John was born in 1948 & raised on a six-generation farm in east-central Illinois. He graduated with honors from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with a BS is Chemical Engineering & a minor in economics in 1970. The next five years were spent as a Nuclear Engineering Officer aboard the USS Seahorse, a fast attack submarine homeported in Charleston, SC. He returned to the 600 acre family farm in 1975. The farm now comprises 1300 acres in Illinois.

John is past President of the Edgar Country Farm Bureau, past member of the Illinois Commission on Atomic Energy, a former Director for Illini FS, President of the Edgar County Board of Health, and served on the Illinois Corn Marketing Board & National Corn Congress.

John writes humor & commentary, appearing monthly in Farm Journal & Top Producer magazines as a Contributing Editor. His work has also been published by Farm & Country in Canada, Production in Denmark and the American Enterprise. In conjunction with writing, John speaks often to farm & business groups. John & his wife Jan have two grown sons, Aaron & Jack.