Farmers generally don’t like to broadcast their successes. Most are content to go about their important and often difficult work, silently doing what they love. No recognition is required – the reward is derived from a personal sense of accomplishment and the enjoyment of the work itself.
That’s how it is for Greg Jones, 52, who farms 1200 acres of corn and soybeans with his wife, Marilee, near Sheffield, Iowa.
“I don’t lead an overly interesting life, to be honest with you,” Greg said. “I’m a farm kid. Farming is in my blood. I’ve always wanted to farm, and I enjoy it.”
Greg’s humble mien belies a keen and meticulous nature, and he’s no stranger to hard work. After growing up on his family’s operation, he wasn’t able to stay on the farm initially, so he worked in a variety of ag-related fields.
“When I graduated, Mom and Dad had 180 acres and a farrow to finish hog operation,” Greg said. “The operation wasn’t big enough to bring me in, so I went to work for a liquid fertilizer plant.”
After working there for a few short years, he achieved becoming the plant manager in 1993. However, Greg always wanted to find a way to return home, and when the opportunity came, he seized it. A farm near his hometown became available in 1994, and Greg couldn’t pass up the chance. He and Marilee have been gradually building acres ever since.
“It’s tough for a young guy to start without a bunch of land, and I didn’t have that,” Greg said. “But I’ve been fortunate because of relationships I’ve built with long-term landlords.”
As a result of both having a small number of acres and having a diligent nature, Greg continued to take extra jobs even as he developed his farming operation. His ‘part-time’ side gig for years was putting in nearly 2800 hours annually as a millwright building and repairing grain elevators. Though it tended to be a seasonal business like much of agriculture, this work still averaged out to more than 50 hours per week – a full-time job by the standards of most – all in addition to managing his farm operation.
Greg Jones working on a combine with his son, Tyler.
These days, Greg and Marilee also do a lot of custom farming, operating a strip-till machine, a sprayer, and custom planting on thousands of acres, as well as running a cutter, a corn detasseler, and doing occasional mechanic work around the area. Marilee also works full time at the county courthouse and part-time at another cattle and grain operation near their home.
Greg and Marilee have passed on their work ethic to their five children, all of whom have contributed in some way to the family operation over the years, developing an appreciation for the farm life.
“Everything I do revolves around the farm,” Greg said. “It’s a part of my DNA. I’ve done a lot of different work, but I keep coming back to farming.”
Focusing on his farm has led him to make higher yield goals while improving efficiency and profitability.
“I’m attempting to learn to grow better corn,” Greg said. “Two-hundred-bushel corn isn’t really cutting it with the prices we’ve got. It’s very much been a struggle lately, where we seem to have a three-day marketing window to sell the whole crop or we’re not profitable.”
Improving profitability is what drew him to the agronomic team at Hefty Seed Company in Rockwell, Iowa, but his agronomist, Todd Robeoltman, credits much of Greg’s success to his attitude and willingness to put in the hard work needed for success.
“Greg isn’t flashy,” Robeoltman said. “He doesn’t like to pat himself on the back, but he’s always striving to make his operation better. He’s always trying to gain the extra edge on yields, and he’s very inventive. As an agronomist, I like working with someone like that.”
Though Greg was drawn in by Hefty’s lower prices for many of his ag products, the relationship he’s built with his local agronomist has helped his farm flourish.
“Todd has really turned it into a service-oriented relationship,” Greg said. “He’s earned the business regardless of the price. He has a lot of experience in the business and is good to bounce ideas off of. When I’m working my other jobs, he’s my eyes for me, and that’s huge.”
Greg Jones pauses for a quick moment during corn harvest.
As part of his efforts to improve yields, Greg has historically been ahead of the curve, soil sampling his ground as far back as the 1980s, plus his background as a fertilizer plant manager has helped him keep an agronomic focus when making his cropping plan. More recently, Greg has become a regular attendee of Ag PhD workshops, as well as local events at the Hefty Seed Rockwell store.
“They’re good folks there,” Greg said. “I don’t pretend to know everything, and I try to deal with people who know more than me and can offer advice so I can make improvements.”
Greg’s major goal is to be the best of the best on his own acres, and he’s working to improve seed placement while building up a balance of available nutrients and micronutrients. He has a lot of variable ground, so this can be a challenge, but reaching yields of 250 to 300 bushels in corn while improving return on investment is a challenge worth conquering, and the agronomic resources of Hefty Seed will be there to help as he works toward achieving those goals.
“He’s a joy to work with, and he’s striving to be the best,” Robeoltman said. “He’s a quiet achiever, trying to achieve the best without being really notable, making big waves. He does it quietly, and he’s the type of guy that’s going to hit those goals. If there’s anything he can do to prove himself, he takes the time to do it. He listens and he learns, and that’s the type of guy we love to work with.”