 Darel, Dan, Lela and Kim Hathaway Photo by Gregory Spaid |
The Hathaway Farms General Partnership in Fredericktown is one of the largest operations in Knox County, farming approximately 4,000 acres of corn, wheat and soybeans. They also feed about 1,600 hogs and about 300 beef cattle each year. The Hathaway family began in 1958 with Darel and Lela Hathaway. In the early 1980s, sons Kim and Dan decided they were also going to make thier lives on the farm, and they have expanded in order to support the growing family. Darel Hathaway says, "We have made up our minds that we want to be part of that opportunity [in agriculture], so we'll adopt and adjust to whatever it takes to continue in this business." The Hathaways have used new technologies including computers, mobile radios and celluar phones."There are tools out there that people in agriculture can use and they're available, but I'll tell you, its much easier for poeple to do things like they've always done, without getting into these other things, you know, the way grandma and grandpa did it, and I think that day has come to where and we found out several years ago things have to change and we change with the times. And if you don't they're gonna eat you up." |
