Episode 6 | Debt, Determination, and the Drive to Farm with Kent & Melissa Williams (Illinois)

Описание: For Kent and Melissa Williams, farming was never handed down in neat rows—it was built acre by acre, loan by loan, and long night by long night. From a small grain farm on the Indiana side of the Wabash to running combines across the line in Illinois, their story is about grit, faith, and refusing to quit when the odds (and the interest payments) stacked high.

In this episode, Kent shares the leap from service trucks and yellow notepads to running a multi-generation grain farm, the near-impossible start-up years when lenders took a chance on him, and why he still views every tractor and truck as tools, not trophies. Melissa opens up about stepping into the books with zero ag background, the shock of borrowing money to pay interest, and how Traction helped her turn chaos into clarity.

Together, they talk about meeting in a small-town bar, raising three kids between two states, the struggle to find and keep good help, and why succession and asset transfer will be the make-or-break challenge for the next generation of farmers. Their perspective is honest, raw, and grounded in what it really takes to keep a farm alive—and a family together.

🎙️ Pass the Mic
• Tracey’s question to Kent & Melissa: “Where do you see agriculture growing most in the next 10–20 years—and where will the next generation need to step up to fill the gaps?”

• Kent & Melissa’s question for the next guest: “If you had to start over, would you follow the same path—or would you make different choices along the way?”