The golden waves of grain that ripple across our fields each summer has been the rhythm and heartbeat to our lives. The rewarding work of long days has shaped the values that our family holds dear. Our four-generation family farm, established in 1915 by Herman & Emma Rovey in Farmersville, IL began with raising cattle and hogs and growing corn, wheat, and hay on 160 acres that was given to them by Herman’s father Henry. Henry lived by the motto, “Raise more corn to feed more hogs to buy more land.” Herman and Emma had two sons, Melvin and Amos. Melvin was born at home in 1920, on the farm where later as a young man, he would take over the corn and soybean farming operation.

Melvin married Roberta Glick in December 1953. They soon stopped raising livestock and started a grain bin storage and equipment handling business that is still in operation today. Storage for corn in the 40s and 50s was in corn cribs and stored on the ear. Melvin was on the cutting edge of storing shelled corn in grain bins and drying it. He did this on his own farm and began helping neighbors and friends do the same. In 1958, he began selling Clayton and Lambert grain bins out of Buckner, Kentucky. In the early 60s, that changed to Baughman grain bins out of Taylorville, Illinois. Melvin also sold drying equipment and accessories so that farmers could dry their own corn. This business grew right alongside the farming operation.

Melvin and Roberta had two sons, Herman (1956) and Dwight (1960). The demand for grain bins and handling equipment continued to grow and by 1975, Melvin had a full-time subcontractor that was building the bins. However, in 1980, the business had grown into needing more bin-building capacity, so Dwight went to work on the bin crew.

The farm crisis of the 80s changed things dramatically for grain bin sales. In 1982, Dwight became the main subcontractor and construction manager for building bins. Dwight worked alongside Melvin, helping sell the bins and building the bins, eventually obtaining a GSI Dealership out of Assumption, Illinois in May of 1988.

Dwight married Carol Collmann in August 1985, they had a son, Travis (1986) and a daughter, Devin (1989). The bin business soared again in the late 80s and continued to be successful through the 90s. As the size of farms grew, so did the size of grain bins and by the mid-2000s, Rovey Farm & Sales, Inc., was one of the largest grain bin dealers in the state of Illinois. Melvin was a crucial member of the farming operation and continued to sell bins until his death in 2004, where he passed in the same farmhouse where he was born.

Through the years, the number of farming acres increased to over 800. Dwight took over managing the farm at Melvin’s death and the farm has grown and adapted with improvements to our equipment and best practices. Dwight’s son Travis started working on bin crew as a young man, around age 14. Travis also has a love of farming and would find time to help farm before and after school. In 2004, Travis became a full-time foreman on the grain bin construction crew, pouring concrete for all the foundations and helping build. In 2014, Travis bought his own 80 acres and in 2020, began cash renting additional ground which effectively more than doubled the amount of acres being farmed.

Things today continue to run smoothly, with Dwight still as leading sales manager for the bin business. Alongside his son-in-law, Josh Powell who stepped into the financial officer position for bin business in 2020 and he also manages inventory. Travis is full-time manager for the farm and runs the day-to-day operations of the construction crew. With a legacy built on hard work, stewardship, and perseverance, our hope is to continue the family farm and bin business for years to come.

Corn to Whiskey