Jan/Feb 2025 Stock Show Edition

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“Grandma, I'm so lucky to live on a farm,” she said. Mark works at the family farm when time allows. Along with the always present cattle duties, he mows hay, feeds cattle and repairs equipment. He’s forever a cattleman at heart. All that has helped Core at Vermeer Corporation. “I feel the pain of a customer,” said Core, an executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Vermeer since 2015. “’How do I contact a dealer when I’m busy at work for a part? Or do they have the part? Or the stress of a Saturday afternoon, running into a rock or having a breakdown – Can I get repaired?’” Here’s one last story Core recalled. It’s about a boy, but the boy is not him this time. This child in this story is the great-grandson of Gary Vermeer. It takes place on the Core family farm, where so many of his favorite memories have taken place. After a morning of hard work, Core and the boy plunked down on 5-gallon buckets and ate lunch.

“He was so interested in everything,” Core said. The boy, perhaps 10 then, gazed up. He looked at the show barn that Core’s grandfather built so many years ago. Its height amazed the child. “Mr. Core, why are these barns so tall?” the boy asked. Mark thought about it and realized the answer. “Well, until your great- grandfather invented the round baler, that’s what all the hay was stored up in,” Core replied. Core, who once gazed out from his family car as a Vermeer round baler hatched an egg, could understand the boy’s wonderment. Disclaimer Vermeer Corporation reserves the right to make changes in engineering, design and specifications; add improvements; or discontinue manufacturing at any time without notice or obligation. Equipment shown is for illustrative purposes only and may display optional accessories or components specific to their global region. Please contact your local Vermeer dealer for more information on machine specifications. Vermeer and the Vermeer logo are trademarks of Vermeer Manufacturing Company in the U.S. and/or other countries.

The Showtimes / Reid Family on Mark and Deb Core

Our family has had the pleasure of getting to know Mark and Deb Core and their family on both a personal and professional level through The Showtimes over the years. Lisa was a member of the American Junior Maine-Anjou Association’s Junior Board alongside Bailey back in 2010-2012. No matter what capacity our interaction has been with them, it has always been obvious to us that the Core’s do everything at the highest level. From helping to host the Maine Junior Nationals when it was in Spencer, Iowa to competing with their cattle, our family has nothing but respect for how the Core’s do things. When we started to host The Blackout Jackpot, we knew we wanted them to be a part of the show. The Blackout Jackpot 9 will be the second time Mark and Deb were asked to judge the event. Not only will they be sorting the heifers in one ring at the show, they brought in Vermeer to be the title sponsor of the Blackout 9 Livestock Judging Contest and Combine. The Combine is the first ever event of its kind! It will provide 4-H and FFA youth the opportunity to present their livestock evaluation skills in front of the country’s top collegiate livestock judging programs. The Core’s have always put youth first and have dedicated their lives to advancing the Agriculture industry. ●

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