Like many boys who grow up on a farm, Landon Aldinger was fascinated with equipment. Years later he would combine his fascination with equipment and farming with skills in technology and engineering to help others get more results using fewer inputs.
Watching big machines on the family farm led to Landon getting a bachelor’s degree in Ag Engineering from Iowa State University. He then worked nearly seven years as a Senior Design Engineer for the Toro Company in Minneapolis before his story finally came full circle.
“I really enjoyed my time and my career in the cities,” Landon says. “But when I turned 30, my priorities started to shift. I was ready to head home and become more involved in the farming operation.”
Landon had been assisting his father, Mike Aldinger, since 2008 with their seed, chemical and consulting business. Mike started the business with his father (Landon’s grandfather), Merle. After Merle retired, the business became Precision Farm Management, using the latest products to implement more precision ag services like variable rate seeding, fertilizer and nitrogen.
Besides managing the farming business, Landon runs Aldinger Engineering LLC consulting. He also spends time “carpet farming” and helping his oldest son, Grady, fix his equipment in their living room. Landon sees signs of a second-generation engineer/farmer in his son.
“Grady continues to love all things agriculture and equipment,” Landon says proudly. “It is not uncommon for him to head out to the field for a few hours to ride along and ‘help’ anyway he can. I love watching his excitement.” Landon and his wife, Kinsey, also have a younger son named McCoy, who will soon compete with his older brother for the buddy seat.
In addition to raising kids and crops, the Aldingers also raise cattle and pork. Warm and hearty soups like this one help keep their crew growing.
Growing Latham’s high-quality soybeans has become a legacy for many farm families, as Steve and Karen Bruns demonstrate from their North Central Iowa farm.
“I have enjoyed working with everyone at Latham Seeds,” says Steve Bruns, who’s been a contract grower of Latham® seed beans since 1999. While he was in high school, Steve worked on weekends and during the summer for Latham grower Hugh Porterfield. Steve later custom-farmed Hugh’s ground for 20 years.
“The people I work with at Latham are the ones I’ve known since grade school,” adds Steve, who grew up northeast of Alexander, Iowa, on a farm his grandfather purchased in 1949.
Finding Farming Again
Like many young people, Steve left the area for a few years before he decided to choose farming as his livelihood. Sadly, Steve’s father developed cancer around that same time.
“I had to quickly take over the farm, right in the middle of the Farm Crisis,” says Steve, whose father, Dean, was just 44 years old when he passed. “Luckily, I didn’t have the chance to accumulate a lot of debt, which forced a lot of our farmers out of business during those turbulent years.”
What’s Next for Pork Producers
During the 1980s and 1990s, the pork industry changed a lot. Contracts to hog producers allowed for a steady income and took away the market swings. Steve got back into the pork industry in 2000 and operated a 4,000-head site for 20 years. As a top Iowa pork producer, his family’s photo was displayed outside the Animal Learning Center at the Iowa State Fair in 2005.
Although he’s no longer producing pork, Steve uses hog manure for fertilizer on as many acres as he can.
“Hog manure gives an extra yield bump if conditions are right when it’s applied,” he says. “We’ve seen a 10- to 20-bushel yield bump when manure has been applied under the right conditions.”
The Bruns Family
Now that he has retired from pork production, Steve hopes to have more time for golfing, fishing and hunting. Karen retired from the postal service after 21 years. She enjoys sewing, walking, gardening, traveling and spending time with family. The couple has three grown children: Eric, Jami and Lindsey.
The Bruns Family
The Bruns family enjoys gathering at the farm for great meals like this Ground Pork Casserole, a recipe passed down by Steve’s grandmother Elsie.
Latham Hi-Tech Seeds Announces Justin Prokosch as Sales Agronomist
Two days after his twin boys were born prematurely, Justin Prokosch started working at Latham Hi-Tech Seeds as a regional sales manager in South Central Minnesota. With two babies in the hospital and two older boys at home, Justin and his wife, Katie, weren’t sure what kind of first impression he’d be able to make at his new job.
They needn’t have worried. Justin quickly learned what working for a family-owned company really meant.
“The owners treat their employees and dealers like their own family and truly care about their customers,” he says. “We can go to the owners at any time and feel heard. Being able to work alongside the third generation is something you don’t see very often today.”
Six years (and one more boy later), Justin is moving from his RSM position to serve as Latham’s newest sales agronomist in the central and southern areas. It’s a perfect fit for Justin, who grew up on a century farm in Wabasso, Minn., only 1.5 miles from where his family lives now. At Southwest Minnesota State University, Justin majored in Ag Business and minored in Agronomy. Since he always had a passion for agriculture, those two areas of study made sense to him.
“Justin knows our products, understands good management practices and is committed to his new role to help our customers and dealers thrive,” says Amy Rohe, Latham’s sales manager. “His experience will serve us well as sales agronomist.”
Seeing how different products respond differently to certain situations — and helping dealers promote and place products with confidence — is something Justin is looking forward to in his new role. As an RSM, he says he could have used the support of a sales agronomist himself, to help bring a new perspective to his dealers’ operations and extend those relationships on an agronomic level.
“I am excited to really get to know their business,” Justin says. “I have grown a passion for product placement and product characteristics.”
Justin and Katie Prokosch have been married for 10 years and have five boys. Katie keeps their busy family going and volunteers on the local ambulance service. The boys love being outdoors, helping with farm chores, wrestling and playing baseball. Like their dad when he was growing up, the Prokosch boys also enjoy being a part of the local 4-H club and showing animals at the county fair.
When he isn’t chasing after his sons or participating in “whatever they are up to at any given time of the year,” Justin enjoys ice fishing and hunting pheasant and deer.
Here is a Prokosch family favorite recipe that keeps their whole crew warm.
With Strong Faith and Sharp Focus, Wilkie Found Her Way
We have been so fortunate to have Maycee Wilkie as a marketing intern this summer! Even if you didn’t have a chance to meet her in person, her fingerprints have been everywhere behind the scenes — because she has done a lot for our team.
Maycee, you see, is the definition of resiliency. It goes beyond her inherent marketing skills and maturity as a senior at Iowa State University. It goes beyond her poise and ability to help navigate swift changes at Latham Seeds this summer. It also goes beyond her positive nature — even when stress bears down.
Maycee and her mom, Colleen
For Maycee, resiliency started when she was just six years old and lost her mom to cancer. She and her dad, Mark Wilkie, helped each other move on together. Her dad always told Maycee she was “destined for greatness.” We couldn’t agree more.
Maycee grew up in the small town of Springbrook, Wisconsin. She grew fond of agriculture — mostly because her dad dreamed of being a farmer. Although they never had a big farm, Maycee remembers “the perfect hobby farm” with a cow, chickens, pheasants, hogs and turkeys.
“Who needs an alarm clock when you have a cow mooing and rooster crowing?” she recalls fondly.
Six years after her mom passed away, Maycee’s dad started showing symptoms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This nervous system disease affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Mark’s symptoms first appeared in 2016 and was officially diagnosed in 2018. At 11 years old, Maycee stepped into the role of her dad’s primary caregiver. She recalls balancing middle school with the responsibilities at home assisting Mark with tasks like lifting him from his chair or bed, managing his medications and feeding him.
Mark and Maycee
She remembers being able to rely on her dad for help even when he was sick. At the same time, he prepared her for a future without him.
“I would do math homework and would get confused about how to do an equation,” Maycee says. “Instead of showing me how to do it right away, he let me “struggle” for a bit while I tried to figure it out on my own. I did end up figuring out how to do the equation on my own.”
By the summer of 2018, her dad was almost fully paralyzed and could hardly speak. An aunt stepped in and brought Maycee to Clear Lake, Iowa. Together with grandparents, aunts and uncle it was decided to move Mark into a nursing home to transition Maycee from being a caregiver to live high school as a teenager and not a caregiver.
Maycee started her freshman year of high school in Clear Lake where she was the “new girl.” She quickly made her mark by getting involved in activities including choir, band, Spanish, Model-UN, tennis, cross country, speech and theatre. Maycee was also very active in FFA having served in three officer positions and being a member of the Clear Lake FFA Vet Science Team that placed first in the state.
She also stayed active in her church, and she leaned into her faith when her dad passed away in January 2019.
“My dad and family always taught me to lean into God and His love,” Maycee says. “Even when everything feels like it isn’t going to be okay, it will all turn out just how it is supposed to.”
Today Maycee is a public relations major at Iowa State University (ISU) with a minor in event management. The memory of herself as a middle school student who wasn’t sure if she’d even get to high school — much less college — is not lost on her.
She continues to lean into God, just like her dad and family taught her.
“God gave me a challenging story to juggle, but I think that is what is beautiful about the journey called life,” Maycee says. “My faith is what sustains me on the hard days and what motivates me on the good days.”
Wilkie family at Maycee’s high school graduation
At Iowa State, Maycee has found strength in her faith through her involvement with the college ministry, SALT company. This has helped her deepen her relationship with the Lord and remain in fellowship with other sons and daughters of Christ. A guiding light for Maycee and her family has always been the Bible verse, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Upon graduation, Maycee wants to work where she can advocate for those affected by ALS. When she’s not in school or working on campus, she enjoys watching sports, dog sitting, reading, playing pickleball, as well as spending time with friends and family.
Speaking of family, Maycee is sharing with us one a recipe for Swedish meatballs. Maycee’s Farmor (father’s mother in Swedish) always made Swedish meatballs for special holidays.
Heat ½ of the olive oil in a large, high-walled skillet over medium heat. Add the finely diced onions and garlic. Soften for 5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, whisked egg, milk, cooled onions/garlic, salt, oregano, allspice, nutmeg, and pepper. Gently incorporate the meat until evenly combined, but without overworking it (otherwise the meatballs will be tough instead of tender).
Roll into 1 ½-inch meatballs and place on a plate. (A small cookie scoop makes it easier to roll balls of uniform size.) Transfer to the fridge and let them chill for 15 minutes, or up to overnight. Cover if chilling overnight.
While the meatballs chill, combine the beef broth, chicken bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon, and parsley in a large measuring cup with a spout. Set aside.
Heat remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Brown the meatballs in batches, leave plenty of room around each so that you can easily rotate them with a spoon to brown on all sides. Brown for about 1 minute per side. Remove and set aside. Add additional oil and/or decrease heat slightly as needed throughout cooking.
Melt the butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom of the skillet. Stir in the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, until it begins to brown.
Add the beef broth mixture in small splashes, stirring continuously. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Place the sour cream in a medium bowl. Spoon some of the sauce into the bowl (about ¼ cup), and stir until well-combined. Stir it into the sauce over low heat until incorporated.
Add the meatballs back to the skillet along with any juices from the plate. Spoon the sauce on top. Allow them to heat through over low heat for 10-15 minutes (or until cooked through), partially covered. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles.
Boy Next Door Stays True to Latham Roots for 48 years
Greg Jaacks was literally the boy next door. He and his three siblings – Jeff, Kim and Steve – grew up in the little house beside Willard and Evelyn Latham, who employed Greg’s dad at Latham Seeds.
Marvin had moved his family to a larger house a few miles away and rented his own ground to farm. To accommodate the growing Jaacks (pronounced “Jakes”) family, Willard offered to add on two bedrooms to the small house next to his own. That was just the incentive Marvin needed to return to Latham Seeds.
The connections run deep between the Jaacks and Latham families.
“Willard gave me my first haircut as a little boy in their basement,” Greg recalls. Willard and Evelyn’s oldest son, Bill, held baby Greg during the haircut.
Greg helped at Latham Seeds as needed while he was in high school. Upon graduating in May 1975, Greg took a full-time job with a local farmer. He loved everything about the job from tilling soil and baling hay to shelling corn and feeding cattle. One thing he didn’t like was the pay. Greg worked 10 hours a day, six days a week for $75 flat. He wanted his own place but needed to make more money first.
“I asked my dad if I could get on his crew at the (Latham) plant,” Greg says. “He told me I’d have to find out for myself. He said I’d better go talk to Willard.”
Greg mustered up the nerve to knock on Willard’s front door. Evelyn answered and welcomed him inside. Willard told Greg he could start work the following Monday if he got a haircut and shaved his beard — which he promptly did.
“As long as you gave Willard what he was expecting, as long as you kept your promise and did your job, he was good to you,” Greg says.
Greg is grateful he got to work beside his dad for nearly 22 years at Latham Seeds. And this fall, he will celebrate his 49th anniversary with the company.
“He really was my best friend,” Greg says of his dad. “It’s been a good, solid job here at Latham. When I started here, that’s what my grandpa said: Latham’s a good solid place to work.” Greg’s grandpa was a local farmer, who also worked on Marvin’s crew during the winter months.
Greg and his wife, Donna, have two daughters, Trisha and Sandy. They enjoy attending their two grandchildren’s activities and watching them play sports. In his spare time, Greg likes to fish, ride his Harley and watch NASCAR.
Greg also enjoys his mom’s Ham Loaf recipe, which reminds him of his childhood on the farm. He is sharing that cherished recipe here.
She may be the first female president of the Iowa Pork Producers Association, but Trish Cook of Buchanan County is also the first to downplay the distinction.
Photo courtesy of Iowa Pork Producers.
“I have a lot of passion for our industry – for the people and the animals,” says Trish, who served on the IPPA board for four years before being elected president in January 2023. “I really don’t think about it as being the first female. Like so many others, when a job needs to get done, I just do it!”
Trish was one of eight kids to grow up on the family farm in Eastern Iowa, where her parents raised corn, soybeans, pigs, cattle and turkeys. While she helped on the farm when needed, Trish was much more interested in the business classes she took in high school, especially accounting, which she majored in at Iowa State University. She worked 11 years at Rockwell Collins in finance and accounting before leaving to help run the farm that she and her husband, Aaron, built near Winthrop, Iowa. By then, the couple had three kids: Holly, Spencer and Kirby.
“We raised our kids on the same farm as we raise pigs,” Trish says. “I couldn’t think of a better place to raise a family.”
Trish and Aaron are third-generation farmers. After graduating with an ag studies degree from ISU, Aaron returned to the family farm and over time built a 1,200-sow, farrow-to-finish pig farm, which markets 32,000 pigs annually. The farm also includes 1,200 acres of corn and soybeans. In past years, the Cooks have been named Master Pork Producers as well as IPPA Pork All-Americans.
Photo courtesy of Iowa Pork Producers.
On the farm, Aaron oversees the grain operations, feed delivery from the mill, equipment maintenance and four employees, while Trish manages human resources, payroll and accounting. She also sources all ingredients, including amino acids, soybean meal and corn, to run their on-farm feed mill. Aaron’s dad and uncle retired from the farm in 2022 but still help out in the fall and spring.
“Our family is proud to raise nutritious, delicious pork,” Trish says. “When people ask me what I do for a living, I am always proud to tell them that I am a hog farmer!”
Besides advocating for pork produces every day, Trish looks for opportunities to raise public awareness about the industry. One of her favorite marketing campaigns to date is IPPA’s viral “Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon” with Iowa State football players. IPPA partnered with the four ISU athletes — Myles Purchase, Tyler Moore, Tommy Hamann and Caleb Bacon — to create the promotion, which became a viral sensation with more than 10 million impressions.
“This has been such a fun marketing campaign,” Trish says. “We started with Purchase Moore Hamann Bacon, and then added (Alec) Cook and (Zach) Lovett to the mix.”
The light-hearted promotion to encourage people to buy more pork products — specifically ham and bacon — resulted in donations of more than $10,000 worth of pork to food pantries selected by the six ISU players. That equates to more than 13,300 servings of pork to help fight food insecurity.
“We’re grateful that this promotion came along at a good time to put smiles on a lot of people’s faces, including Iowa’s hard-working pig farmers,” Trish says. “The players have been fantastic to work with, and we’re glad to support them through this (name, image and likeness) agreement.”
One of Trish’s favorite recipes includes pork, of course! This Cuban braid is both beautiful and tasty. When Trish makes it, she says “it really does look like the picture!”
Here’s a video to see how to make it. Video courtesy of Iowa Pork.
Steve and Jodi Roelofs live in a garden spot of Minnesota.
The couple raised their family in a farmhouse next door, where Steve grew up and still raises hogs. That house serves as Steve’s farm office and Jodi’s workshop. The former kitchen and living room are filled with projects in various stages of re-purposing, including chalk-painted chairs to be sold at Hilltop Florist and Greenhouse in Mankato, where Jodi has worked for more than 20 years.
Jodi studied graphic arts at South Central College in Mankato where she met Steve, who studied ag production. She says she began working part-time at flower shops when her kids were small because it allowed her to enjoy adult conversation and provided her with a creative outlet. The scale of Jodi’s gardens grew along with her children.
The Roelofs are the proud parents of four sons: Tony, Christopher, Bryant and Matthew. Jody recalls good times serving as a 4-H leader from the time their oldest son was 10 years old until their youngest son graduated in May 2017.
“We had so much fun at the fair with our kids,” said Jody, who grew up on a Minnesota dairy farm and belonged to 4-H.
The Roelof Family
Now these empty nesters have adjusted to a new way of life. When their oldest son went to college, the family stopped farrowing. Jodi had been working in the farrowing barns, so this change gave her the opportunity to return to work in a floral shop. Steve and his brother, who had been farming together in a family corporation, decided to split the operation. Steve raised feeders and his brother raised the finishers.
The Roelofs in 2005 stopped farrowing and transitioned to a wean-to-finish operation. Since 2010, they have been custom finishing feeder pigs.
“This arrangement works well for us,” Steve says. “We’re responsible for the day-to-day care of the feeder pigs but we don’t have to assume any of the risk.”
Raising pigs, as well as selling Latham® brand seed, complement the family’s grain operation. Both enterprises allowed the Roelofs to cut expenses while increasing income to allow their son an opportunity to farm.
“We really liked the idea of working with a family-owned seed company,” Steve says.
The Roelofs enjoy outdoor activities all year long, from snowmobiling to water skiing. They also enjoy family dinners — especially this recipe for Crunchy Pork Chops.
Like Farming, Cooking is a Multi-Generational Love
The Jacobsen family has been producing corn, soybeans and pork on an Iowa farm for almost as long as Iowa has been a state.
Doug and Carolyn Jacobsen began growing seed beans for Latham Seeds in the 1970s. They were the third generation to work the family’s Iowa Century Farm. Their son, Corey, and his wife, Kim, began growing seed beans in 1986 when he rented his first farm near the century farm.
While studying Ag Business at Iowa State University (ISU), Corey helped plant four crops and maintained his breeding-to-finish swine operation. He traveled home each weekend to do chores and made countless other trips whenever needed for breeding or farrowing. After graduating from ISU, Corey worked at Brenton Bank in Clarion and then at Dows United Bank & Trust, where he retired as bank president in 2000.
That’s when he started farming full time with Kim, who retired as a high school math teacher and coach at Clarion-Goldfield Dows.
Corey and Kim credit 4-H for laying the groundwork for future farmers, as well as for their three boys: Ben, Matthew and Caleb.
“Through 4-H, our boys learned skills they use on the farm such as welding, woodworking, small engines, along with the communication and record keeping,” Kim says. “We feel blessed that they grew up on the farm learning the value of honesty, hard work and sacrifice to accomplish goals. We couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Family favorite recipes are often passed down through generations. The Jacobsens are doing just that with these sausage and cheese egg roll wraps.
“Our family has been raising pigs practically since they got off the Mayflower,” says Andrew Perry, who farms with his father, Blaine, in Northwest Iowa. Andrew grew up also raising sheep, cattle and chickens. A Perry has been farming in Cherokee County for six generations. Blaine and his wife, Darlene, are the third generation to live on the home place near Aurelia.
The Perry Family
The Perrys’ business relationship with pork goes way back, but they also enjoy the fruits of their labor. Pork is a mainstay on the Perry’s dinner table. While nutritious, lean, high-protein pork powers the humans in their operation, the Perrys also make sure to provide their pigs with the right diet.
“We feed 80 percent of the corn we raise, so we keep corn for nine months before we haul any of it to town,” explains Blaine, who runs the combine while Andrew hauls grain from the field to the bins. They practice a 50-50 crop rotation and raise seed beans on contract.
When selecting corn hybrids, test weight and quality of seed is their focus. That is why Blaine and Andrew rely on Latham® quality corn hybrids.
“We raise corn that feeds our hogs. Then we use the manure our hogs produce to fertilize our fields,” Blaine says. “When you think about it, our operation comes full circle. Hog manure is ‘organic,’ but many people just don’t realize that manure has such a high value.”
Until 2022, the Perrys were independent pork producers with one nursery that supplied them with the pigs needed for their wean-to-finish operation. Now they custom finish hogs.
Conveniently, a neighbor built a feed mill one mile away. The Perrys haul their corn to the mill, which helps with biosecurity. Blaine and Andrew are the only two who enter their buildings. They credit controlling truck traffic and people inside their facilities with keeping their hogs healthier.
Andrew lives in Alta with his wife, Liz, who is a teacher at Cherokee Community School. They have three daughters: Danika, Alexa and Becca.
When they’re not busy on the farm, the Perrys enjoy taking tractor rides together. All three of Blaine and Darlene’s children — Andrew, Adam and Brooke — enjoy riding together in Peterson’s Annual Trip on Old Tractors (PATOOT).
The Perrys know that pork can adapt to most any meal needs, even desserts, as proven by Liz’s Bacon Bourbon Apple Pie.
Growing Latham’s high-quality soybeans has become a legacy for many farm families, as Steve and Karen Bruns demonstrate from their North Central Iowa farm.
“I have enjoyed working with everyone at Latham Seeds,” says Steve Bruns, who’s been a contract grower of Latham® seed beans since 1999. While he was in high school, Steve worked on weekends and during the summer for Latham grower Hugh Porterfield. Steve later custom-farmed Hugh’s ground for 20 years.
“The people I work with at Latham are the ones I’ve known since grade school,” adds Steve, who grew up northeast of Alexander, Iowa, on a farm his grandfather purchased in 1949.
Finding Farming Again
Like many young people, Steve left the area for a few years before he decided to choose farming as his livelihood. Sadly, Steve’s father developed cancer around that same time.
“I had to quickly take over the farm, right in the middle of the Farm Crisis,” says Steve, whose father, Dean, was just 44 years old when he passed. “Luckily, I didn’t have the chance to accumulate a lot of debt, which forced a lot of our farmers out of business during those turbulent years.”
What’s Next for Pork Producers
During the 1980s and 1990s, the pork industry changed a lot. Contracts to hog producers allowed for a steady income and took away the market swings. Steve got back into the pork industry in 2000 and operated a 4,000-head site for 20 years. As a top Iowa pork producer, his family’s photo was displayed outside the Animal Learning Center at the Iowa State Fair in 2005.
Although he’s no longer producing pork, Steve uses hog manure for fertilizer on as many acres as he can.
“Hog manure gives an extra yield bump if conditions are right when it’s applied,” he says. “We’ve seen a 10- to 20-bushel yield bump when manure has been applied under the right conditions.”
The Bruns Family
Now that he has retired from pork production, Steve hopes to have more time for golfing, fishing and hunting. Karen retired from the postal service after 21 years. She enjoys sewing, walking, gardening, traveling and spending time with family. The couple has three grown children: Eric, Jami and Lindsey.
The Bruns Family
The Bruns family enjoys gathering at the farm for great meals like this Ground Pork Casserole, a recipe passed down by Steve’s grandmother Elsie.
“I am excited to really get to know their business,” Justin says. “I have grown a passion for product placement and product characteristics.”
