Hutchinson ? Derek and Michelle Zongker reckon they’re just farmers and “bosh” at the mention of words like successful.

Yet ask anyone about the Zongkers’ farm, and they’ll tell you another story.

“They’re a young family with three kids committed to agriculture,” said Carol Miller, the Reno County Farm Bureau coordinator. “Not only as their way of life, but also as an important economic industry.”

Meet the Zongkers: Derek, 40; Michelle, 36; Zack, 5; Rex, 3; and Kora, 1.

Thousands of children have learned about farming from the couple, who farm in the Fairfield school district. That will include a Reno County Farm Bureau effort in April that will bring more than 300 third-graders to the Kansas State Fair, Derek said.

With fluctuating commodity prices and other uncontrollable conditions, such as the weather, the occupation has many uncertainties, Michelle said. Many farmers have part-time jobs, or their wives work off the farm to supply health insurance.

Despite the challenges, Derek and Michelle, who both grew up on farms in Reno County and Colorado, respectively, couldn’t imagine doing another career.

“I was born with the gene, and I just can’t get away from it,” Derek says with a laugh.