling, but we witnessed it. We saw the commitment to animal care and the careful planning of the seasons. Everything had its time: the soil was prepared, the seeds planted, the livestock cared for. Nothing rushed, but everything was done with intention.

I remember daily chores: waking early, feeding animals, cleaning manure. We learned the value of work. Weekends, before and after school, summers— our schedules all revolved around livestock and crops. The rhythms of the seasons and work were deeply ingrained in our lives. That’s where we learned the value of discipline and hard work.

Jennifer Vermeer: What are some of the challenges you've experienced, either personally or generationally, in agriculture?

Dr. Gordon Spronk: One of the biggest external challenges is helping people understand how food is raised. Less than 2%—maybe less than 1%—of the population grows food for everyone else. Most people are now more than one generation removed from the farm. This makes it critical to take every opportunity to tell the story of the good work being done on today’s farms. We seek to make the soil healthier, not destroy or contaminate it. We are aware of our responsibility as animal caretakers and seek to provide our herds with food, water, air and animal care that meet the needs of that responsibility.

Our current culture is concerned with how food is raised and how animals are cared for, but for many, they may have never experienced or seen what farming looks like. We simply respond with an invitation to “come and see.”

Internally, it's also about financial success for generational transfer. We need to ensure we are raising food well and that the operation is successful enough to support the next generation. Challenges include food safety, crop production, soil care, and making sure agriculture remains a viable, fulfilling career to pass down. These aren’t easy conversations, but if we rely on the generational knowledge and the mindset we’ve inherited to find innovative solutions while honoring the principles that have sustained the farm for decades, I think it’s possible to pass down a farm that’s rooted in tradition but open to innovation. That’s what creates long-term success.

Jennifer Vermeer: You mentioned balancing tradition, external pressures, and financial success. Can you speak more about that, especially with new technologies and changing expectations?

Dr. Gordon Spronk: There is a kind of curiosity that is essential in agriculture. We find it necessary to be lifelong learners—constantly looking for better ways to farm, protect the soil, and use our resources efficiently.

Technology is constantly evolving. Just yesterday, I saw drones spraying fields in southern Minnesota. My grandfather would’ve seen that as science fiction, but he’d recognize its value.

My grandfather didn’t know what we know now about seeds, soil, or fertilizer. Today we grow yields and raise pork at levels he couldn’t imagine—not because he wasn’t a good farmer, but because we’ve learned more.

That’s stewardship: leaving things better than we found them. And we're teaching the next generation to do the same. They’ll go even further with technologies we haven’t dreamed of.

Jennifer Vermeer: Have you seen future generations in your family feel pressure or concern that there may not be an opportunity for them in agriculture?

Dr. Gordon Spronk: Well, my mother never wanted me to return to farming. She loved education, but, like many in her generation, her formal education ended after 8th grade. She wanted to make sure her children earned high school, college, and advanced degrees.

She didn’t see agriculture as a good path, but even after seeking higher education, my brother and I chose agriculture anyway.

Now, our children have MBAs, engineering, and finance degrees— training that earlier generations never would have considered necessary for farming. And they, too, are coming back to the farm. It’s deeply fulfilling to see that—not because they had to come back, but because they want to and chose agriculture as a career.

Jennifer Vermeer: You mentioned nurturing curiosity and adaptability, and seeing agriculture as more than just a career, but a calling. How has that been nurtured in you, and how are you passing that on to future generations?

Dr. Gordon Spronk: Some call it nurturing a curious mind, but there's a spiritual aspect to that as well—we’re called to be seekers. “Seek first the Kingdom of the heavens.” That seeking includes asking if there’s a better way to raise crops or livestock.

The posture of a seeker is a strong foundation for a career in agriculture. It’s a global, diverse field—whether it's grapes in Italy, vegetables in California, or corn and beans in the Midwest. That mindset, rooted in generational knowledge and faith, helps us meet the evolving needs of agriculture while staying connected to a bigger purpose.

Jennifer Vermeer: That mindset of being a seeker—you mentioned your children have degrees outside of agriculture. Did they pursue those degrees to bring knowledge back to the farm, or to broaden their options?

Dr. Gordon Spronk: Both—to broaden their opportunities and to gain skills they now apply in agriculture.

I have my grandfather’s financial records from the 1950s. His gross receipts never exceeded $50,000, and he farmed with horses on a sizable operation for the time.

Today, we manage millions of dollars. Skills like administration, accounting, and finance are no longer optional; they’re crucial in agriculture. That’s just the nature of modern agriculture and business.

It's been a blessing to see my children pursue their passions and find ways to use their gifts here.

Jennifer Vermeer: You touched on this earlier, but what do you hope the next generation inherits?

Dr. Gordon Spronk: Today, agriculture can generate and preserve family wealth. I truly believe that when ownership of soil, crops, and livestock stays local, it benefits both the family and the community. The economic model of local ownership needs serious consideration and thought, especially in agriculture. Rural agricultural areas are better served with wealth that remains local or simply put, dollars that remain in the local economy are more beneficial to a local community than if those dollars were exported to Wall Street or foreign ownership.

We live in a free country, so ownership can range from local families to Wall Street, but I believe local ownership is better—for the soil, the business, and the people.

With a sense of pride in ownership, proper training, and generational knowledge transfer, families can succeed for generations—if they plan purposefully.

I further hope that the next generation inherits the understanding that agriculture meets a Kingdom calling even in a culture that questions how food is raised, how food should be consumed, how animals are cared for to name a few current cultural concerns.

Jennifer Vermeer: This series focuses on a rich history of place across landscapes and generations. Is there anything you'd like to add for our readers?

Dr. Gordon Spronk: There are associations—both in Europe and the U.S.—focused on generational transfer, training, and stewardship. One example is the Henokiens, an international association of family-owned companies that have lasted over 200 years. Many have agricultural roots.
To be a member, your company must be family-owned and over two centuries old. That’s a great aspiration for families in agriculture.

What I think is really interesting is the name itself. It comes from Enoch—a man in the Bible who never died. That idea—that something could endure like that—is what inspires me. Why would I work my whole life, just to sell everything in the end? Our hope is to build a family farm that carries on for generations.

Jennifer Vermeer: How do you think that might be possible?

Gordon Spronk: While not all of my children are directly involved in the farm, they are all involved through ownership. Their children are now reaching college age. Even though they haven’t worked on the farm, they could come back—and there’s so much they could do.

If the farm stays together as a family business, agriculture can be the foundation for a wide range of careers. We need insurance—maybe one of them starts an insurance business. We need transportation—maybe they get into trucking. We need financial planning—they could become financial experts.

They don’t need to move away to do those things. They can build careers right here, around the farm and family business, if we’re intentional about it.

That’s what I see in the Henokiens—family businesses that last. And that’s what we’re working toward.

Jennifer Vermeer: Is there anything else you’d like to add for our readers?

Dr. Gordon Spronk: I think the integration of spiritual formation with agricultural education is so valuable. When farmers are equipped not just with technical knowledge but also a Kingdom-centered worldview, something powerful happens. It’s more than just learning how to farm, but it's understanding your role in a much bigger story.

As one parable says, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who plants a seed. He goes to bed and wakes up, and the seed has grown—but he does not know how” (Mark 4:26–27). [1]

It speaks to the mystery of growth. Despite all the technology we have—the best soil, the perfect seed depth, fertilizer—you still can’t force the seed to grow. God is always at work.

Looking back on my life and my family’s experience as farmers, I realize God was present in ways we didn’t recognize at the time. It reminds me of Jacob’s words in Genesis, after he dreamed of the ladder to heaven: “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it” (Genesis 28:16). That’s true for me. Even in the most seemingly ordinary places, God is quietly at work.

Footnotes:

[1] This passage is inscribed on a plaque displayed at the John J. and Henry J. Spronk Animal Science Education Center, a state-of-the-art, multi-species facility. This space, designed to enhance hands-on learning and research opportunities for Dordt students in agriculture, was dedicated at Dordt University in 2025.