1971 - 1980

1971 - Ron graduated from the University of Illinois.  Upon graduation he spent one year in the Army Reserves.

1972 - Ron started as an employee with a confinement hog operation.

1974 - Ron purchased his first 40 acres of tillable land.

1973 - 1977 - Ron worked into a partnership with the owner of the hog operation and continued the partnership until 1977.

1978 - Ron began a partnership with his mother-in-law, Margaret Ray, that included 100 acres of family land and 55 cows.  He also added 540 acres, which was mostly pasture ground, and the Maddrell cow/calf operation that consisted of 85 leased cows.

1980 - Ron bought 80 acres of additional tillable ground.

End of Decade - Ron was farming 760 total acres and maintaining 140 cows.

1981-1990

1982 - The Stoneburner farm and its 160 acres were added to the operation.

1983 - Ron purchased a New Idea Uni-Harvester chopper, 3 forage wagons, and a Silopress bagger to chop and bag his own silage.  He started chopping and bagging for other farmers to help pay for the equipment.  In the first year Ron chopped approximately 2,000 tons and thus Ron Byers Custom Forage Harvesting and Bagging was born.

1987 - Ron rented an additional 200 acres of family ground.

End of Decade - Ron was farming 1,120 total acres, the two cow herds had collectively grown to 165 cows, and the custom forage business was growing by leaps and bounds.

1991 - 2000

1993 - Ron turned the farm into a corporation on March 22, 1993 which marked the beginning of R.B. Family Farms, Inc.  He also added a Wyffels Hybrids, Inc. seed dealership to the operation.

1994 - Ron bought 64 acres of tillable ground.

1995 - Another 113 acres were bought and added to the operation.  The continued growth of the custom forage business allowed Ron to trade his New Idea forage harvester in for a John Deere 5820 self-propelled forage harvester.

1996 - Ron used Wyffels High-Oil corn for the first time.  The successful endeavor resulted in a substantial portion of corn acreage being devoted to high-oil corn in subsequent years. 

1998 - Ron rented an additional 160 acres of farm ground with the addition of the Conway Farm.  R.B. Family Farms, Inc. used Roundup Ready Soybeans for the first time.  The 5820 forage harvester was also upgraded to a John Deere 5830 self-propelled forage harvester.

1999 - Ron Byers Custom Forage Harvesting and Bagging out grew the capacity of one self-propelled forage harvester.  As a result, a second John Deere 5830 was added to the line of forage equipment.  The added equipment and labor allowed the forage business to chop over 28,000 tons of silage in 1999.  This was also the first year in which Roundup Ready Soybeans were used on 100% of soybean acres.

Late 1990's - Ron slowly began purchasing cows to build his own herd.

2000 - The forage business experienced a major equipment expansion.  3 twin-screw tandem trucks with Scott Forage Boxes, a G7010 Ag-Bag table bagger, and a Kelly Ryan Bagger Tender were added to the custom forage equipment line.  This equipment expansion has allowed us to greatly increase the efficiency of one of the crews which has allowed us to better serve our customers.  Our custom forage business saw another record year as we chopped over 40,000 tons of silage, filled 171 bags, and serviced 121 customers.

End of Decade - R.B. Family Farms, Inc. included approximately 1,200 tillable acres, 3 cow herds with a collective total of 230 cows, and a custom forage business that chopped over 40,000 tons of silage in a 80 mile radius.

2001 - Present

2001 - Began custom farming 80 tillable acres for Dr. John Maddrell.  The custom forage business saw the addition of a third self-propelled forage harvester.  The John Deere 6710 with trucks has the ability to chop over 125 tons of corn silage in one hour.  Byers Forage Harvesting and Bagging chopped over 47,000 tons and filled 205 bags of silage.  Dan graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in agricultural economics and returned home to the family farm and custom forage business.

2002 - The forage business chopped over 57,000 tons of silage and filled 218 bags of silage.  We also began offering liquid inoculant application for silage for the first time.

2003 - Dan, with the help of Mike Huston and Huston Cattle Company, began a club calf artificial insemination program with some of our best cows.  A fourth self-propelled forage harvester was added along with another silage truck.  The John Deere 6950 has the ability to chop over 200 tons of corn silage in one hour.  The four crews of the silage business chopped over 66,000 tons of silage and filled 234 bags.

2004 - The first 3 show steers were sold.  The Double Vision steer found in the show calves page has done exceptionally well!  The forage business continued to grow and chopped over 70,000 tons of silage and filled 284 bags.

2005 - A second truck crew operation was added to the forage equipment lineup as well as a fifth self-propelled forage harvester.  Byers Forage Harvesting and Bagging chopped over 97,000 tons of silage and filled 368 bags in 23 Illinois counties.  Another 120 acres of tillable land were added to the operation.  Dan purchased the infamous Golddigger cow from Huston Cattle Company to add to his club calf operation.

2006 - Dan and Meredith Byers established their own corporation - Byers Premium Cattle, Inc. 

Presently: R.B. Family Farms, Inc. currently includes approximately 1,300 tillable acres, 2 cow herds with a collective total of 290 cows, and Byers Forage Harvesting and Bagging chops over 97,000 tons of silage in a 150 mile radius.