Letter to the Editor: Submitted by Russ Hagen

To the Editor:

Congratulations again to Steve and Jane Johanningmeier for being selected as 2026 Master Farmers. They deserve it. As a neighbor since they moved to the farm on our west, they’ve grown and thrived.

Dare I say it, two farmers in Paint Creek township in Allamakee County working the same watershed singled out by Wallaces Farmer, my parents in 1963 and Steve and Jane 59 years later, is notable. Could it be the Tama/Downs and Fayette/Dubuque soils make great farmers? Could it be the family and neighbor support that drives success?

We rented their ground before they moved to Sunny Side Up farm, now Distant View. I got the business for my very (very) crooked rows of corn stretching to their future house. As a high school junior, I might be forgiven for inattentive driving. If only I had precision farming tools of today.  However, I’m glad I did it and glad I’m done.

Soil is our legacy and soil health our responsibility.  Buildings, equipment, and animals come and go. How we leave the foundation of farming to the next generation is key and paramount to our future farmers. Will it wash to the Mississippi Delta or be sustainable here?

Take it from two farms managing a biotic community well. Look under your feet for your first priority.

Russ Hagen
Waterville