Starting Strong: Young Farmers Survive on Solid Roots and Innovation

Farmers today face more regulation and scrutiny than ever before. Markets are volatile and complex. Technological advancements come at a dizzying pace. Yet, they remain optimistic and focused on the traits that have always been the hallmark of farmers: diversification, sustainability, stewardship, sound business, scientific adoption, hard work, common sense, and the ability to think on their feet and adapt.

Here, five young farmers tell their stories of how they are building a solid foundation and a bright future on the farm.

Matt Raasch, 45, Odebolt, Iowa

Matt Raasch (pictured with his family above) farms 500 acres of row crops, helps his parents farm another 500 acres, and raises hogs – all in the area of northwest Iowa his ancestors settled more than a century ago. The Raasch family has always raised hogs. Raasch’s dad has a 4,500-head feeder-to-finish operation. 

Raasch erected a 2,140-head wean-to-finish hog barn on his farm in 2013, in an area where there are six residences and an outdoor wedding venue within 1 mile.

• READ MORE: Want to Contract Feed Pigs? Here's What You Need to Know

“We had to make sure we did it right,” says Raasch, both in the permitting and siting process, and in neighbor relations. “We needed our neighbors to understand up front how it would affect their business and livelihood.” 

He wasn’t afraid to ask for help. Raasch brought in the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers (CSIF), a coalition of ag commodity groups formed in 2004 to help alleviate the tension between livestock producers and livestock opposition by providing citing and regulatory assistance and neighbor relations advice. CSIF is not a lobbying entity; it merely helps farmers navigate the rulebook  and has served as a model throughout the Midwest. Similar organizations now exist in Illinois, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Ohio, and Indiana. Funded by the producer groups, its services come at no cost to producers. Since its inception, CSIF has helped more than 4,500 farm families begin or expand their livestock operations.

“We’re here to help farmers do it right,” says Brian Waddingham, CSIF executive director. 

CSIF staff not only guided Raasch through the permitting and siting process but also coached him through talking with his neighbors, explaining his plans, and assuring them that the environmental impact would be minimal.

Raasch also worked with the CSIF Green Farmstead Partner Program to plant a 180-tree windbreak near his hog barn that provides both a visual and an odor screen. The joint effort between CSIF, Trees Forever, and the Iowa Nursery and Landscape Association pairs producers with landscapers schooled in livestock site issues.

“We are an example of how you can have a livestock facility in a fairly densely populated area and everyone gets along fine,” says Raasch.

For Raasch, like many farmers, livestock is the key to his profitability. “I couldn’t make it without livestock,” he says, “at least not as easily. I would likely be supplementing with a job in town. The hogs provide cash flow and have supported my family through some tough farming years.”

The focus is on practical sustainability.

“We grow the corn, feed it, the hogs process it, and we apply it to the field. It’s the ultimate in sustainability. We haven’t purchased commercial fertilizer in 20 years.

“Raising hogs now is so much more efficient than the way it was done 40 to 50 years ago,” adds Raasch. “Crop farming is, too. That’s why the conversations are so valuable. Much of the opposition comes from people who just don’t understand.”

Lucas Tjelmeland, 28, Nevada, Iowa

Lucas Tjelmeland is the fifth generation of Tjelmelands to farm in Story County – a tradition that includes livestock and land stewardship. Farming is all Tjelmeland ever really wanted to do. He bought his first cattle at age 15. He managed a hog facility through high school. By age 21, he knew he couldn’t make a living on the farm without livestock and decided to construct a 4,000-head hog confinement unit.

He was in for a fight. His farm sits 10 minutes from Ames. His project was the first new construction in Story County to pass the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Livestock Master Matrix, a standardized scoring system used to evaluate livestock facility siting.

Like many new livestock projects, it was met with opposition. With coaching from CSIF, he took the message through the maze of public meetings, hearing neighbors’ concerns, calmly countering with solid information. 

CSIF encouraged Tjelmeland to apply the personal touch where he could. He invited anyone who was game to come look over the site and hear the details of the plan.

Once the hog barn was up, the effort continued with an open house and private tours. “A lot of people are surprised by the science, the day-in and day-out thought that goes into farming and raising livestock,” he says. “I’ve had neighbors apologize to me for opposing the project.” 

Tjelmeland knows that being the homeboy helped his case. “I’ve been here longer than most of the opposition, and I’ll stay here longer than most of them. We have a lifetime of farming ahead of us, and we hope to continue to grow with livestock.”  

Zach Meinders, 28, Buffalo Center, Iowa

Zach Meinders and his brother Jake, 26, have grown their herd of purebred cows and flock of purebred ewes to around 100 of each. The beef seedstock herd includes Angus, SimAngus, Charolais, and Leachman Stabilizer hybrids. The sheep flock is primarily Polypay, with some Katahdins. Meinders Stock Farm also grows corn and soybeans, and raises hogs. 

The brothers rely on the latest advancements in the use of genetic data to move their genetics as rapidly as they can.

“We are strong believers in hybrid vigor and heterosis,” says Meinders. “You can retain 75% of heterosis without a complicated breeding system, but you can’t do it without looking at EPDs (expected progeny differences for beef) or EBVs (expected breeding values for sheep). You have to have a handle on the numbers. That and genetic progress go hand in hand.”

• READ MORE: Starting a Beef Herd from Scratch

The Meinderses participate in the National Sheep Improvement Program, utilizing its system of EBVs and educational resources. “In today’s agricultural industries, producers should be doing as much as possible to minimize risk,” says Rusty Burgett, NSIP program director. “If you don’t know the genetic potential of your breeding sheep, you are taking a huge risk if they will be profitable or not.”

Meinders is preparing for the day when beef and sheep seedstock and commercial producers will only buy animals with genetic data. “I think most young people have their eye on getting to the top and staying on top,” he says. “We have the tools and the will to get there. The difference between an average animal and a really good animal is huge. We’re all about producing really good animals.”

Seth Smith, 39, Storm Lake, Iowa

When Smokin’ Hereford BBQ of Storm Lake earned 2017 Best Iowa Burger honors from the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association and the Iowa Beef Industry Council, it shared the glory. The beef comes from nearby Coon River Farms, owned and operated by Seth and Etta Smith.

“It was a chance to provide meat and try to make a connection,” says Seth Smith. “Whether people buy a steer from us or eat a burger at the restaurant while reading our story on the menu, the goal is to get them to eat more beef.” They’ve since added their beef to the menu of Crossroads Restaurant in Early, and regularly open their farm to tours.

Seth, Etta, and Seth’s father, Lynn Smith, farm 1,900 acres – much of it organic – of prime northwest Iowa farm ground.

“We’re here to provide what consumers want,” says Smith. “If they want organic, we’ll follow the rules and grow organic crops. It’s easier for me to adjust my skill set than to adjust public preference.”

The Smiths operate a 2,200-head feed yard and run 300 cows, raise hogs, and own and operate Coon River Gate Company.

The Smiths are known as conservation leaders in an area where water quality makes weekly newspaper headlines. They have converted their most fragile ground to pasture, reducing nitrogen and phosphorous runoff, and they make ample use of cover crops that are grazed for added forage. A feedlot near the Raccoon River pumps liquid manure from the lagoon to an irrigation pivot that applies it directly to crop ground, keeping it out of the river. 

Most of the corn grown is chopped for silage. Cornstalk bedding in the beef monoslope barns is returned to the field as nutrient enhancement, creating a full-circle farming operation. Seth estimates each animal provides roughly $47 worth of nutrients. 

“Today, we too often see a divide between the grain and livestock segments of agriculture,” says Smith. “That’s disheartening. We strive to keep diversity in our operation. We learn about corn production through our cowherd and learn about livestock by growing crops. It helps us connect some dots. That helps us keep all segments of our operation profitable and sustainable.”

Smith balances the short-term and long-term benefits of conservation practices and crop and livestock choices.

“Farmers farming today are good, smart, creative, and inventive,” he says. “They have to be. The ones who weren’t aren’t here anymore.”

Trent Thiele, 36, Elma, Iowa

As president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA), Trent Thiele is glad to give his time and talents to grow his industry. “I like being involved and handling obstacles as they come,” says Thiele. “It was an honor to be asked by people I respect.”

Trent and his wife, Kris, are partners in KMAX Farms, LLC. In addition to 4,700 acres of corn and soybeans, they and their partners finish around 70,000 hogs a year.

They believe in investing in their community. The Thieles host foreign exchange students; help with the Howard County Fair, pork producer grillings, and hog show weigh-ins; and they’ve been foster parents. 

On Friday nights, they carry on the tradition of manning the roller skating at Elma Memorial Hall, a popular activity for the community’s youth.

Thiele grew up on a nearby dairy and hog farm and spent nearly 10 years working at the local co-op before the current opportunity came along. “The chance to raise my kids in this way is a blessing,” he says. “I don’t take that for granted.”

Nor does he take for granted the effort it will take to instill the next generation in the business. That’s a part of why he took the IPPA position. “If we want the next generation to step up, we have to be a profitable industry.”

The next generation will need to “be open to change or go stagnant,” says Thiele. “You never know what may be coming next. It will likely be better. It will definitely be different.”