New Clay County Fair manager has background in agriculture

By Susan Reiser, Tri-State Neighbor Correspondent

LAKE PARK, Iowa – From growing up on a farm, to teaching in the agricultural field, to operating a large dairy, 51-year-old Jason Brockshus of Lake Park, is now settling in as CEO and general manager of the Clay County Fair, in Spencer, Iowa, a job he never thought he would have.

Brockshus assumed his duties in April, replacing former CEO Jerome Hertel who retired from the fair industry.

A native of Ocheyedan, Iowa, Brockshus grew up on a small dairy farm of 40 cows which grew to 80, then to 250 and finally to 700 head. He was active in FFA and 4-H in high school but FFA was really his favorite, he said. A 1992 graduate of the Sibley-Ocheyedan School, he earned his dairy science and agricultural education degrees from Iowa State University.

“I chopped silage, worked at the dairy and did farm things growing up,” Brockshus said. “We showed at the Osceola County Fair but never at the Clay County Fair. At that time, the Clay County Fair was our Iowa State Fair.”

His first taste of the Iowa State Fair came when he served as a state FFA officer from 1992-93. He worked with the Iowa FFA Association, and in his senior year of college was leadership coordinator, a part time gig that focused on a PALS program with the Iowa FFA Foundation.

“I coordinated all the ushers and grandstand help. I hired 150 FFA kids to park cars and campers, work as stage hands and usher at all the grandstand events,” Brockshus said. “I lived on the fairgrounds for three weeks at a time for three years in this job.”

FFA youth still continue to work at the Iowa State Fair in these capacities.

It was during his tenure at the Iowa State Fair that Brockshus met none other than former Clay County CEO and Manager Jeremy Parsons, who now serves as the CEO of the Iowa State Fair. At the time, Parsons was the concessions and entertainment intern.

“They gave us two young guys way more responsibility than we should have had,” said Brockshus with a twinkle in his eye.

From Iowa State, Brockshus returned to his home town as the Sibley-Ocheyedan agriculture and FFA instructor from 1997-2000. He was the second ag teacher the school had.

“I even had my sister as one of my students,” he said . “We had a flourishing program with like 130 kids in class.”

During this time, Brockshus joined his younger brother, Travis, and expanded their family dairy. He purchased an acreage and ag set up north of Sibley, raised young stock for the dairy and became the full-time dairy manager. He sold out his interest in the dairy in 2019 but still assisted in the operation.

During this time, Parsons was teaching in northern Missouri but would come to northwestern Iowa to help with the harvest, his first introduction being in 2000. He was named CEO and general manager of the Clay County Fair in 2011.

“I was very busy on the farm and raising a family. I kept kidding Jeremy ... ‘do you have a job for me?’” he said.

That dream came true in 2021 when he joined the Clay County Fair staff as partnership director, working with sponsorships and the charitable trust. The rest is history.

“I was the funds generator guy. My role was successful,” he said. “The fair board realized the importance of this position.

“People love this fair, and it has a positive image,” he continued. “It was not hard getting others on board.”

Parsons left the Clay County Fair to be CEO at the Iowa State Fair in spring 2023. Jerome Hertel served as CEO for two years. Brockshus was named CEO April 19, 2025. He has been wearing the hat of CEO and partnership director, a position he hopes to fill soon.

Brockshus, and wife, Sheena, have a blended family of nine children ranging in age from 14 to 34 and six grandchildren. Sheena is director of operations and manager of a number of hair salons. Her job keeps her on the road every day.

“Being a grandparent is better than a parent,” Brockshus said. “I love going to all my kids’ activities. There is never a dull moment here.”

He has kept his teaching license active and has substitute taught for every grade but kindergarten.

“I enjoy that. I have paired down quite a bit and do ag substituting only,” he said.

One might wonder if Brockshus ever sleeps with all his work demands and family commitments.

“Sleep? As a dairy farmer I worked 24 hours a day as an employee and manager,” he said.

While there are busy times at the fair, he appreciates that the work can be done during business hours.

He never saw himself dedicating his entire career to farming, he said. His dad loves it, his brother has been there since high school, and his oldest daughter has joined the dairy, making for another generation stepping up.

Brockshus said his long term goal is to travel someday to see his kids, but he plans to work for the Clay County Fair for “quite some time,” Brockhus said.

His friendship with Parsons continues, and he credits him and Hertel as two great mentors.

Hertel was reserved but great on financial management, he said. That work set the fair up for what he says is the best financial condition it has been in for some time.

“Because of the generous support of the Save The Fair project and previous staff, we are able to put on the level of fair that the Clay County Fair is known for and keep the tradition alive,” he said.

This year's Clay County Fair runs Sept. 6-14 in Spencer, Iowa.