Page 40 2026 Spring Farm Outlook LINCOLN DAILY NEWS March 2026 Fourth generation farmer Kristopher Klokkenga Imagine farming the same land your ancestors farmed over a century. Kristopher and Christina Klokkenga are living out that dream. They own and manage Prairie Creek Organics, and farm on the land Kristopher’s great grandfather, Nanke Klokkenga, purchased in 1910. Prairie Creek Organics is a fourth-generation family farm specializing in the production of organic commodities. Kristopher said, “We grow corn, soybeans, popcorn, wheat, and alfalfa for both human and animal consumption.” They currently farm 1,600 acres. Nanke Klokkenga farmed the land from 1910 until 1938. Upon Nanke Klokkenga’s death in 1938, Kristopher’s grandfather, Mike Klokkenga, would take over the operations of the farm. In the 1940s, the farm started to grow as Mike Klokkenga purchased more land. From the early 1950s into the 1980s, Mike raised shorthorn cattle. His son Jim and daughter Janice helped around the farm. Kristopher says “[Grandpa] Mike grew up farming with horses and enjoyed working with his many Percheron draft horse teams throughout his life. He also raised purebred Shorthorns and was recognized as a builder of the breed in 1967.” In 1958, Kristopher’s father, Jim Klokkenga, had a champion steer who won over all breeds at the county fair and then went back to breeding stock. In 1969, Jim Klokkenga returned to the farm after graduating with an Animal Science degree from the University of Illinois. Jim came home and worked alongside his father in the Shorthorn business while starting the farm’s swine enterprise. In 1968, Jim did an internship working with the American Shorthorn Association travelling throughout several states between the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains. As he finished college, Jim signed up for the Air National Guard. He worked in Springfield one weekend a month and two weeks every summer from 1967 to 1973. During the 1960s, the Klokkenga family raised hogs. Throughout the 1970s, Jim continued to raise hogs until 2005. The farm grew from 400 acres to 1,900 acres over the years. Jim said their land was 600 acres and the rest was rented from different neighbors. He was doing things the scientific
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