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J. R.'s world
story by William Kolb
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When people call John Robert Zinner at his farm, they hear a background chorus of more than 100 High Bridge Hampshire ewes eagerly waiting to be fed.
This is "J. R.’s" world. It seems unlikely for someone who grew up as a “city boy” in Danville.
Now he finds himself a dedicated sheep farmer and a vocational agriculture teacher. He’s taught at Western Hills High School for 16 years.
And adage states everyone in the world knows one another through six people. For J. R. it’s about three.
Since beginning livestock farming in 1988, J. R. built quite the agricultural social network around Franklin and Shelby counties. On any given day, J. R. sees three or four of his farming friends around town. Friends helped him finish construction on the family home. J. R. planned to move into the house with his wife, Rachel, and his sons, Trent, 8, and Preston, 5, in November.
“You’ve got to treat people right,” J. R. says. “Not so you can get favors taken care of, but so you yourself can be taken care of."
J. R. has a passion for identifying underdeveloped and under-represented minds and empowering them in ways other educators might not. In fact, he allows students to keep their show animals in his barn when they can't keep them at home.
J. R. credits his wife of 13 years support for his work.
"Rachel has assisted me in helping students grow and find their career successes,” he says.
Much like their teacher, most of J. R.’s students haven’t grown up on farms. As a result, J. R. uses a custom curriculum that he calls “eclectic agriculture.” He emphasizes agricultural literacy and becoming an informed consumer.
Still, he believes that students need to get their hands dirty.
“You can’t get through any project without a hands-on thinker,” he says.
J. R.'s 8-month-old blue heeler pup joins Western Hills High School students as they take a canine anatomy quiz during an animal science class. J. R. brings one or more of his border collies to school every day.
Trent Zinner, 8, minds his father's while his father minds emails at school. Trent and his brother, Preston, 5, get released from school halfway through their dad's sixth period class and play until it ends.
Preston and J.R. return home from Bagdad Roller Mills, where he buys feed. The feeding schedule for his sheep dictates J.R.'s schedule. He reminds the boys that they will get home soon enough. "The sheep are hungry, too," he says.
Trent and Preston help unload chicken and sheep feed for J. R.'s farming partner, Eric Shields. Shields, an English teacher at Western Hills High School, co-teaches an agricultural English class with J.R. known as "ag-lish."
Trent and Preston page through a Lego catalog before heading to bed. The brothers have grown up in the family trailer. The family looked forward to moving into a newly built home on the same property. "We've put this thing to pretty good use," says J. R. of the family's trailer. "But it's time to move on."
Most days, J.R. is tending his sheep by 6 a.m. During lambing season, he feeds and tends to the livestock on a rotating, four-hour schedule.
A Deutz 8006 model tractor sits in the Zinner family's yard. The porcelain sheep, a special votive candle and a stained-glass art piece were made for J. R.'s wife, Rachel, by a friend from work. He is building a new home on his property, which he plans to move into in November.