So how do we cultivate a culture of leadership? Our state is fortunate to have Leadership Iowa, which began in 1982 “to instill passion in our current and emerging leaders while fostering a high level of civic engagement.” A fundamental founding principle of Leadership Iowa was to educate and motivate new leaders from all sectors: business, education, farming, labor, nonprofits and government.

These leaders have different careers, different interests and different points of view, providing a valuable learning environment for all participants. They come to realize that public and private sectors share common interests, and they see how their teamwork can help benefit Iowa and its communities.

Leadership Iowa participants travel around the state, focusing on economic development, health care, education, government services, environment, recreation and other issues. This month they are focusing on agriculture, and Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds had the pleasure of hosting the group’s first stop. We shared our story of how we’re proud to carry on the family tradition of producing the highest quality seeds for farmers to plant throughout the Upper Midwest.

“I had no idea where farmers got the seeds they plant and was impressed by how much science and research go into modern agriculture. It’s fascinating,” said Leadership Iowa participant Maureen “Mo” Lockwood, manufacturing manager for Thombert, Inc. in Newton.

John and Shannon Latham explained how farmers don’t plant the seeds they harvest. A lot of science goes into the development of seed, and as a result, yields have dramatically increased. (Click here if you’re interested in learning more about why farmers don’t save their seed.)

“Much of what we discussed about ag is all new to me. I didn’t know much about GMOs. I also had no idea how many complicated decisions farmers have to make. When you drive by a soybean field, you don’t think about details like where the seed comes from, how the land is managed or where the crop goes after it’s harvested. I learned a lot here in Franklin County,” said Sandy Byers, director of surgical services at CHI Health Mercy in Council Bluffs.

At Latham Seeds, we contract with farmers to grow seed stock. Most of our soybeans, for example, are grown within 30 miles of our plant in Alexander, Iowa. Upon harvest, that seed is delivered to Alexander. We then check each wagon load or semi load by hand. Each variety that meets our initial inspection is stored in separate grain bins until we’re ready to clean, condition and bag it. The quality of the seed is checked every step of the way.

“I was impressed by how high tech today’s corn and soybean seeds are. I also learned a lot about what cover crops are and why farmers plant them. I liked the opportunity to visit with farmers and ask them questions,” said Leadership Iowa participant William Sonderman, manager of transmission planning and tariffs, Central Iowa Power Cooperative, Cedar Rapids.

One question asked by participants was related to succession planning. Succession planning helps ensure the family business or family farm will continue to operate by identifying future leaders and managers. We also talked about the importance of work experience and succession planning.

“I noticed how many speakers talked about the importance of working for someone else before returning to the family business. This is something that’s important to my family for our business, too,” said Michelle Cassabaum, COO/CFO, 21st Century Rehab in Nevada.

From Alexander, Leadership Iowa participants traveled to Mayne’s Grove near Geneva where they met with young Franklin County farmers about how they got started farming. They also learned about drones and precision technology that can help farmers use variable rate planting to match plant population to field conditions, as well as manage micronutrients through foliar feeding and nitrogen through timing and placement.

“Some of the things I take for granted as common knowledge about ag aren’t common knowledge for our non-farm friends. This struck me during our Leadership Iowa ag sessions in Franklin County, and I’m reminded why sharing ag’s story is so vital. Some of my Leadership Iowa classmates weren’t raised in rural Iowa but grew up in New Mexico or Massachusetts. Others are Midwesterners but grew up in large cities like Minneapolis. Even native Iowans in my class have little or no contact with modern agriculture. They have a lot of interest in learning about ag, though, and ask a lot of thoughtful, honest questions about what defines a factory farm versus a family farm, what’s being done to address water quality, why do farmers plant cover crops, and more. Who better to help answer these questions than farmers and other ag professionals?”  Darcy Maulsby, fifth generation farmer and author-preneur from Lake City.

Yesterday afternoon the Leadership Iowa group also toured the Whispering Willow Wind Farm south of Hampton before ending their day with a meal on the farm of Charlie and Barb Brown of Hampton. Sitting down to share a meal allows people to reflect upon the day, share stories and reflect upon experiences.

“Even though our business serves agriculture, I don’t come in contact with all the different aspects of crop and livestock production. Now when people talk about various ag terms and farming methods, I have a much better idea of what this all means and how things work.”  –Molly Varangkouhn, president, Hy-Capacity, Humboldt

We hope the Leadership Iowa group departs Franklin County with fond memories! Good food also helps make good memories, so today we’re sharing with you a favorite recipe from Claire Masker, who was a member of Leadership Iowa 2015-16 and also is director of public relations for the National Pork Board. Find other recipes, like Pulled Pork Tortilla Soup, at Pork.org.

Spring has officially sprung! The first day of spring marks National Ag Day, which began in 1973 to help Americans understand the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products, as well as in maintaining a strong economy.

The theme for this year’s Ag Week celebration is “Agriculture: Food for Life,” which is fitting since those of us engaged in agriculture and agribusiness are responsible for growing and producing what each person needs for daily living: food, clothing and shelter. In addition, agriculturists get the credit for golf courses and grass turf used for sports like soccer and football. Through science, innovation and caring hands, a seed was the start of all these things that contribute to our quality of life!

One of the things I enjoy most about Ag Week is watching what others in our industry are doing to celebrate and advocate. Agronomist Karen Corrigan (@weedgirl24 on Twitter) put together Ag Bags for each student in her daughter’s preschool class to take home on National Ag Day. Each bag included a beef stick from Clint & Sons; the company donated one stick for each one that Corrigan purchased. Each bag also included ag mags, coloring books and soybean crayons donated by the Tazwell (Illinois) County Farm Bureau. In addition, Corrigan gave a bag full of books to the two preschool teachers.

“My daughter’s teachers mentioned they were having a hard time finding materials to teach kids where food comes from, so I made it a point to find them resources for their nutrition unit,” says Corrigan.

Corrigan’s unique Ag Day celebration inspired Pam Smith, who is crops technology editor for DTN/The Progressive Farmer magazine, to fill a “little free library” with agriculture-related books. Little Free Library is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world.

“The idea of the little free library is to ‘take a book, return a book’,” explains Smith. “The only thing better than finding a book that touches your heartstrings is to share that joy with someone else.”

What I love about Smith’s little library is its unique barn shape. The barn shape is fitting for Smith, who as a child, snuck into the barn loft to read books.

“My husband and I were on a bicycling trip in Ohio and started noticing what looked like very fancy or interesting mail boxes. We finally stopped to check them out and realized they were little libraries. I was smitten,” says Smith. “About five years ago, my husband surprised me by giving me this barn-shaped little free library as a Christmas gift.”

Now these ladies have me thinking about what difference I can make in my own community to help residents better understand agriculture. Although we live in a rural community, we can’t take it for granted that everyone understands farming and food production. I know Iowa’s commodity groups have done a great job of producing children’s books, so I plan to stock little free libraries in Latimer and Hampton with children’s books that tell stories about farmers who raise the corn, soybean and forage crops that are fed to cattle, pigs, turkeys, chickens and other animals.

In honor of the hardworking men and women who care for land and livestock, today we’re featuring a recipe for the Ultimate Pork Breakfast Burgers. It really could be called the Ultimate Farmer’s Breakfast as it includes something from every food group including burger, bacon, eggs and cheese plus onions and peppers served on a sweet Hawaiian bun. Thinking about it is enough to make one’s mouth water!

Jerry Mork knew at a young age that he wanted to farm, but he never thought he would have the opportunity to do so. His patience was tested like Job in the Bible, but he persevered after 40 years.

After graduating in two years from the North Dakota State College of Science, Jerry spent 12 years in the oil industry. Two and one-half of those years were spent in the Middle East, where he encountered many harrowing experiences including facing the wrong end of an AK47 in Libya. Jerry worked a five-year stint as a hydraulics specialist on the northern slope of Alaska, as well as one winter in Northwestern Alberta, Canada.

Jerry worked numerous job locations in the western half of the United States before he decided to return to college. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. He then worked another 18 years as an electronic engineer primarily in Nebraska before his path led him to Day County South Dakota.

“When I first got out of college, I started investing. My first opportunity was with an old family friend, who wanted me to own his farm. I was blessed with other opportunities adjacent to where I grew up, and I was able to grow my farm base in South Dakota,” says Jerry. “I started farming 25 acres just two miles from the farm where I grew up, although I was living in Nebraska at the time. I would plan time off to plant my 25 acres in the spring and hire it harvested in the fall. Eventually, I had enough land that I could consider making it work to farm full time.”

Jerry and his wife, Rita, decided they wanted to raise their sons in the country. In 2008, they moved to Webster, South Dakota.

To supplement his farming income, Jerry worked as a sales and service technician for the healthcare division of GE until he could justify farming full time. He then decided to replace his off-farm income with a seed dealership in 2008. He noticed that Latham® seed products were performing well in the F.I.R.S.T. trials and decided to learn more after passing by the Latham Hi‑Tech Seeds booth at the Watertown Farm Show in 2015.

“I know I have superior products to sell, but I’ve found that selling seed requires deep, long-term relationships. I enjoy forming these relationships,” says Jerry. “With Gary Geske and Myron Keltgen on the Latham team, we really have access to two of the industry’s leading product specialists. I know that I can pick up the phone and call them whenever I have a question. I also appreciate Latham Seeds’ commitment to continuous training for its dealers.”

Another thing Jerry says he likes about Latham Seeds is that it’s a family-owned business that encourages families to enjoy spending time together at its business meetings. Rita and their two sons enjoy the annual Latham® dealer sales meeting. Their oldest son, Brian, is a sophomore at Webster Area Community School. He enjoys basketball and track. Last season he went to state in cross country. He is also working toward becoming an Eagle Scout. Brian is interested in technology and computers; he plans to pursue a career as an architectural engineer. Matthew, 13, loves anything that deals with farming. He’s excited that he was old enough to join FFA this year. He wants to learn how to weld and plans to sell seed, too. Matt also enjoys competed in the state 4-H archery competition.

Interest in shooting sports is growing thanks to a unique partnership between Webster 4-H clubs and the Isaac Walton League. The community of Webster got a new outdoor 3-D archery range from a $5,000 grant from the South Dakota Farm Bureau Centennial Community Initiative plus contributions from local businesses. The addition of the outdoor 3-D range means competitions can now be held in Webster, drawing in shooting sports enthusiasts from miles away.

“This has really been a cooperative project,” says Jerry, who serves as president of the Clark/Day Counties Farm Bureau. “I believe its location along U.S. Highway 12 will increase the visibility of shooting sports here and serve as another draw to Webster for people who enjoy outdoor sports. A new sign will go up at the shooting range this spring as part of an Eagle Scout project. It’s all coming together.”

In addition to serving on the Farm Bureau board, Jerry is serving as grand night for Knights of Columbus. He’s also in his fourth year as a CCD teacher. When he’s not busy working or volunteering in his community, Jerry enjoys riding snowmobiles with his family. They also enjoy traveling and attending KC Royals games in the summer.