As a child, Cale Pellett remembers following his dad around the farm and watching the daily tasks, too young to be able to do anything yet. This helped peak his interest in agriculture, and he knew he wanted to be a farmer just like his dad. Pellett has lived on a farm his whole life and appreciates the impact it has had on him while growing up.

The farmer life began to become a reality when Pellett turned 12 and was finally able to start working, doing small jobs such as cleaning water tanks for cattle. Eventually, he progressed to bigger jobs like planting fields and after that, he decided he wanted to start having more responsibilities around the farm.

After turning 13, Pellett asked his grandpa if he would be willing to rent some ground to him. His grandpa agreed and Pellett received one acre of land, which has now grown to 47 acres. Pellett said his grandpa is someone who has had an impact on his life because “he sets a good example for me to follow and all of life’s values.”

Pellett tended to his land for a few years and then thought he would like to “try out the livestock side of agriculture.” He had grown up with livestock but now wanted some of his own. “When I was 16, I went to the bank and applied for a loan for four heifers,” Pellett said. These heifers were also pregnant and were “pretty good cattle.” Since then, Pellett has slowly been adding to that herd.

Throughout high school, Pellett participated in many sports including cross country, baseball, golf, track and soccer. He enjoys spending his free time farming, playing golf with Jesse Reid and hanging out with his friends. Pellett has two favorite memories from high school: going to Louisville for the National FFA Convention and the home cross country meet of his senior year.

Pellett is planning to continue on the path of agriculture by attending Iowa State University to double major in Agricultural Business and Agronomy. “Since I grew up on a farm, I already had that background. I just wanted to get a little more knowledge on the business side of things,” Pellett said.