Rob Shaffer's path from ag salesman to established farmer leader and national board director has been a process of self-discovery, absorbing the lessons of prior farm leaders and mentors. Soy Story with Rob Shaffer R By Betsy Osman ob Shaffer isn’t one for small talk. He’s about big talk. He doesn’t give canned answers about the weath- er or tiptoe delicately through dif- ficult conversations. And despite his unreserved, casual milieu, Rob is an inquisitive thinker and a voracious learner who’s con- stantly probing for uncomplicated answers about how to connect in a complicated world. His warm sense of humor makes you feel comfortable, as though you’re sitting across the table from an old friend. He's invested in local growth, but he thinks globally. He can recall dates with impressive speed and accuracy. And he has a man- tra for every occasion. 28 June 2022 Rob has been farming since he was old enough to carry a bucket. His great-great grand- father first bought 80 acres in El Paso, Illinois, where his family raised livestock, corn and soybeans. He attended Joliet Junior College for two years, then went on to Illinois State University where he studied ag business and animal science. After his graduation, Rob took a job in ag sales and traveled the Midwest before finally return- ing to rejoin the family farming operation alongside his father and brother. Today, the Shaffer brothers oversee the 900-acre El Paso family farm in a 50-50 relation- ship. Rob, his wife, Jennifer, and brother, Emory, are raising their sons Bobby age 16, Luke age 15, and Jacob age 13, to be the next generation of Shaffer family farming. Rob will tell you that the path from ag salesman to established farmer leader and national board director has been a process of self-discov- ery, absorbing the lessons of prior farm leaders and mentors. Over his career, he has served the Illinois Soybean Board, the American Soybean Association Board, the National Biodiesel Board, and a host of local- ly-governed organizations. “Being part of these organi- zations has widened my think- ing. It’s encouraged me to see our role as farmers as an inter- national contribution,” says Rob. “My father never worried about whether it was dry on the other side of the world, or what China was doing with U.S. soy. Today we enjoy a new level of inter- connectedness that previous generations didn’t, and being part of these organizations helps me feel like I’m participat- ing in the global economy.” He continues, “We have very bright thinkers at the state and federal levels, and I love being in the same room with them. These folks are open to shar- ing their lives, their business practices, their successes and their failures. I want to be that kind of leader; the kind of lead- er who wouldn’t call himself a leader.” Though he doesn’t describe himself as an environmental- ist, Rob is a trendsetter in the ways of sustainable farming
