Linked to the land
Val and Ian Plagge always knew they wanted to go back home to the farm.
They were college sweethearts, brought together by their love of farming and 4-H. They studied at Iowa State, learning the business side of agriculture and creating networks of lifelong friends.
Ian (’07 ag business) and Val (’06 ag & life sciences ed) Plagge both grew up on Iowa farms–Ian in rural Latimer and Val near Stanhope. Ian built two 1,250-head capacity hog finishing barns on his family farm while he was still in college and spent spring breaks on class trips to Mexico and Argentina. Val did a summer-long internship in an Iowa senator’s office in Washington, D.C. Together, they planned their future, marrying not long after they graduated, in January 2008.
At their home near Latimer, the Plagges now raise corn, beans, pigs–and four children. Inside their white, two-story farmhouse, a play area is filled with toys and books, the mudroom draped with coats and stacked with boots. A big golden retriever naps on the floor, oblivious to the shrieks and laughter of the kids: Klayton, 8; Audrey, 5; Lauren, 4; and Reagan, 2.
Ian and Val farm their own 40 acres as well as the land of more than a dozen other farms nearby. The two oldest kids ride the bus to school and raise lambs, goats, and pigs for Clover Kids, a 4-H program.
“Raising the kids on the farm, they get to have a hands-on approach,” Val said. “Having both of us here means they know that in the fall when they get home from school they’re going out to the field, and they know that their supper might be in a tractor. They have their own livestock projects that they have to take care of. [They have to] wake up earlier to bottle-feed their lambs and goats before the bus gets here. Mom and Dad are not doing it; it’s their project and they start having that responsibility at a young age.”
Latimer has a population of around 475, and both Val and Ian are involved in the community. Ian served on the Franklin County Extension Council, and Val is a project leader for Clover Kids. She also blogs at “Corn, Beans, Pigs & Kids,” writing about “farm life, mom life, and showing what it’s like to be a young farm family.” Last year, the Plagges received a national young-farmer award from Outstanding Farmers of America.
“We’re both grateful that we can be here at home on the farm and that we’re able to raise our kids here, too,” Val said. “That was always our goal. It feels good to be working on that goal.”
____________
Photos by Jim Heemstra