- My name is Jake Willrett.
I'm a sixth generation family farmer.
I went to college at Iowa State
and graduated with a degree
in ag business and economics.
And I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity
to come right back home after college
and jump into business with my dad on the farm.
- Well I'm Jake's dad; I'm Randy.
I'm a fifth generation farmer.
We were born into it, you might say.
The family has farmed for multi-generations.
- Overall our main goal is to take care of the land
and keep our land sustainable for generations to come.
We encourage conventional farmers to go organic
because we want to help the community,
but also there's room in the industry in itself.
- Back in the '90s there were several of us neighbors.
With the three of us we worked back and forth
and we established a community.
When I grew up on the farm, the neighbors got together.
They shelled corn; they threshed the grain.
They baled the straw and the hay.
And all those jobs were too big
for any one farmer to do by themselves.
In the early days, farming organically,
it was exactly like that because we would
help one another back and forth.
And I just felt that that community
was so important to how we progressed
and how we became successful organic farmers.
We were kind of a laughing stock.
So the first ten years I would say,
of farming organically, we kind of had to have
broad shoulders.
- We understand that not everybody
cares what they put into their body,
but we know there's a lot of people out there that do care.
And that's huge for us,
is to be able to produce good food for good people,
is what our, kind of our slogan is.
- I think that's where I think I see our farm going,
being closer, farm to table, with the consumer.
- We're passionate.
We feel that we're treating the soil better.
We're treating our food that we're growing for people,
whether it's the animals that we feed
or the consumer that consuming the organic Cheerios,
and so forth, that it's chemical free,
and there's a healthier choice.
Our farming community is second to none.
When it comes time, when a neighbor,
a farmer friend is in need, this community is here.
Nobody asks for any compensation.
Nobody expects anything in return.
It's just something that it's kinda rare.
We're willing to go out and help the next person in need,
next farmer in need, whether they're a farmer or not.
We were able to give combine rides this last Fall.
- It's awesome to see these little kids come out
and their faces just light up like a Christmas tree
when they see this combine, and riding in the combine,
seeing what's doing.
You can't get that anywhere else.
- Sustainable is kind of the foundation
of what our farm is.
And it's doing that environmentally,
and it's also doing it economically.
Economically, it's bringing more returns to the farm.
It's giving more opportunity for growth.
And it's just a strong business model.
Over the years, you know there's been a lot of scrutiny
that organic has been a fad.
But I think that it's been proven that it's not.
I mean you're seeing it more and more in the grocery stores.
You're seeing it more and more in the fridges
of everyone across the United States.
The biggest benefit I think,
is we promote a healthy lifestyle
and that just doesn't stop with food.
I mean I think exercise, eating right,
I mean just doing good for your body
to preserve a longer and happier lifestyle,
is very important to us.
- You gotta believe in it.
It's a lot of work.
And you gotta believe in it to pull it off.
- You always have to be able to adapt.
That's what you need to be able to do in this industry.
You can't be afraid to try, or change.
And like my dad always says to me,
and I'll always remember is,
you're only limited by your own creativity.
Dad is the experienced one.
He has seen a lot more than I have.
So I came into the farm and I just kinda took on
the role of learning as much as I could from him,
from those experiences,
and incorporating technology into the farm.
- I think drones, I think they do have
their place in agriculture.
I think it's just gonna be a hard sales pitch right now,
cause your average farmer is 65 years old.
Some of 'em do like technology and some of 'em don't.
But I think my generation is going to use 'em a lot more.
- If you ask me, what is my favorite part
about being an organic farmer,
it's working with our organic community.
Agriculture in general is better off working together,
than working against each other.
- Seeing something really succeed is my favorite part.
- I'm just really proud and really happy
to be part of this industry.
I'm proud to be part of change.
It's hard to predict what's gonna happen in agriculture.
The future doesn't scare me, the future excites me.
Because I am an organic farmer, I can say that.
Cause I know a lot of people that have a different opinion.
A lot of conventional farmers are scared
of what's going to happen.
But I'm not.
I think that staying optimistic in this industry,
or in agriculture in general, is a way healthier way
to look at it.
- Back in the '90's there were several of us neighbors,
three of us, today there's over a dozen.
And I'm in hopes that in ten years they'll be two dozen.
Maybe some day, we'll all be doing it this way.
I hope so.