With an introduction to the world like that, it’s no surprise Andy has always felt at home in the agricultural industry. Now, at 21 years old, he’s a full‑time John Deere diesel technician, a young cattleman building his own herd and a sixth‑generation member of a farm that’s been in his family for more than 120 years. 

His path forward, he says, is rooted in the same industry he was born into.

“There is nothing more in the world that I want to do than work on the farm and work with cattle,” he explains.

Choosing a path

Raised on a farm near Williamsburg, Iowa, Andy was constantly surrounded by the stories of generations before him.

“I come from a long line of Angus breeders,” he says. “I’m the third generation on my mom’s side, and the sixth generation on my dad’s side.”

His goal has always been to return to the farm and continue the family legacy, but first, his parents said he needed a career.

“When I was a junior in high school, my family said, ‘You need to bring something back to the farm if you want to continue farming with us,’” Andy explains. 

Many family farms rely on some sort of “off the farm” income, and the Driscoll family is no exception. Andy’s dad, Joe, is a part-time crop insurance adjuster, and his mom, Dawn, is an Iowa State Senator. Joe is one of eight kids, and while several of his siblings are still involved in the farm in some way, they have other jobs as well — such as welders, business owners, and teachers. 

Andy was confident his future would be no different. When considering post-high school plans, he knew a traditional university wasn’t for him. He enjoyed physical work too much to sit in a lecture hall all day, so, he turned to the trades.

“I wasn’t a big fan of school,” he says. “I knew I had to work with my hands, and I’ve always enjoyed working on machinery.”

Andy considered a few machinery technician programs, but the John Deere TECH program offered a short timeline and a path straight into the workforce. It just made sense.

The TECH program is built around a partnership between community colleges and local dealerships. Students spend part of their time in the classroom learning and the rest of their time working hands-on in the shop — a structure that appealed to Andy. He enrolled in Northeast Iowa Community College, where the program was housed, and spent the next two years learning everything he needed to become a successful technician.

Andy says he learned to work on everything from vintage tractors to the newest models. But what he loved the most was they didn’t just give him the tools to fix machines; they taught him the theory behind why what they were doing worked. 

“We learned everything about every kind of machine John Deere has to offer, and the ones they no longer offer,” Andy explains. “It wasn’t just focused on learning computers and electronics; it was focused on how and why each machine worked.”

Students learned electrical systems, hydraulics, diagnostics, theory of combustion and more. He was taught to work on equipment designed for construction and agriculture. Those skills are transferable to anything, which he says sets the TECH program apart. 

“My official title is a heavy-duty diesel technician, but it’s sort of universal because lighter-duty things like pickup trucks are just smaller versions of what I work on.”

Since graduating in 2025, Andy has worked full-time at a local Iowa dealership, putting in long days in the shop before heading home to help on the farm. 

“I work all day at the dealership, come home and pick up where I left off yesterday,” he shares.

Growing up Angus

Hard work is no stranger to most in the agricultural industry, and Driscoll says for him, the work ethic his lifestyle requires was learned in the show barn.

“Showing calves taught me to get up at dawn, doing chores before school to take care of an animal that needed me,” he says.

That discipline carried into his Deere training and, now, into his daily routine. Whether he’s working on a tractor transmission or tagging newborn calves, the habits are consistently the same: show up early, work until the job is done and take pride in doing it right.

And if the barn is where Andy learned responsibility, he says the National Junior Angus Association (NJAA) community is where he learned confidence. A member of the organization for as long as he can remember, he’s been to many National Junior Angus Shows (NJAS). He’s attended every NJAA leadership conference since he was eligible. He’s built a community with friends and cattlemen from across the country. 

Those experiences, he says, shaped him as much as anything he learned in a classroom.

“It’s because of places like junior nationals I gained the social skills I have today; being able to confidently go up to somebody and start a conversation, no matter who they are or what they do,” Andy says. “I don’t think I would be near as good at being able to talk to people without that.”

The Angus association showed me that there are like‑minded people in the world that are just as obsessed with cattle as I am … which made me feel welcome and accepted.” — Andy Driscoll

The NJAA also gave him something he didn’t always find at his local high school — a sense of belonging and true community.

“The Angus association showed me that there are like‑minded people in the world that are just as obsessed with cattle as I am … which made me feel welcome and accepted,” Driscoll says.

Those connections have lasted, and Driscoll says he’s grateful to the NJAA for helping him become the cattleman he is today. From conferences like Raising the Bar to cheering friends on ringside at the NJAS, it truly is an organization that has helped develop Driscoll and prepare him for his future.

Building a future

Today, Andy is slowly building his own herd, consigning cattle to sales and carving out a reputation as a young breeder with ambition. He’s not trying to be the biggest operation, just someone known for good cattle and honest work — all this while balancing a full-time job as a diesel mechanic.

“The John Deere job … is to pay for my obsession with cattle,” he laughs.

The steady income allows him to invest in genetics, equipment and the future he hopes to build on the family farm. The Driscoll operation is structured so the next generation can eventually buy in, and Andy hopes to be part of that transition. His dad and uncles have spent decades building a business that can support multiple families, and they’re eager to see the next generation step into leadership. 

“Hopefully soon it’ll be my siblings and I,” Andy says.

That future motivates him through the long days — the early mornings in the shop, the late nights in the fields, the weekends spent hauling cattle or catching up on paperwork. It’s a demanding schedule, but Andy doesn’t see it as a burden. He sees it as a privilege.

“That is the end goal,” he says. “To just be a full‑time farmer.”

For now, he’s doing what young agriculturalists across the country are doing: building equity one calf at a time and contributing to the future of the family operation.

Driscoll’s story is one of tradition and transition — a young man grounded in generations of Angus history, navigating the realities of modern agriculture and preparing to carry the family legacy forward. His path has taken him from the show barn to the shop floor, from leadership conferences to late‑night calving checks, and from a newborn at the county fair to a young cattleman with a clear vision for the future.

It’s a story that began, quite literally, in a barn. 

And if Driscoll has anything to say about it, that’s exactly where he’ll stay for the rest of his life.