EARLHAM, Iowa — Jordan and Whitney Clasen are Iowa farmers whose knowledge and talents have grown from trial and error.
"Everybody’s always asking, 'How’d you learn all this?' I just kept messing up for 10 years,," said Jordan Clasen, owner of Grade A Gardens.
Much of that learning happened on 10 acres of land he and his wife rent from a family friend in Johnston.
But now, 30 miles down the road, their dream awaits.
"This will hopefully be a pond right here and then we’ll do some fruit trees, Christmas trees, pumpkins, asparagus, some garlic," said Whitney Clasen, as she stands on 25 acres she and her husband now own in Earlham.
The couple closed on the sale of the land in January 2021.
"Just an incredible feeling to be able to say this is our ground we can take care of, nurture it, and plant prairie or apple trees and have something to pass down to our children," said Whitney Clasen.
The journey for the couple hasn't been easy.
"Access to land and capitol to actually find a piece of ground to farm on is the obstacle," said Jordan Clasen, describing the challenge some farmers face breaking into Iowa's robust agriculture community.
That's where the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust comes in. SILT is a non-profit organization that helps connect farmers interested in sustainable farming with land they can afford.
Here's how the organization does it:
SILT looks for land that a landowner is willing to donate or sell at a discount. The organization then places an easement on that property.
By placing an easement on the property, the organization is able to ensure the land remains farm land. Doing that, however, reduces the value of the land thus, putting it within reach of more buyers.
"Young farmers, new farmers who want to grow food for their community shouldn’t have to compete with housing developers or major huge commodity farmers for access to land," said Suzan Erem, executive director of SILT.
The organization also require the land be farmed with sustainable practices which is something the Clasens know all about.
"That’s inspiring for us that people are learning about their food a little bit more and want to know what's in their food a little bit more, and that demand, I’ve seen is just growing," said Whitney Clasen.
With the land now secured, the couple is embarking on a modern-day barn raising--Kickstarter-style. The couple is trying to raise $150,000 to build a barn on the property by offering incentives for pledging to help.
"Right where we’re standing will be our barn. It’ll be the center hub of the farm," said Whitney Clasen.
The couple hopes it will also be a permanent fixture of Iowa family farming.
"We’re losing a lot of family farms and SILT’s main goal is to circle the Iowa area with small family farms again, and I think that’s pretty neat," said Jordan Clasen.
The farms that SILT preserves range from about 20 acres to more than 150 acres. In the past six years, the organization has helped preserve 1,100 acres of farm land across Iowa.