Thousands of Wisconsin’s migrant seasonal workers face barriers to getting basic healthcare. A Wautoma-based charity is helping fill that gap by taking its mobile clinic to farm fields, providing low-cost primary care medicine to workers mostly from Mexico.
Dan Kuebler is out on a hot August morning on what used to be his farm.
Kuebler grew fruits and vegetables on 30 acres in Ashland, Missouri, and for decades he sold his produce at the Columbia Farmers Market.
“Ashland was a little, bitty, sleepy town in ’77 when we bought it,” Kuebler said.
Then, small towns in southern Boone County started becoming homes to those working in nearby Columbia or Jefferson City. Kuebler watched farmland on his 2-mile dead end road get sold and broken up into parcels. As he neared retirement, he needed to come up with a plan for the future of his farmland.
“I don’t want it split up into five-acre plots … and become a development. That is just like — that’s sacrilege,” he said.
Kuebler began farming at the age of 40. For the next 33 years, he grew dozens of varieties of vegetables and eventually branched out into making fermented foods such as sauerkraut, pickles and kimchi. He balanced managing the farm along with his other job as an in-home physical therapist.
Kuebler is passionate about local farmers providing food for their community. He was an active seller at the farmers market and advocated for the permanent shelter that now houses the market on the west side of Columbia.
As new development encroached on his neighborhood, Kuebler wanted to protect his farm from being broken up.
“I don’t want to sell it to the highest bidder. I want it to stay in farmland. So how should I do that?” he said.
Liz Graznak, owner of Happy Hollow Farm, hands Dan Kuebler a bouquet of flowers after paying for vegetables during an August visit to the Columbia Farmers Market. Kuebler sold produce at the market for more than three decades. (Cory MacNeil / Missouri News Network)
The demand for more housing often comes at the expense of farmland. Flat, cleared fields are ideal for development.
Now some agriculture advocates are encouraging farmers and landowners to use a legal tool to ensure their land remains farmable.
They believe the need is critical. At least 50 million acres of farmland in the Midwest are set to change hands by the end of the decade due in part to the average age of farmers and landowners.
Kuebler worked with a local land trust to attach what’s known as a conservation or agriculture easement to his property deed. It dictates that the farmland must remain farmland no matter who owns it — forever.
“You cannot subdivide it, you cannot sell it off for residential development or commercial development. That is the guiding principle,” said Nick Shapiro, executive director of the Greenbelt Land Trust of Mid-Missouri, the organization Kuebler worked with.
Land trusts do the work of ensuring current and future property owners follow the stipulations laid out in agriculture easements.
“The initial landowner who donates the easement knows, not only is there this legal document out there that binds future owners, there is also an organization out there that is required to look after that easement in perpetuity and to defend it and to make sure that it is upheld and respected,” Shapiro said.
‘Best use’ of land
In recent years, about 2,000 acres of American farmland a day have been lost or compromised by development, according to American Farmland Trust, a national land preservation organization. The group estimates another 18.4 million acres — an area almost the size of South Carolina — will be converted by 2040.
Development pressures come from urban sprawl, when metropolitan areas continue to creep outward, paving over once-rural places. But what’s known as “low-density residential” development is also a threat.
Housing built in the country on large plots of former farmland repurposed nearly 7 million acres of agricultural land between 2001 and 2016.
American Farmland Trust’s analysis shows rural housing development is especially high in Missouri, elsewhere in the Midwest and in the South.
Josh Wright is with American Farmland Trust, where he helps landowners through the often yearslong legal and financial process of securing an easement to protect land from development.
“People who have spent their entire lives working their land, whether it be in their family for many generations or not, you become so attached to it and all of your effort could be snatched up and paved over as soon as you sell the property,” he said.
But placing development restrictions on a piece of land could reduce its value by up to 65%. Exactly how much depends on a number of factors, including location, nearby development pressures and how restrictive the easement is.
“Whenever you go to sell your property, it’s going to be appraised, and that’s going to be judged at best, highest dollar — and they call it best use in the industry,” Wright said.
In other words, the most profitable use, which farming generally isn’t.
“Unfortunately, it’s probably considered the worst use,” he said.
A bird flies over Dan Kuebler’s equipment in August. (Kate Cassady / Missouri News Network)
Twelve years ago, Congress expanded federal easement initiatives, setting aside about $450 million a year to compensate farm owners for a portion of reduced value of their land through a program known as ACEP-ALE, which stands for Agricultural Conservation Easement Program – Agricultural Land Easements.
That funding, which has since been increased to $650 million annually, filters through nonprofit organizations, such as land trusts, state and local agencies, or tribal governments, to essentially buy a property’s development rights from the farm owner.
Eric Gramlich works with Ozark Land Trust, a conservation organization focused on preserving land in Arkansas and Missouri.
Although the government can provide a financial cushion to soften the blow of the drop in value a piece of property under easement will experience, Gramlich said it’s unlikely to be the landowner’s most lucrative option.
“Even those payments would struggle to keep up with the demand and the price of land for commercial development or large scale subdivision development,” Gramlich said. “So I think the financial means, even for willing land owners, that’s a big challenge for them, and also a big challenge for us to rise up and … be on some sort of a playing field with the other competing interests for that land.”
More than 1 million acres of farmland have been preserved through easements since the federal program began in 2014. But more than half of that land is in just three states: Montana, Wyoming and Colorado.
Currently, no farmland in Missouri has been restricted from development under the federal program. Illinois has 445 acres of farmland under permanent easements, and Iowa has 2,320 acres.
Gramlich said that’s because there still aren’t that many land trust organizations in Missouri, and the agricultural community is still learning about the option.
“I’d like to think that we’ll be gaining more efficiencies in the program now that it’s been established, but it is generally a multiyear process to get the application in, the contracting paperwork, and then to actually do the boots-on-the-ground work of getting the easement in place,” he said.
President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill increased the federal easement program funding to $650 million annually, to be used to preserve both farmland and wetlands.
But preserving farmland through easements is time-consuming, while losing farmland to development can happen rapidly.
A few years ago the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the agency that administers the easement program, made an effort to “streamline” multiple parts of the process including land appraisals, surveys and certifying organizations such as land trusts.
In mid-Missouri, Shapiro hopes the land owners out there who value their farm’s legacy will consider preserving it with an easement.
“The older farmers who are looking to get out might be willing to take less than top dollar if they know that there is someone who really wants to take their land and run it and manage it in a way that is consistent with their shared values,” Shapiro said.
Dan Kuebler holds peppers and squash while waiting in line to pay for vegetables at the Columbia Farmers Market. (Cory MacNeil / Missouri News Network)
His organization, Green Belt Land Trust, was formed to preserve natural areas such as forests and wetlands. It expanded its work to farmland as development pressures increased.
“So much of mid-Missouri’s not just economy, but culture and heritage is based in farming,” Shapiro said. “There is an important role for us to play in helping to preserve that heritage as well.”
Giving up the farm
On the north side of Kansas City, Kansas, Rick Mareske has been growing berries and forest farming on 40 acres of land for the past 20 years. His food gets to local customers through a community supported agriculture, or CSA, subscription program.
Mareske and his wife are weighing options for the future of their business and farmland. They considered an easement for their property.
“The cons are, it’s expensive,” he said. “It’s like 20, 25 thousand dollars just to do it, and then you lose money.”
Mareske’s land is a financial asset he’s counting on for retirement income. He said he doesn’t want the years he spent caring for his land to be erased, but he can’t afford to sell for less.
“We’re trying to make it as beautiful as possible and as enticing as possible for someone to buy it and keep it going the way we have it,” he said.
With or without an easement, Mareske hopes the future of his land includes farming.
Meanwhile, in Boone County, after 33 years Dan Kuebler has stopped selling produce and preserves at the farmers market. He still goes each Saturday to buy his food for the week and catch up with his former customers as he shops.
“I see them and we talk, and it’s like I really didn’t lose my community,” he said.
Kuebler estimates that it cost him about $20,000 to place an easement on his land, most of that cost coming from the land survey and appraisal. He didn’t take advantage of the federal ACEP-ALE program and its compensation offer, even though his 30 acres of fields, forest and pastures dropped about $90,000 in value once development rights were stripped.
He sold the land to another local farmer last year. The easement requires the land remain in agriculture and that the methods used to grow crops are sustainable or regenerative.
There’s a small, old cabin on the property, and one of the more unique stipulations of the easement is that Kuebler gets to spend time there, and on the land, until he dies.
“I really couldn’t give up the farm totally because I (am) so attached to it,” he said.
Dan Kuebler walks into the cabin on land he protected from development through an easement. (Kate Cassady / Missouri News Network)
Opponents of the Ridge Breeze Dairy expansion watch the contested case hearing Tuesday against the farm's permit in the standing room only overflow room at the Eau Claire State Office Building. (Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner)
A factory farm in Pierce County filed a lawsuit late last month appealing an administrative law judge’s decision that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources didn’t include enough groundwater protections when approving a permit allowing the farm to expand from 1,700 to 6,500 cows.
The Ridge Breeze Dairy in Maiden Rock has long been the subject of local activism against the expansion, which is expected to generate 78 million gallons of manure every year. The initial DNR permit process drew significant public participation.
The dairy is owned by the Appleton-based Breeze Dairy Group, which operates a number of farms in the state — some with a history of manure spills.
Communities across Wisconsin are facing the effects of massive factory farms on their local water, particularly rural areas where residents get their drinking water from private wells. The groundwater around the Ridge Breeze site already has elevated nitrate levels, which have been linked to blue-baby syndrome, thyroid disease and colon cancer.
The DNR approved the expansion permit in February 2025. During the application process, the agency had to send the permit back to the farm operators once because it named nearby properties as sites for planned manure spreading although those property owners were never contacted.
After the approval, a group of local residents and the advocacy group Grassroots Organizing Western Wisconsin filed a lawsuit alleging that the permit did not do enough to ensure that the area groundwater was protected.
Two days of hearings were held in Eau Claire in March and in August Administrative Law Judge Angela Chaput Foy ruled in favor of the residents, sending the permit back to the DNR to include a process through which the agency can verify that the farm isn’t harming the groundwater.
“By omitting a mechanism to verify actual compliance, the Department has issued a mandate while simultaneously denying itself the tools or data necessary to know whether that mandate is broken,” Chaput Foy wrote.
In the lawsuit, filed Sept. 23 in Outagamie County Circuit Court, the farm argues that it’s “aggrieved” by being forced to verify it is following the law, mostly because it would have to pay the cost of digging groundwater monitoring wells.
In recent years, Wisconsin factory farms and their allied advocacy groups have also filed lawsuits that argue the DNR lacks the authority to regulate their pollutants at all.
Ridge Breeze argues that state law doesn’t include a mechanism through which the DNR can verify compliance with groundwater standards in a factory farm’s permit.
“The ALJ concludes that the lack of mechanisms in the Permit to verify that Ridge Breeze’s practices comply with the standards is inherently contradictory to the mandate to assure compliance with those standards,” the lawsuit states. “The Decision thus improperly conflates the statutory requirement to assure compliance with a (non-existent) obligation to prescribe conditions that verify compliance. Nothing in [state statute] requires the DNR to require groundwater monitoring or some other mechanism to ‘verify’ compliance or detect non-compliance.”
The dairy points to parts of Chaput Foy’s decision in which she finds that the provisions included in the initial permit should be strong enough to protect the groundwater.
“By disregarding substantial record evidence that showed the terms prescribed in the Permit were reasonable and sufficient to assure compliance with groundwater standards — including the ALJ’s own conclusion that the permit ‘sets Ridge Breeze up for anticipated compliance’ — the Decision is outside the range of discretion conferred upon DNR and is unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious, and should be reversed and/or remanded to the agency,” the lawsuit states.
Danny Akenson, an organizer with GROWW, said in a statement that Ridge Breeze appealing the decision shows the farm cares more about its bottom line than being a good neighbor.
“We fought for three years to make sure the state has a way to determine whether Ridge Breeze is contaminating our groundwater, and the judge agreed with us,” Akenson said. “Factory farm special interests care more about protecting corporate profits than protecting the groundwater Wisconsin families rely on. Ridge Breeze may have deep pockets for legal fees, but we’re organized, and we’re not going to let them off the hook.”
Shades of red extracted from an ancient corn variety held up to heat and other conditions typical of food processing and storage. Researchers are exploring whether this natural dye alternative could open new markets for Midwest farmers.
More farmers are opting to repair old tractors, combines and other machinery instead of buying new upgrades. A tough farm economy and historically-high equipment prices are at least partly to blame.
Tom Ritter and his son, Cory, had worked together with their families every harvest season for the past 20 years.
“My daughter loved to ride in the semi during harvest with my dad,” said Cory. “I remember seeing them leave the field together, and just the time that he took and the importance that he put on spending that quality time with family.”
But last year’s harvest was different; instead of Tom and Cory working together, tragedy hit the family on Aug. 20.
“Someone drove by and saw the semi was overflowing. The corn was still coming out, but it was overflowing, and thought this isn’t good and started knocking on doors,” Cory said. “My mother’s house is just a couple of doors in town, and they knocked on her door, and she called me and had a feeling we knew what happened.”
The area around the Ritter family farm in Blue Mound, Illinois, was surrounded by neighbors, police and firefighters trying to find Tom.
It turned out that he had gone inside the grain bin to fix a piece of equipment. While he was working on it, the grain suddenly shifted and began to move, trapping him.
“I still have the mental image of all these neighbors that just showed up. It was a hot day, sweating and scooping as hard as they could, trying to see if we could save him,” said Cory.
Tom was found against one of the walls of the grain bin. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it.
Half of grain bin accidents are still fatal
A recent report from Purdue University shows these types of accidents are up. In 2024, 34 grain bin entrapment cases occurred compared to 27 in 2023, representing a 25% increase.
Dr. Salah Issa, an assistant professor and extension specialist at the University of Illinois, said data on grain bin accidents is hard to come by.
“The way we collect this data is mostly through news clippings. It’s hard to put a pin on where they’re occurring exactly, like if there is a type of grain bin where they occur more frequently than others,” he said.
According to Issa, grain storage in the 1960s was very different from today’s systems. Storage facilities were generally smaller and less mechanized before the widespread use of the large steel grain bins and grain-handling equipment common on many farms today. The earliest documented grain bin entrapment case occurred in 1964.
When a farmer is trapped in a grain bin, the odds of survival are poor. Historically, 70% of accidents were fatal, Issa said.
That fatality rate has come down, but it remains high.
”Strong efforts in training for rescue personnel have contributed to the reduction of the severity,” Issa said. But he adds that about 20 to 40 people die in grain bins annually, about half of all accidents.
“Fifty percent is pretty bad.”
Issa said weather and spoiled grain play a role in most accidents. Grain can get too wet and clump at the bottom, or crust on top — creating a false sense of security for workers who walk on the surface.
“This happened a while ago, with a father and son,” he said. “A young boy went inside a grain bin that had a crust that had formed. The kid runs across the grain bin, and nothing happens, and the farmer runs after him, and when he reaches the middle, it breaks and he falls through it and ends up losing his life.”
Grain can also build up on one side of a bin and collapse like an avalanche, burying a worker.
Young and older workers are at the highest risk; about half of accidents involve people older than 60 and younger than 21.
“In 2010, we had a really bad case where three boys under the age of 20, I think one or two of them were 14 or 15, they ended up drowning,” Issa said.
Regulatory gaps leave many farms without oversight
Grain bin safety training is offered by universities, industry groups and safety organizations across the country. Still, reaching every farming operation remains a challenge.
Farms with fewer than 10 employees are exempt from federal safety standards, and the lack of oversight also extends to young family members who help on the farm.
The Ritter family poses for a portrait. Tom Ritter and his son, Cory, worked alongside their families during harvest season for more than 20 years. Cory Ritter said spending quality time with family was one of his father’s greatest priorities. (Courtesy of Cory Ritter)
“It’s a devastating issue, and it should never happen,” Issa said. “Because of the frequency rate, it’s very easy to run into the thought that this is not going happen to me until it ends up happening to you.”
Aaron Lehman, president of the Iowa Farmers Union, said more regulation would help, but that added rules and costs would likely face pushback from farmers.
“Most farmers don’t appreciate a more regulatory framework, and it is difficult to implement and expensive to implement,” he said. “All the more reason before we get to that point that we expand on our efforts to educate farmers, to use voluntary incentives to put these things in place — and that really is important.”
As for Cory, he is unsure about regulation because every farm has its own unique situation.
“I don’t know if I’m for regulation because every farm is different, every situation is different,” Cory said.
For him, it’s more about slowing down and paying attention.
“Is it a dangerous job on the farm? Yes. Is it the most dangerous job on the farm? I don’t know. But it’s just, it’s all about people thinking twice, and that’s what it really takes,” he said.
New safety tools help, but prevention remains the best defense
Issa said that 95% of these incidents are preventable and that prevention starts by installing systems in or near grain bins that can safely break up clumps and address grain-flow problems from outside the bin.
An alternate solution that Issa and his team have researched is using compressed air to break up grain clumps from outside the bin, though the method can be time-consuming because it only breaks up clumps near the outlet, and the use of high-pressure compressed air requires strict safety precautions.
Issa said that as a last resort, if someone needs to enter a grain bin, all equipment should be shut off and disconnected from its power source. The equipment should also be locked and tagged so it cannot be turned on while someone is inside the bin. He added that workers should wear a harness and have a spotter outside the bin watching them.
“I have a story of three people who went into repair a grain bin, and a trucker came by not knowing they were in there and pulled out grain, and they ended up drowning,” said Issa.
California and Indiana have their own state workplace safety programs that enforce grain bin safety regulations. In California, if someone needs to enter a grain bin, written authorization from a supervisor is required, or a supervisor must be present during the entire operation. California’s regulations also require multiple safety procedures to be followed before entering the bin.
“They will have to install anchor points on the grain bin if the grain bin is older. If it’s newer, then there are anchor points there already,” said Issa. “When they’re installing the anchor points, they should work with a structural engineer so they can tell them how much weight this can support. They need an anchor point that supports at a minimum 1,000 pounds of force, but actually more is recommended.”
In Nebraska, farmers can rent a robot called Grain Weevil that can be used while filling grain bins to help prevent fines — damaged kernels that tend to cluster in the center — from building up and causing grain to spoil faster. The robot can also break up crusted grain while the bin is being emptied, reducing the need for farmers to enter the bin.
As for Cory Ritter, he continues honoring his dad’s legacy by prioritizing family while juggling everything else. In the middle of a day packed with work and interviews for this story, he still made time to watch his daughter compete in a high school track competition before leaving on a six-hour drive for work that stretched into the early morning hours.
“I remember what my dad told me: The job will get done. The important thing is to come home to your family every night,” said Cory. “It all starts with the personal responsibility of slowing down and thinking about what you’re doing, and that’s why I wanted to share this story, so that other people can think about that.”
And doing things even if they are hard.
“It’s hard to drive past this (the grain bin) and still see these holes inside, but I looked at it in the fall, especially as all the harvest traffic goes by this road to our local co-op,” said Cory. “I told myself it’s a reminder for everybody how fast accidents can happen and that take time to slow down and be safe.”
Serviceberries, or juneberries, are a native fruit beloved by wildlife. But now they’re moving from backyards to farms, and some hope they’ll soon be on your plate.
Farm Foundation is honored to announce a generous gift from Riley Boschma in support of the Farm Family Wellness Alliance, a national initiative dedicated to providing mental health resources to farmers and their families. This meaningful contribution honors the memory of Riley’s husband, Jimmy Boschma, a respected farmer whose life was tragically impacted by the challenges of mental health.
Riley has been rooted in agriculture for generations, embodying the resilience and dedication that define the farming community. Yet, like so many in the industry, they have experienced firsthand the immense pressures that come with farming. In 2024, their beloved Jimmy lost his struggle to maintain mental health, leaving behind a grieving wife and five young children determined to turn their loss into hope for others. In response to their personal loss, Riley has committed to supporting mental health awareness and access to resources for farm families nationwide.
“Our family understands the struggles that so many in agriculture face, and we want Jimmy’s story to raise awareness and be a beacon of hope, encouraging others to seek help when they need it. Asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness—it does not define who you are, but rather shows your courage to keep going,” said Riley Boschma. “Through this gift, we hope to ensure that farm families have access to the mental health support they need and to reduce the stigma that prevents many from seeking help.”
The Farm Family Wellness Alliance, an initiative of Farm Foundation in partnership with most major agricultural organizations in the US, including 4H, American Farmer Bureau Federation, FFA, Farmers Union, and others, provides farm families with free, confidential access to mental health support through an online peer-to-peer community, professional resources, and crisis intervention services. Since its national launch in 2024, the program has expanded to serve farmers and agricultural communities across 47 states, offering a safe space for connection and healing through TogetherAll, an online mental health support community exclusively for American farm family members aged 16 and above.
“The generosity of Riley Boschma and her children will have a lasting impact on the lives of so many in agriculture,” said Shari Rogge-Fidler, CEO of Farm Foundation. “This gift not only honors Jimmy’s legacy but also strengthens our ability to reach more farm families with critical mental health resources. We are grateful for their commitment to creating meaningful change in the industry.”
Farmers are the backbone of our nation, yet they often carry an invisible burden. As economic pressures, unpredictable weather, and the weight of legacy continue to challenge those in agriculture, access to mental health support is more vital than ever. Riley’s contribution underscores the urgent need for expanded resources in rural communities and serves as a call to action for others to invest in the well-being of those who feed the nation. Learn more about the Boschma farm at www.boschmafarms.org
Farm Foundation recently hosted a thought-provoking panel discussion in partnership with theFarm Robotics Challenge, offering college students a unique opportunity to gain insight into real-world agricultural challenges and how technology can play a pivotal role in addressing them. The panel brought together voices from across the agricultural value chain—farmers, innovators, and industry leaders—to discuss the future of robotics in farming and provide direct feedback to the student teams as they embark on their robotics projects.
If you would like to watch the panel discussion, you can access the full recording here.
Who Participated?
The panel featured an incredible lineup of experts and practitioners who shared their perspectives:
Klaas Martens: Klaas is a third-generation farmer in New York. He operates Martens Farm and Lakeview Organic Grain Mill with his wife Mary Howell Martens and their son Peter. On 1,600 acres, he produces numerous crops, including corn, soybeans, spelt, wheat, einkorn, emmer, triticale, buckwheat, oats, barley, rye, cabbage, dry beans, and hay. He’s been farming since the 1970s and shifted to organic farming in the 90s. Klaas is a Farm Foundation Round Table Fellow.
David Hill: Southern Hill Farms, owned and operated by the Hill family, has deep roots in agriculture. David and Lisa Hill, along with their sons Michael and Kyle and daughter-in-law Brooke, continue a farming legacy that began with Lisa’s grandfather in Virginia and extended to Central Florida in the mid-20th century. Starting with ornamental trees in Clermont, the Hills diversified in 2010 by planting blueberries, eventually welcoming the public in 2014 for u-pick events and community gatherings. Today, Southern Hill Farms is a beloved Central Florida destination, known for its Fall Festival, farm market, and family-friendly experiences. David is also a Farm Foundation Round Table Fellow.
Kevin Seidel: Kevin Seidl is a group product manager for the John Deere Operations Center (JDOC) at John Deere. He leads a group of product managers responsible for key features within the JDOC, with a specific focus on live remote monitoring and equipment & agronomic analysis capabilities. As a software engineer, Kevin has built some of the foundational features of the JDOC program. Throughout his 15-plus years at John Deere, he has had various product management roles of increasing responsibility, where he has focused on the JDOC’s monitoring and analysis capabilities. Kevin earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Bradley University and a master’s in business administration from the University of Iowa.
Moderator: Tim Brennan, VP of Programs and Strategic Impact at Farm Foundation, who guided the discussion and connected the insights to Farm Foundation’s broader mission.
Key Themes and Insights
1. Automation and the Labor Shortage
Farmers face ongoing labor shortages, making automation and robotics an urgent need rather than a luxury. Panelists emphasized that technology should not replace workers but rather enable farmers to address gaps in their workforce. Solutions like autonomous machinery and follow-me functionality were highlighted as transformative tools that could alleviate these challenges.
2. Harvesting Challenges and Opportunities
One of the most pressing issues discussed was the need for robotics to address harvesting challenges, particularly in specialty crops like strawberries. Unlike blueberries, which already have some mechanical solutions, strawberries require precision to pick ripe fruit without damage. Developing robotics capable of 24/7 harvesting could revolutionize the industry.
3. Smaller, Smarter Machines for Soil Health
Larger machinery has contributed to significant soil health concerns, including compaction and increased energy use. Panelists discussed the opportunity for robotics to lead the way toward smaller, lighter, and more collaborative machines. These innovations would not only protect soil but also reduce operational energy demands.
4. Practical, Farmer-Centered Solutions
A recurring theme throughout the discussion was the importance of creating practical, problem-solving technology. Farmers need innovations that work in diverse conditions, are reliable, and solve specific challenges like soil conditions or adverse weather.
Farm Foundation’s Mission in Action
Hosting this panel aligns directly with Farm Foundation’s mission: to build trust and understanding at the intersections of agriculture and society. By partnering with the Farm Robotics Challenge, Farm Foundation supports the next generation of innovators and provides a vital space for collaboration between farmers and technology developers.
This event highlighted the importance of bringing real-world agricultural perspectives to the forefront, ensuring that technology is grounded in practicality and addresses the evolving needs of those throughout the food and agriculture value chain.
What’s Next?
As the student teams dive into their robotics projects, we look forward to seeing how their ideas take shape and how they tackle the challenges outlined during the panel. The Farm Robotics Challenge serves as a testament to the power of collaboration and innovation in shaping the future of agriculture.
We’re proud to continue fostering connections between agriculture, technology, and society, and we can’t wait to see how these students contribute to a more innovative and sustainable agricultural future.
Farm Foundation’s Meet Your Farmer podcast featured Steve Kaufman in season 1, episode 3.
Steve is a fifth-generation farmer. He returned to his family’s Idaho farm full time in 2014 when his uncles and father were ready to retire. He and his two brothers farm 14,000 dryland crop acres, growing primarily winter wheat, spring wheat, peas, garbanzo beans, and canola. Prior to that, he worked at Northwest Farm Credit Services while also farming part time. Steve is an alum of Farm Foundation’s Young Farmer Accelerator Program.
In this episode, Steve talks about how gratifying it is to produce enough grain for 30 million loaves of bread on his farm, the hard work of trying to balance life with young kids and farm life, and what the process was like to switch over to no-till.
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(JDOC) at John Deere. He leads a group of product managers responsible for key features within the JDOC, with a specific focus on live remote monitoring and equipment & agronomic analysis capabilities. As a software engineer, Kevin has built some of the foundational features of the JDOC program. Throughout his 15-plus years at John Deere, he has had various product management roles of increasing responsibility, where he has focused on the JDOC’s monitoring and analysis capabilities. Kevin earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Bradley University and a master’s in business administration from the University of Iowa. 
