08/11/2026
The 2026 Stevens County Farm Family is... The Boon Family!
Tonis and Selma Boon purchased the Boon family farm in 1934, raising dairy cows along with corn and alfalfa. To supplement the farm income, Tonis also worked as a carpenter. In 1962, their son JohnHerman Boon and his wife Carol purchased the farm. They milked 12 cows and raised oats, hay, corn and soybeans.
Donald Boon and his wife Carol took over the operation in 1979 and continued dairying and crop farming until 1995. Following a milk buyout that year, they sold the dairy herd and transitioned to raising stock cows and calves in open pens.
In 2005, they constructed a monoslope barn to finish cattle. Donald and Carol’s son John and his wife, Jen, later joined the operation as partners and are now in the process of purchasing the farm. John's and Jen’s children are increasingly involved in the farm and are active in FFA and Hodges 4-H, where they show calves and dairy steers at the fair.
The Boon family is deeply engaged in their community. Donald has served as a township board member for 22 years, is a member of the West Central Cattlemen and has served on the Hancock ChristianReformed Church Council.
Carol was a long-time member of the Wooden Shoes Homemakers. John serves as a volunteer firefighter with the Hancock Fire Department, and he is a member of the Hancock Christian Reformed ChurchCouncil as well as a Hancock Public School Board member, a West Central Cattlemen member and a volunteer with Hodges 4-H. He is also a Hancock FFA alumnus. Jen serves as a Hancock First Responder volunteer and as an assistant leader with Hodges 4-H.
