Rob Sharkey: Boldly Different
Rob Sharkey can’t remember the exact moment he knew he wanted to be a farmer, because he can’t remember a time when he didn’t. Growing up on his family’s hog farm outside of Bradford, Illinois, he knew he’d leave for college, but he also knew he’d be back – and that’s exactly what he did.
After graduating with a degree from Southern Illinois University in Agribusiness Economics, he happily headed back to his roots, married his high-school sweetheart Emily and was hopeful for a future doing all he’d ever known in the only place he’d ever called home. Two years later he found himself in the best of times, expanding the family operation through buying his own hogs, then almost as quickly he found himself in the worst of times, with the hog market crash of 1998, and along with it, the crashing of his dreams.
Rob says that year was the most pivotal one in his life. Yet as hard as it was to endure, enduring it is exactly what gave him the fortitude to excel in all that’s happened since. With a young family to support, quitting wasn’t an option, even though things didn’t look at all like he thought they would. The year after the crash he decided to diversify his farm by starting a whitetail deer outfitter service. The following year, while still helping his father farm corn and soybeans, he was able to rent his own ground and expand their farming operation. In addition, Rob and his wife Emily took the opportunity to manage a buying co-op, a job Rob says he was grateful for, but that his heart was never really in. As he continued to farm with his father, all responsibilities and full-time farm ownership eventually became his when his dad retired in 2008, giving Rob the chance to buy out his dad, and simultaneously give up his co-op job.
Fast-forward six years, after the loss of his father and working hard to keep the farm profitable, Rob felt a desire to do something different, in addition to farming and outfitting.
Having watched his friend Carrie Zylka’s success with her hunting podcast, he thought it would be interesting to start his own. Using his handle from twitter, the “SharkFarmer” podcast was born. When he began, he thought he would only be sharing hunting stories, but quickly realized they weren’t as exciting for a broad audience to listen to as they were to hear amongst fellow hunters. Instead, he changed direction and his podcast became a platform for farmers (and since then, non-farmers) to share life stories of strength and struggles, overcoming adversities, and in turn, a common ground for people of all backgrounds to tune in and be encouraged and inspired week in and week out.
Three years later, Rob and his wife Emily are now managing a media business that encompasses not only SharkFarmer podcast, but also SharkFarmer SiriusXM radio show, Shark Farmer tv segments, and one of the first-of-its-kind digital publications, “Ag Now Magazine.” Rob says he feels very blessed to be at a point in his life where he gets to make a living doing the three things he enjoys the most – farming, outfitting and media. In his words, “If you’re not working to your full potential, life will bite you. Life is easier when you go full bunny.” If he could give anyone advice on making it in farming or any other endeavor in life, it would be simply to “work hard and keep going.”
In 2017, one of his podcast advertising partners introduced him to the young Canadian agronomy company Farmers Edge and he was impressed with what he saw. He soon began using their products and has since become a spokesperson for them. He says, “When I first started using Farmers Edge, they challenged the way I looked at farming. Before using FarmCommand, I wasn’t implementing the technology side of my farm into the agronomic side. I had maps, but I wasn’t utilizing them. Now, through the accuracy of their variable rate prescriptions, I’m making more money.” He also appreciates the high quality of service he gets from their reps and the fact they make his job easier.
While opportunities continue to soar for Rob, he says he plans to retire eventually. In the meantime, he’s building his farming, outfitting and media operations that his four children will have solid choices to continue in, if they choose. If they don’t, he says he’s fine with that too. Never having felt pressured to come back to the farm, he wants his children to have the same freedom to pursue their own dreams.
When asked what legacy he hopes to leave, Rob says, “I want to leave the legacy that a good life is one that’s going to affect more than just yourself. In farming, you’re feeding other people, and that’s noble. In outfitting, you’re helping people do something they enjoy, and that’s noble. In media, you’re giving people a platform to tell their story, and that’s noble. “If you live a life where you’re helping other people, that’s a good life to live.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
