Geswein Farm and Land News

Over the last few decades, there’s been a noticeable shift in farm and land ownership trends. Baby Boomers are aging out of the farming industry, trading spots with Gen-Xers and Millennials who want to buy land for the farmers to farm or to become farmers themselves. Yet, for farms that have been passed down from generation to generation for centuries, this marks a significant switch in land management.

Kinsie Rayburn isn’t your typical woman in agriculture. While she grew up in Mississippi in a family of beekeepers, she didn’t have family farm experience that propelled her into the field. Instead, it was her interest in conservation and environmental sustainability of natural resources that brought her down the agriculture path.

Saving the world has always been part of Amy Skoczlas Cole’s masterplan – an idea sparked in second grade when she penned an essay to save the not-quite-endangered koala bear.

When Liz Haney graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in wildlife and fisheries science, the only job she could find was counting frogs in the Grand Canyon. While appealing to some, it wasn’t what Liz had in mind, so she opted to keep looking and eventually found a job at a soils lab in College Station, Texas, where she helped test golf course greens. That sidestep eventually propelled her into the soil science field and she now has a PhD in Ecosystem and Soil Management.

When Chantel Rammel decided to accept a full-ride scholarship to the University of Toledo, there was one catch: she had to major in accounting. Her lengthy career is rich with both corporate and nonprofit experience; however, it was her role as a Senior Manager with Clifton Gunderson LLP that allowed her to transition her focus to nonprofits.

Despite her solid Indiana farm roots, Courtney Kingery still calls herself an “accidental aggie.” As a teen, her family pushed her to pursue a career that went beyond the multi-generational corn and soy family farm, and after graduating from Hanover College with a degree in economics, she planned to apply to law school; however, an entry level position soon put her on another path.

When Hannah Vorsilak decided to pursue animal science at Purdue, she thought it would be the perfect fit. But two years into her degree, she changed her mind when she realized her passion was somewhere else. As someone who enjoys writing and interpersonal communication, it seemed like a natural shift for Hannah to switch her major to agricultural communications.

Learn How More Successful Landowners Take Practical Steps to Build Wealth in Farmland Assets

Indiana farmland broker and auctioneer Johnny Klemme recently received the prestigious Friend of Conservation award from the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (IASWCD). Klemme was selected for this award because of his positive contribution to soil and water conservation efforts as well as his support of the local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD).

Benton County, Indiana is home to some of the best land in the state with over 250,000 acres consisting of prime farmland. It’s also, unfortunately, the epicenter of what could quite possibly become one of the largest carbon dioxide (CO2) captures in the country.

Whether we’re tallying our carbon footprints or issuing credits for carbon farming, the basic element that occurs in all living things continues to be at the forefront of sustainable ag practices.