Two years of active duty as an infantryman in Germany laid the foundation for the resilience that would later define Brad Dearing’s approach to farming.
From being “out in the field” in all elements, pivoting at a moment’s notice and doing things you didn’t necessarily want to do but had to, Dearing says the military gave him the aptitude needed to work in agriculture.
“I always use that term grit a lot, but in the military, you had to have grit,” he says.
It’s the same when it comes to farming, according to Dearing, who recently nursed baby goats to health after they were born in sub-zero temperatures.
But farming wasn’t always in Dearing’s career plans.
Upon returning from Germany, Dearing joined the National Guard while pursuing a bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University in technology education and later obtained a master’s degree. He began his teaching career in the suburbs, but he and his wife, Jackie, often spoke of designing and building their own home.
So, when 30 acres of land became available just west of Bloomington, the couple planted their roots – literally and figuratively. Dearing took a job at University High School, where he’s worked the last 26 years. The couple also planted more than 5,000 native trees and shrubs as part of a conservation wind break.
They also welcomed their daughter, Lauren, and sons, Ethan and Peyton, at their rural home. That’s when Jackie decided to become a stay-at-home mom, and the couple wanted to diversify their operation to supplement their income.
“We were trying to look for a niche, something different than just growing tomatoes and peppers,” he says. That’s when his Natural Resources Conservation Service contact, Dave Bishop, mentioned raising chickens to sell farm fresh eggs locally.
“He said, ‘If you raise them organically or get organic certified, it’s kind of a niche,’” Dearing says. “This was 20 years ago.”
Next thing he knew, he had 300 baby chicks on the farm, and he started attending the Bloomington Farmers Market to sell fresh eggs. It grew from there.
“People were like, ‘Well, do you have any meat?’ so then we added meat chickens. And then somebody says, ‘Well, do you do beef?’ So, I said ‘Let’s get a cow,’” says Dearing about the rapid growth of the farm.
He went on to add goats for milk for personal use for his son’s dairy allergy, then goat meat as well as lamb and sheep.
“There is that everyday connection (between agriculture and my military service),” he says. “I have a farmer veteran sign at markets, so people come and say, ‘Oh, thank you for your service’ or it’s a conversation starter. Other veterans will come up and ask, ‘Where have you been?’ or ‘Where are from?’ or ‘Where did you go?’
“Those skills of being a veteran and doing the farm – people seem to like to talk about those two things, especially if you’re a veteran.”
Looking back on the growth of the farm, Dearing says it ties back to having grit and being tough.
“I’ve always kind of had this ‘not afraid to fail’ mentality,” he says. “Like in the military, you’d never want to fail but there is failure, so failure is an option, but you don’t want to.
“Having that background of somebody pushing you, that helps with agriculture and giving you the backbone to keep going because as all farmers know, there’s bad years, there’s good years and there’s more bad years. But you got to keep saying ‘I’m going to plan again next year,’’’ Dearing says.
Dearing faced an exceptionally bad year in 2018 when the family home was destroyed in a fire.
“It was the community that pulled together and really helped us out,” says Dearing, who added his family was left with only the clothes on their back.
While the last five years have been rebuilding years, Dearing is ready to re-engage the community and veterans on the farm, including its Pioneer and Sustainability AgriLearning Center.
As a teacher, Dearing saw a need for classes similar to the ones he teaches at the high school to be available to the community. In an effort to be available and affordable, Dearing offers classes and workshops on topics from food preservation and gardening to small livestock and blacksmithing.
Dearing, the 2022 Homegrown by Heroes Farmer Veteran of the Year, plans to use the center to host regular meetings with veterans and partnering with the local VFW and American Legion.
He says there’s also a therapeutic aspect to farming that benefits veterans like himself.
“They just don’t know what they want to do. And I think planting something is a therapy,” Dearing says. “Seeing something grow, taking care of it and seeing it through again, there’s a therapy to that, and I just hope to share that with other people and keep the mission going.”
This content is part of the Cultivating Our Communities series, a collaboration among Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Specialty Growers Association. It strives to raise awareness of Illinois’ diverse farmers, farms, and the food, animal feed and fuel they produce.
