For Mike Loecke, the satisfaction of farming is found in the fundamentals. “I love watching the corn come out of the ground,” he said. “Watching a momma cow with her new calf beside her ... I just love the life part of it, I guess.” 

That passion, rooted in a childhood spent on a dairy and hog farm near Greeley, has been the guiding force through a winding career that took him from construction sites back to the farm and the life he loved. 

The journey culminated re­cently when he and his wife, ...