Proud to be a Heartland Farmer: Mark Reitzel - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

While the drought caused many farmers in the Heartland to deal with their worst yield in decades, one Heartland farmer is still out in the fields salvaging his crop.

Mark Reitzel of Whitewater has row crops and cattle that flourished despite the tough conditions.

For Reitzel, it's the little things that make farming enjoyable.

"Watching the soil warm up in the spring. Planting the seed. The smell of the earth," he said.

But that doesn't mean things are always easy on the farm, especially because of the weather the past two years.

"It does get frustrating, but you just can't let it get you down," Reitzel said.  "That's something I cannot control. So you take the hand you're dealt and do the best you can with it."

Reitzel has a lot of time to think about the hand he's dealt while spending countless hours on the combine farming 2,000 acres.

"You think, 'How can I improve this?'" he said.  "You watch the ground and look at areas that could yield better and try to improve that."

Luckily for Reitzel, his continued improvement has resulted in great yields, even in the terrible conditions of the past two years.

It's that work ethic that Mark's wife, Lisa, says makes him such an outstanding farmer.

"He loves it. It's almost like he has dirt in his veins," she said.  "He was meant to be a farmer. It doesn't matter how long the day is. He loves it and he's passionate."

Reitzel credits his family and friends with his success, and he can also credit them for him for this honor as he received more than a dozen nominations.

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