You’ll still find Iowa farmer Mark Hanna behind the wheel of his combine every fall. The technology and automation is a signature of their farm, and what helps keep running the combine still fun for someone who’s been farming for 46 years.
But the landscape of equipment and technology today looks drastically different from when he started farming in 1979.
“I joined my dad’s operation where I was basically the labor force to help me get started,” Hanna says, who farms in Joice, Iowa. “I would trade my labor for the use of his machinery.”
The Cusp of the 1980s Farm Crisis
Right on the cusp of the 1980s farm crisis, Hanna’s rookie years of farming were tough.
“It was a horrible time. It was 1979 and my grandpa, Dewey, whose farm we actually bought in 1980, said he was always going to sell me that farm, even when I was little,” Hanna remembers. “And it came about in 1981, and a year later, the farm was worth half of what we bought it for.”
Hanna describes farming as an occupation of risks and rewards. And the risks then were high.
“The bank got concerned and said, ‘Boy, your equity is going backward here. Your net worth isn’t good.’ And I said, ‘Well, I have a private contract with my grandpa. And as long as I make that, it really doesn’t matter to you.’”
The Mortgage Lifters
With interest rates at 18%, Hanna weathered that storm. One way he did was with farrow to finish hogs.
“I figured out they were the mortgage lifters,” he says. “So, I just raised as many as I could in every nook and cranny on the farm for about five or six years. And that kept me making my payments and kept me farming.”
Throughout the ‘90s, Hanna expanded more and more, moving all his hogs and pigs into an environment he could control.
“By 1998, I had even my sows inside as fully confinement buildings,” Hanna says. “But 1998, that was a pretty tough. We had 8 cent hogs in December. I had all my buildings full. We had just built two new buildings. It turned out to be a $30,000 a month loss with no end in sight.”
The Hog Market Crash of 1998
In 1998, Hanna met his biggest challenge yet. With margins in the red and the debt mounting, he knew he needed to find additional income. So, he decided to take a job in town working nights, while also still raising hogs.
“After two weeks of that, I decided, ‘You know what? There’s more important things in life. I’m doing the best I can. And if I’m doing the best I can and I can’t make it, so be it.’ So, I kept breeding sows and keeping all the facilities full. And by July that year we had $60 hogs. I had full buildings, and I made more money than I ever thought I would and got my debt taken care of,” Hanna says.
It’s that moment in Hanna’s career that his son, Philip, says was a pivotal point for their family farm.
“It really stuck out to me is that he just focused on ‘what can I do and not worry about the things that I can’t control and just focus on that’,” says Philip Hanna.
The Next Generation
Hanna’s sons, Philip and Andrew, are now partners in their family farm. And they say the thing they admire most about their dad is his vision and ability to take risks.
“I feel like technology-wise, our biggest thing is being able to variable rate our planting, planting our split application of 32% and our fertilizer in the fall. That’s been huge,” says Andrew Hanna.
From the latest technology to the decision to dive into strip till in 2018, even Hanna’s employee of 20 years will tell you he admires Hanna’s intelligence and ability to always look ahead.
“They’re just really good people to work for,” says Larry Severson, a long-time employee. “I mean, they’re very innovative. They try new things like the strip tower. We were the first ones in this area to make that leap. And they went headfirst into it and it worked out really well for them.”
Investing in Innovation
What may be the biggest mark of success is how Hanna is investing in innovation through Ag Ventures Alliance.
“We help startups in ag thrive and be successful,” he says. “We offer them a wealth of information and knowledge and help to get them going.”
Ag Ventures Alliance and AgLaunch now select their top 10 startups each year, offering advice and financial investment.
“Out of that spun AgLaunch Farmers LLC, which we started two years ago. Farmers actually get a stake in each company. They have to put up $100,000 and pledge it to the AgLaunch Farmer LLC. When they’re successful, the farmers will get paid back with their stake in the equity in the company,” Hanna says.
For Hanna, investing in others and helping start-up companies launch into the ag field is one of the most rewarding parts of his job today.
“I like to see new innovations. We like to try the newest thing that’s coming out there on our own farm,” he says.
For his sons, Hanna’s ability to give back and support others is just a glimpse into the strong character he instilled in both of them.
“I came out of high school wanting to be just like my dad, wanting to be a farmer like he has been in the past and to grow with him in the future,” Andrew says.
Phillip adds, “I hope with my brother and me, when my dad starts phasing out, that we’re going to continue to be on the new technology like my dad was and just keep on improving things on the farm and not be afraid of trying new things and new technology.”
Congratulations to Mark Hanna, a finalist for the 2025 Top Producer of the Year.
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