Board Member Spotlight - Donn Teske
Donn Teske - Kansas Farmers Union, President
Donn started our conversation with the fact that he was raised knowing that he was going to be a farmer and jokes that he’s been driving a tractor since he “could hitch up his diaper and climb on.” He has always lived on the same hill in Wheaton on the family ground that he lovingly refers to as “Teskeville.” In 1985 Donn became head of the family farm with bank loans at 18%; it was tough. He came to a point in 1986 where he didn’t know if his family would eat the following week and was rescued by the only banker in the area who would give him a loan for his dairy. Donn is proud to say that he and this banker are still great friends to this day.
In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Donn belonged to Farm Bureau, Kansas Livestock Association, and the Republican party. He became concerned with the push to rid Kansas of anticorporate laws. Knowing that this change would destroy his livelihood, he began going to the capital and offering testimony. While there, he became disgusted with the performance of his representatives. Feeling that they were testifying falsehoods and not looking out for their constituents but large corporations, he renounced his memberships to the three aforementioned groups.
Donn had seen what big ag had done to his neighbors, family, and father and wanted a better future for his descendants. With that in mind, he began offering his own testimony at the capitol as a means to hold his elected officials accountable. They needed to see and hear from who they were hurting. During this time, Donn became more familiar with Kansas Farmers Union and eventually signed on as a member, albeit somewhat passively, while they were doing a membership drive.
In 1994 the same banker from before had an honest conversation with Donn about the finances of the dairy. It was stable but not exactly profitable. At the same time, Kansas State University asked Donn to be a farm analyst and work crisis response, where he would be meeting with hundreds of farmers across the state. This opportunity pushed him to go half-time traveling analyst and to downsize his farm by half. On a recent virtual session with KRC, Donn reflected on this time when his services that were crucial, and sometimes lifesaving, to his fellow farmers going through tough times.
Donn’s brother was the first to get involved in Kansas Rural Center. In 1995 Donn applied to be an employee for KRC’s Clean Water Farms project. He was interviewed by Dan Nagengast, Jerry Jost, and Mary Fund, which allowed him to work full time, supporting farm families and providing for his family. This allowed him to have a shoe on both sides of the agriculture methodology aisle, which only strengthened his empathetic perspective of farmers’ lives and the struggles that come with the lifestyle.
Around 1999 Donn became a board member of Kansas Farmers Union and then quickly became a state board member. He eventually ran against the previous president. That was over twenty years ago. Donn says that he is looking forward to transitioning more of his workload over to Nick Levendofsky, KFU’s new Executive Director. He feels truly blessed to have always felt enjoyment of his workplaces.
Continue the conversation with Donn and Charlotte by following these links below:
Snippet from Donn’s conversation with Charlotte: - https://bit.ly/3RPJrp5
Documentaries:
“What’s the Matter with Kansas?” (2009) - https://bit.ly/3QJOUfT
“Disrupted” (2020). - https://bit.ly/3RHaa7n
Links from Donn:
KRC’s Farmer Health and Self Care - https://youtu.be/pVaUOpJpTJc
C-SPAN testimony mentioning KRC- https://bit.ly/3BI35xI
Kansas Farmers Union - https://bit.ly/3xryAcS
Kansas Ag Mediation Program - https://bit.ly/3qKOr2B
“The Farmer’s Lawyer” by Sara Vogel - https://bit.ly/3Dsn8BC