Ross was born in Davenport, Iowa, to parents Dale and Carolyn Paustian. Ross graduated from Davenport West in 1974, then attended South Dakota State University. He graduated in 1978, with a B.S. in Animal Science and a minor in Economics. Ross is the Vice President of Paustian Enterprises, Ltd.,and is a fifth generation crop and livestock farmer.

He is a past president of Scott County Farm Bureau, past president of Scott County Pork Producers, past president of Walcott Community Club, a 4-H member for eight years and a 4-H leader for five of those years. He is a member of Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in Davenport.

Ross was named Iowa Master Pork Producer in 1981; Pork All-American in1987; Soil Conservation Goodyear Outstanding Cooperator of the Year in 1993 and a Century Conservation Family Farm in 2000.

Ross is married to his wife Carol, a Special Education Administrator for the Black Hawk Special Education District. They have two children, Jennifer and Tom.