Rex Yearous

Rex Yearous comes from a family of truckers. His dad, grandpa, and great-grandpa hauled grain and hogs before moving on to aggregates like rock, sand, and salt. Yearous joined them 22 years ago.

Around 2015, he’d been hauling grain for a local farmer when he learned Fairchild Feed & Supply in Winthrop was having trouble finding a hog hauler. So Yearous, who worked in a farrow-to-finish unit in high school, bought his own truck to transport livestock, and formed Rex A. Yearous Trucking LLC.

Yearous, 40, now has a fleet of 10 trucks and two hog trailers. He oversees nine employees, with two or three hauling mainly pigs and cattle and the rest carrying van freight. His wife Bobbie Jo handles the business’s paperwork and payroll.

Yearous and his drivers serve several area pig farmers, delivering primarily to Tyson in Waterloo or JBS in Ottumwa. His trucking operation covers much of the Midwest, with Colorado, Kansas, and Michigan among the farthest destinations.

Over the past two decades, Yearous has hauled livestock around the country, everything from sheep and goats, to rodeo bulls, longhorns, and dairy cows. He’s seen animal welfare and biosecurity become top priorities. All of his trucks now are washed and often disinfected after every load—he has a 2013 trailer that “looks brand-new because it’s never dirty.” Also to avoid spreading diseases, employees slip on plastic suits and shoe coverings when needed.

“Everybody’s herd is just as much ours,” Yearous said. “Because if we don’t have healthy pigs, we’re not working and staying busy.”

Outside of trucking, Yearous gives back to his community with donations for local school activities or kids in need. He also is a former youth football coach and a member of the Buchanan County Pork Producers.

The Yearouses live in Quasqueton, where they raise their four kids: Thomas, 15, Logan, 16, Olivia, 17, and Abby Newman, 17.