The Kiwanis Club of Seward recognized the Roth family of Roth Aerial Spraying and Wes and Marilyn Eberspacher at the 54th annual Ag Recognition Banquet March 21.
Wes Eberspacher Family Farms received the Outstanding Farm Family award, and Roth Aerial Spraying was honored with the Seward County Agribusiness Award.
The event was held in partnership with the Seward County Chamber and Development Partnership and the Seward County Ag Society.
Miller Fertilizer Aerial Spraying was established in 1962 in Friend as a partnership between Howard Miller and Lonnie Roth (Lonnie Roth is the older brother of Jerrel and Dave Roth).
Lonnie purchased the business from Howard in 1968 and named the business Roth Aerial Spraying. Dave Roth worked for Lonnie during the summer flying season after turning 16 and took flying lessons. Dave graduated from high school in 1969 and had earned a Commercial Pilots license by that time and flew his first season spraying that summer.
In the fall of 1969, Lonnie and his family decided to move to Idaho, and that next spring, Jerrel and Dave purchased the business. In 1974, the runway was developed and the hanger was built where the company is currently located on the west side of Milford.
Roth Aerial Spraying offers a full range of agricultural aerial spraying with a season starting in March and running through November.
Jerrel and Judy have three children – Rick, Brenda and Ryan. After working in the ground operations as a teenager, Rick had begun a flying career and was involved in a flying accident that left him disabled. Brenda’s husband Russ Plessel, their son Trevor and Trevor’s wife Danae are all involved in the ground portion of the business.
Dave and Sue have three children – Kelly, Jackson and Holly. Jack is involved in the ground operations as well. Russ, Trevor and Jack are responsible for day-to-day operations and can be credited with much of the growth and efficiency essential to running the business. Judy and Sue have been involved from the beginning and have been instrumental in the business’s success along with raising the children.
Seward County is special to the Roth Family because it is an agricultural area and community. Seward County has also been good at attracting other industries and businesses, which leads to good jobs and opportunities. This has made the county an excellent place to raise their family with a quality of life that is hard to match.
All of their children have found employment or business opportunities in Seward County or within driving distance and they have all chosen to live nearby.
In 1961 Wes and Marilyn Eberspacher moved from a small apartment in Beaver Crossing to what is now called “the home place” one mile west and a quarter mile south of Cordova.
Working together they began their farming operation and raised their three children; Darcee (Dan Fricke), Darren (Alisa) and Delayne (Heather).
Darcee and Dan live in Lincoln and have three grown children and four grandchildren. Darren and Alisa live in the southwest corner of Seward county, a mile from “the home place.” They have two adult daughters. Delayne and Heather live in Cordova, and they have a daughter and a son.
Darren and Delayne joined the farming operation soon after they finished high school.
Together they raise corn, soybeans and seed corn. Over the 50+ years of farming they have added more land and two full time hired men who they recognize as part of the farming family.
The family lost its “supreme commander,” Wes, this past October and so it goes on without him.
