Cover Feature: By Stephanie Haas him to sign the note, along with Jason, so he could buy his first truck, which was a 1987 International, and he started Strecker Trucking, LLC in 1995. Running that International for about 13 months until it started to nickel and dime him, he decided to trade it in for a 1996 Kenworth T600. In 1999, he bought a brand-new Peterbilt 379 with a 600-hp CAT and then, the following year, he leased onto a company to haul fat cows. Eventually realizing he couldn’t do this day in and day out (be gone for long stretches of time), he sold that truck to a friend. As mentioned before, since trucking and farming has always been in Jason’s blood, he wanted a life with both. It has often been said that if you find a job you love you will never work a day in your life. But, for Jason Strecker of Offerle, KS, he had two loves – farming and trucking. Once he figured out a way to do both, he found the best of both worlds! Not to say he doesn’t work every day, but that old adage is still true, because Jason loves all of what he does, like so many in and around his home state of Kansas. Called The Sunflower State, Kansas is known for many things, including its diverse landscapes. If you’ve ever driven through it going east to west (or vice versa), you’ll see the difference. Even though the beauty of east Kansas is lush and green in the spring and summer, west Kansas paints a different picture of a dryer climate in the plains, that is both rugged and welcoming. However, one thing remains, there is beauty in the plains, especially when it comes to the large rides that call Kansas home. As a third generation crop farmer, Jason Strecker (turning 51 on Valentine’s Day) is the first generation in his family to get into trucking. Growing up in Spearville, KS (next town west of Offerle), he was born into farming, and he loved it right from the beginning. No others in his family were involved in trucking, but Jason was infatuated with trucks as far back as he remembers. Crediting his dad Melvin for teaching him at a young age how to operate the farm equipment, Jason loved farming and running tractors and combines. He couldn’t wait to be able to drive during harvest season. He taught himself how to drive a truck by watching his dad, who had a 1967 Ford 250 with a Cummins engine and a 10-speed transmission. When his dad wasn’t home, Jason would drive the truck around on the nearby dirt roads. Finally, when Jason’s dad let him drive, he was shocked at his ability to handle that truck already. In 1993, as soon as he turned 18, Jason got his CDL. His dad obviously saw the passion he had for driving. With the lack of actual driving experience, his young age (under 21), and insurance requirements, he was unable to get a driving job with a company. After Jason turned 21, his dad had enough faith in 10 10-4 Magazine / February 2026 BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjA1MjUy