Appeal of farming lifestyle lures young family home to put down roots

Luke and Naomi Olson of McCook stand in front of “Olson Ag Supply Inc.,” their new business located west of McCook at the corner of U.S. 6-34 and County Road 381, east of the Perry elevator on the north side of the highway. Their sons are 2-year-old Weston and 3-year-old Kergan. Naomi is a native of Ord and a nurse practitioner at McCook Clinic.

Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Gazette

McCOOK, Neb. — Luke Olson wanted his young family to experience the farm and the community where his own roots grew. 

Luke wants his sons to know the values of the family farm, and he wants to help enhance the retail community of McCook, his hometown. Toward both goals, Luke and his wife, Naomi, have developed “Olson Ag Supply Inc.” and built a warehouse, primarily to service and supply Pioneer seed, and to offer crop consulting, Arrow and Lacrosse seed sales and CropMetrics precision irrigation services. 

Luke is a 2003 graduate of McCook Senior High and a 2008 graduate of Chadron State College, where he earned a degree in ag business. He started a career in seed sales 10 years ago in Grand Island, building his seed business called Olson Ag Enterprise Inc.

Luke’s heart, however, was in McCook, and he and Naomi moved their young sons here in May, 2018. “I wanted to bring my family back to the farm, and to the small community that I have roots in,” Luke said.

Luke says that the entirety of his 10-year professional career has been in the seed industry, and he offers this timeline:  

2008-11 — Syngenta Golden Harvest sales representative in the Grand Island area, “where I gained so much experience in the seed sales sector. I managed operations of a 16-dealer sales team in a 5-county territory.”

2011-16 — Luke started and operated a company called Olson Ag Enterprise Inc. consisting of crop scouting and data entry, but mainly servicing customers in the Grand Island area with seed sales services.  

2016-17 — “I was fortunate enough to have numerous retail companies perusing to acquire the Olson Ag Enterprise business. Wilbur-Ellis Company Inc. was the right choice, and it allowed me to offer my customers more options of products while being able to manage the same facility and customers that were Olson Ag Enterprise.”

Luke is the son of Colleen and Don Olson of rural McCook. Don farms west of McCook and Colleen taught at McCook Junior High for 28 years. Luke says, “It would be a challenge to find a harder working couple, and I am so lucky to have them as parents.”  

Luke said, “I want my family to experience the upbringing that I had growing up on the family farm. That desire played a major role in our decision to take this opportunity to come back to McCook.”

Through Olson Ag Supply Inc., Luke hopes to build a foundation and a long-lasting working relationship with his customers, their families and their operations. To discuss Luke’s services, contact him at (308) 380-0017.