Customer Stories

Lee and Ben Bader farm together as father and son Tracing back six generations of farming, the Bader family continues the family tradition. Lee and Ben Bader, a father and son duo, farm together in Jesup, IA. “Since the early years, our family has been on the farm,” Lee (dad) Bader said.

As a family, Lynn Farms works to overcome challenges “My wife always says, ‘A farmer has to be an optimist or you wouldn’t be a farmer,’” said Jeff Lynn, owner of Lynn Farms. Jeff Lynn is a third-generation farmer from Lismore, MN.

A passion for supporting small- to medium-sized independent livestock producers and providing a path for future generations interested a group of northwest Iowa livestock producers to the Pipestone Management several years ago, and has built a foundation for their success.

Staying focused on their strengths, but being willing to change has been the foundation of the growth and evolution of the Dumoulin family’s farm for more than six decades. Bill and Pat Dumoulin began farming together in 1954 near Hampshire, Illinois, about 60 miles west of downtown Chicago.

For more than thirty years, Dean Vroman has been raising crops, pigs and cattle in Minnesota.

Generations of the Sturtevant family have raised crops and livestock on the same land in northwestern Illinois since the 1850s.

For thirty years, Doug Pollema has focused on providing products and services to support family farmers around his business in northwest Iowa.

Focusing on sound business practices and management strategies has allowed the Schwerin family of Wood Lake, Minnesota, to build the foundation for a farm that provides opportunities for family members today and for generations to come. Dave Schwerin started farming with his father, Harlan Schwerin, in 1978.

Bill Steenstra, field supervisor for Pipestone Management in Independence, Iowa, was named a Master Pork Partner by the Iowa Pork Producers Association at the Iowa Pork Congress Banquet in Des Moines in January 2016.

For a northwest Iowa pork producer, an investment in the Pipestone Management provided an opportunity for his operation to sustainably grow today and presents a roadmap for the next generation to get started in livestock production.

Finding a balance between carrying on family farming traditions and adopting new practices for the future can be a challenge for many farmers and livestock producers.  Gary Wedewer is the fourth generation to live on the farm in northeast Iowa that was started in 1882 by his great grandfather.

Sustainability has become a popular term in recent years to define everything from protecting the environment to ensuring the viability of family farms over multiple generations to many other facets of modern agriculture. For the Braun family of LeSueur, Minnesota, sustainability isn’t a new concept.