Ben Cresap, Sarah Cresap, Liz Cresap, Will Cresap, Rowan Mitsdarffer, Ryan Mitsdarffer and Katie Mitsdarffer.
Email nominations to ag writer Dave Hinton at dhinton@news-gazette.com
One ancestor was a famous frontiersman who was featured in a prominent magazine. Another was credited with assisting George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
The Cresap family has a lineage that dates back to the 1700s in Maryland and Pennsylvania. Their descendants are this week’s Farm Family of the Week.
There are stories in National Geographic of Thomas Cresap being one of the most famous frontiersmen and aiding Washington while he was surveying the frontier.
His son, Micheal Cresap, is credited with helping to save Washington’s army at the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775.
Then later in Ohio, Michael was involved in numerous fights with the natives as settlers moved west.
Maybe desiring a quieter life, they continued westward, eventually settling in Illinois and becoming farmers.
Ben Cresap pulling his IH 856.
How long has your family been farming?
The Cresaps’ farm was founded in 1863 by Civil War Capt. Benjamin Cresap and has been passed down throughout the generations.
Today, Cresap Farms is operated by myself, William Cresap, (fifth generation); my wife, Liz; and our children, Benjamin and Sarah, along with nephew Ryan Mitsdarffer (sixth generation).
My father, Bruce, passed away in 2011 after spending a lifetime farming and instilling his passion for this land in William and his grandchildren.
Cresap Farms hosts a plow day in the fall where friends and neighbors bring their antique tractors and moldbold plows as a way to celebrate farming’s history.
Where is your farm operation?
The home farm is in the White Heath/Seymour area, and we farm in Champaign and Piatt counties.
Cresap Farms
What does your family operation consist of?
Our farm is diversified. We operate a 700-head cattle feeding operation and grow both conventional and organic corn and soybeans.
How many members of the family does the operation support?
The farm supports my wife, Liz and I, our children and my mother, Judy, who has since retired but worked 35 years alongside my dad operating the farm.
Ben Cresap, Liz Cresap, Sarah Cresap (back), Will Cresap, Rowan Mitsdarffer, Ryan Mitsdarffer, Katie Mitsdarffer
How have you seen farming change over the years?
Technology and size of equipment has been the biggest thing I have seen change over the years. I am fortunate that Ryan is a Case New Holland/Diesel Power instructor at Parkland College and takes the lead in implementing and managing all the technology, repairs and maintenance for our equipment. Without his expertise and ability to stay up to date, it would make what we do a lot more difficult. With as beneficial as all this new technology is on the conventional side, we still go old school on the organic acres and see some pretty amazing yields.
Your farm equipment: green (John Deere), red (Case IH) or other?
Red is all you will ever see here. With the variety of activities and diversification of our operation, we use both older and newer Case IH equipment. I prefer operating the older equipment and favor the Farmall 806. Sarah, who is 16, prefers the Case 305. I like to say we have something for everyone around here.
Ryan Mitsdarffer pulling his IH 806
What makes farming such a good vocation?
There are many things that make farming a good vocation, but family is number one. Sure, the hours are long and the days run together, especially with a larger livestock operation, but getting to spend your days doing what you love right alongside your wife, children and nephew knowing they enjoy it just as much as you do, there isn’t anything better.
If you could change one thing about farming, what would it be?
It would be that the young, small farmer had more opportunities to get started. I read a statistic the other day from the USDA 2022 census that from 2017-2022 the U.S. lost approximately 141,000 farms. The only size category of farms that did not decrease was farms over 5,000 acres. That is a trend that I wish was reversed. I wish more landowners could see the value in investing in the young producer who is trying to get started.
Will Cresap checking the feedlot cattle.
What’s the best time of year to be on the farm?
There is no better season than harvest. It is when you finally get to reap the fruits of your labor. On the cattle side my wife would say any day that is marketing day.
What other areas of interest is your family involved in?
Vacations are hard to come by around here, but a hobby the entire family enjoys is tractor pulling. Ben, Sarah and I have an IH 856, and my nephews Ryan and Riley have an IH 806 that we pull in the Illiana Pullers naturally aspirated class. In the wintertime you can usually find us in the bleachers at basketball games.
