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Iowa farmer says sustainability and legacy go hand in hand
An eastern Iowa farmer connects legacy to sustainability.
Jeff Pape, a no-till corn and soybean grower from Dyersville, tells Brownfield being sustainable means farming for the next generation.
“Our farm has continuously been farmed in our family now for 170 years. I don’t know that you can get much more sustainable than that, living within your means and taking care of that same ground for that many years. It’s quite a feat.”
He says it is tougher to be sustainable when the cost of farming goes up.
“What becomes sustainable for us as a farmer when equipment prices and land prices escalate the way they do, how do you control that? You hang onto what you have and repair what you have (to) hang onto it a little longer or something.”
Pape says that approach helps him be more sustainable so that someday his children and grandchildren can follow in his footsteps.