Ronald Eustice was born in Waseca, Minnesota, and raised on a family farm. He owned his first dairy animal when less than a year of age when his parents who were short of money, cashed a $50 savings bond given to him by his great-grandfather. Ron’s parents purchased a Brown Swiss cow with the money because they thought young Ronnie needed a cow more than he needed the money. From that day forward, Ronald Eustice was in the cattle business.

He received his elementary education in a one room schoolhouse near the family farm in Steele County, Minnesota. He graduated from Owatonna High School in 1963 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota in 1968. He later received a master’s in business administration.

While still in high school, Ron Eustice worked three summers at Mor-Ayr Farm, Red Wing, Minnesota. Mor-Ayr Farm was owned by Dr. R. B. Graves and by 1963 was managed by Jerry Strandlund. The herd was shown at county fairs in Minnesota, the Minnesota State Fair, National Dairy Cattle Congress and the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago.