For nearly 175 years, the Smith family has been raising crops and livestock in the hills of rural Dubuque County. Located in the heart of Iowa’s driftless region, Jack, Nick, and Ted Smith put great focus on preserving the state’s soil while remaining profitable. Growing roughly 600 acres of corn and soybeans along 425 head of cattle, the family takes great pride in working to diversify the landscape to build opportunities for generations to come.
Clark Porter manages his family’s farm, Porter Family Farms, in Iowa’s Grundy and Tama counties. Clark has been an educator, nonprofit administrator, and (recently) environmental specialist for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. Clark is involved in day-to-day management, finance, purchases, marketing, crop scouting, and agronomic decisions. Like his father before him, Clark hires custom operators and local farmers for field operations and for their technical expertise in crop production.
Rockwell City native James Hepp aspired to farm, but with no direct ties to land, that dream seemed out of reach. Hepp attended Northwest Missouri State University, where he earned a degree in agricultural business and started his career as a crop insurance adjuster after graduation.
Jackson and Amanda Drost are multi-generation farmers located in Mahaska County. While renting his first acres in 2002, Jackson has been involved on the farm as early as he can remember, noting that his dad would take him and the diaper bag with him to do field work and chores. Jackson is now passing down that love of farming to their sons, Richard and Andy, who have started their own popcorn business supplying the local Little League and selling to neighbors, friends, and family.
To find farmer partners in your area, click on the appropriate region of the map.
