By 1910 Olof and Ida were in Bureau County, Illinois, working the Samuelson farm in Fairfield Township. It is very likely that he moved there to be near his brother, Lars Ekberg, who was in New Bedford, Illinois at the time but who soon thereafter left Bureau County to farm in South Dakota. Olof's older sister, Anna Louisa Ekberg was also probably in Bureau County, probably in the Manlius area. She had come to America before Olof arrived in this country and had married a man named Magnus Nelson while living in the Sweetwater, Illinois area. She also moved soon thereafter, to Canada with her three daughters. Olof kept records of his farming expenses and gains for this year and for most of his years of farming, in the same book in which he had previously kept track of his mining earnings. He recorded that in 1910, he had 70 acres in corn, 15 in oats, 18 in hay and 15 in pasture. His profits that first year were:
| 1,387 Bush. Corn | @ 38 1/2 | $543.50 |
| 500 Bush. Oats | @ 30 cents | $150.00 |
| 5 ton Hay | at $11.00 a ton | $55.00 |
| 3 Hogs | at $7.15 | $63.00 |
| 4 Cattle | $92.00 | |
| Pasturing Cattle | $25.00 | |
| 87 Bush Oats | @ 30 cents | $26.10 |
Thus, Olof made over $950 that year, but after he paid the rent on the farm of $410.00 and $46.00 in hired help, he netted about $500 for the year, about as much as he would have made in the mines, but with, no doubt, better hours and safer conditions.
The next year, in 1911, Olof bought more farm animals and equipment and he kept records of each purchase:
| Dec. 30, '10 | On A. Piersons Sale | 2 Cows | $90.00 |
| " | On A. Piersons Sale | 5 Sows | $83.00 |
| Jan 26, '11 | On F. Hewett's Sale | 1 Cow and Calf | $50.00 |
| May 14 | 1 Riding Cultivator | 28.00 | |
| Sep. 10 | 1 Deere Gang Plow | 62.50 | |
| Feb. 4 | 1 DeLaval Cream Separator | 85.00 | |
| Sep. 3 | 3 Cows | 92.50 | |
| Dec. 28 | 1 Cow | 34.00 | |
| " " | 1 Bull | 50.00 |
He invested over $500 in these purchases, but the result was that he made over $1500 that year, before paying the rent which was now $425.
He continued to keep records of the family's farming activities, noting such things as that in 1912 his wheat was "winter killed, plowed up for corn", and that in 1913 they moved to the Spencer farm, where they had bad luck in the form of lightning which struck the barn and burned it down, costing the family $300 in losses.
In 1914 Olof sold out his crops and equipment for over $3000 and lived for a year in Princeton but then moved to the O. Olson farm near New Bedford on March 18, 1915 where he "Started Farming. Bought all my Stock and Implements."
Rent on the Olson farm was $600 per year. Olof recorded borrowing about $600 the first year, from the Manlius State Bank and two other people, money which was lent at 5 or 6% interest and was to be paid back in 9 to 15 months. He paid these notes off on time and continued to do well in the farming business. By 1917 he grossed over $2000. In addition to farming, he did some work in the spring "dragging road with 4 horses," presumably to smooth out the water damage, work for which he was paid $5.75.
By 1918 the farm rent had gone up to $700 a year, but Olof recorded expenses of almost $1200 but a gross income of just under $4000, and by the next year he made just under $5000, ten times the amount he had netted just nine years earlier!
On January 1st, 1920, Olof inventoried the family's assets, adding up crops on hand, livestock, farm implements, canned goods and household goods. The total came to $4,406.14, an amazing amount considering that the small family had virtually nothing when Olof left the mines in 1909. The next year the amount had grown to $9,288.00.
The family kept moving, working the farm of Mrs. Westbrook in 1920, and to the Anderson farm near Wyanet in 1928. Throughout these years, Olof kept track of the farm expenses and assets in his day book up until 1931, at which time the family was worth over $13,000, even as the depression was hitting most of the nation. He farmed for about another ten years before retiring in 1943 when most of his sons were in the military. It is said that he tried to volunteer for the Coast Guard during World War II, but was turned down because of his age.
After retiring from farming Olof and Ida lived in their home in Wyanet . Olof kept busy for while by carving out ship models, the largest of which was his model of the "Oceana", a ship on which he sailed in his younger days. Olof died September 23, 1964 with Ida following in death about 18 months later on March 27, 1966.
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