Jens and Erica

Why I chose a career in agriculture

In high school, I started thinking about what I wanted to do for a career. I joined the Marine Corps and did a couple tours in Iraq before I went to college. Agriculture seemed like the easiest fit and growing up it was a good background. Because I had lived in the cities when I was in the service, I knew I wanted to come back to a rural area where the family setting was more appealing to me.

How our operation has changed

The biggest thing that has changed since I’ve been back on the farm is how we’ve structured our business. We’ve gone from trying to be a cheap producer to being a low-cost producer by addressing different situations with our machinery, our land structure and how we’re handling payments and rentals.

Why I chose Farm Credit for my operating line

With Farm Credit being a cooperative financial institution there are savings on my operating line. I already had all my real estate loans with Farm Credit, so it made sense to move into their WorkSmart line of credit. It’s been a very simple tool to use and I like that it is a revolving line of credit.

Our vision for the future

The vision for our operation has always been farming based on owned assets. We focus on the longevity of assets and improving those assets over time with conservation, rebuilding and more conservative farming practices.

Advice to others getting started in agriculture

My advice to other young and beginning farmers is to challenge the status quo. Given the commodity market we’re in I think it’s important to think outside the box and challenge best practices so you can build something new and be more aggressive or creative than the next guy.