How growing up on a farm shaped me

— By Mara Jorgensen, Head of Freight at Kontango

I grew up on a corn, soybeans, and cattle farm in northwest Iowa in the United States. Growing up on a farm provided a unique set of experiences and values that have shaped my life. Many of the experiences from my childhood have molded my career and the way I look at the world. It was hard work to be a part of a farm, especially in the pre-digital age where tractors, implements, and equipment were not so automated.

The hard work did not stop at the physical/logistical part of farming. Economic conditions were also far less favorable in the 1980s. During this time, grain prices were low and interest rates were high. Legislation started to shift in the 1990s, but by this time many family farms were being swept up by large corporate farms.

Knowing what I know now, I believe my parents and grandparents spent many years operating at a deficit. They then spent the remainder of their lives trying to hold onto land, equipment, and make a decent living. I am happy to say that our family farm still exists, and my brothers happily run the organization. My mom is also still alive and active on the farm.

What did all of this teach me, and how did it shape me? I can hone in on four important characteristics:

Strong work ethic and perseverance – There is no 9-5 in farming, and I don’t abide by a “9-5” life either. Some strive for “work/life balance” - I strive for generally being content and pleased with the quality of my life and work. When living on a farm, crops need to be tended to in a very tight window, and livestock will not wait to be cared for the next day. Getting the key things accomplished urgently is very important and seeing the results of that labor is very rewarding.

Curiosity and ability to figure out “how things work” – As a child, I was not expected to have to fix equipment or to “pull calves” (the process of pulling a calf out of the birth canal in the event that a birth was not proceeding as planned). However, I spent endless days and weeks building forts, raising strange animals such as tadpoles and caterpillars, and trying to create toys and scenarios out of any available materials. I bring that into thinking about problems today to get to a collaborative and optimal solution for our customers.

Desire to connect with others – In family farming, there is rarely a straightforward transaction where you can hop on Amazon and make a purchase. There is a “person” for everything: the person that sells you fertilizer and seed, the person that helps you apply fungicide, the person that works at an implement dealer and sells/fixes combines and tractors. All of these connections are so important, and I value talking to my customers face-to-face today and knowing more about them. Outside of business, I also value being with my family and friends. This is a big part of rural living – banding together in good times and bad.

Value of agriculture – You cannot live in the midwestern United States without being peripherally surrounded by corn, wheat, or soybean fields. You cannot go 100 miles on a stretch of highway without seeing cattle, hogs, or poultry farms. It is amazing that we, in the heart of the United States, have the ability to feed so much of our country and the world. We always want to be improving practices, optimizing, and changing. Where I grew up, you literally can’t miss it. It is right in front of you and it is beautiful and awe-inspiring.

There are many invaluable lessons that growing up on a farm imparted on me. I still live on a farm today, and we intend to stay on the farm while my husband and I raise our children. We have a significantly easier life than I did growing up; most farm implements are digital and include GPS and thousands of data points and analytics. Vehicles are more reliable, crop yields are better (thanks to lots of scientific achievements), and prices have been on a reasonable trend. Our children won’t have nearly as much experience in mending fences or fixing trucks, but they will have some. Most importantly they will see the hard work, curiosity, and love of their parents that got imparted to them through rural farm living.