My family, my Children, my grandchildren there.

What motivate me to work my farm with care and attention to detail that will leave the land better than I found it.

And I'm not alone in this.

I believe the agriculture community is dedicated to making the land, the environment and our way of life better, whether it's through sound conservation practices, using the latest technologies or teaching our Children why we do what we do.

I am just one of many farmers dedicated to doing the right thing.

As a child growing up in a rule Midwestern community, I never imagined the impact agriculture would have on the future of our society.

But my perspective has changed, and now I see how the profession that I have devoted my life to impacts the world and I want to share with you a story of where agriculture has been, where we are today and where we are going.

In the 18 nineties, my great grandfather had no idea what this plant waas do you.

It's the largest export from the United States.

It's a key ingredient, and many food products It's a soybean and the first soybeans that were ever grown on my farm.

My family's farm was after a devastating hail crop in the 19 twenties, which destroyed my grandfather's corn crop.

He had no other choice.

He had to do something.

Soybeans were planted, not for the oil in the meal that would I use them for today.

But is, ah, high protein forage to sustain his life stock through the long, cold winter.

And what he found when planning the corn following this soy was that the soil was much easier to work.

The young ceilings were much healthier.

Like others, my grandfather discovered a basic scientific principle.

Here.

Soybeans capture nitrogen from the air.

They transfer it to the soil and allow the next following year's crop to thrive.

Mother Nature provides many sustainable processes, such as this that are used today, and crop rotation is just one of them.

My grandfather's grandfather and his young bride came to Iowa in the 18 fifties with a dream to own land and to raise a family.

Imagine loading your worldly possessions and a high wheeled wooden wagon drawn by two horses with a milk cow in tow.

and leave everything you know to start a new life and a raw, open prairie my family's farm has endured despite struggles to provide enough food or when Mother Nature devastated the crops with the blazing hot summers or when livestocks effort through the burly cold winters.

Changing climate has been a way of life for generations, But out of these adversities came a resilience often only found in agriculture.

Jump forward five generations and you find me working the same land purchased in 18 90.

I owe my passion for my profession.

To my father, he was an agriculture giant.

My eyes.

He's the reason I've been able to not only endure but improve the way I farm.

He was a fiercely independent man, short in stature, but Paul and character.

Hard work was his hobby, and he finished what he started regardless of the effort required.

His belief and hard work is the principal.

I still live by today and teach my Children and grandchildren.

A career of farming is not for everyone and my parents, nine grandchildren.

Only one shows this path, my son, and for the last 10 years I've had the privilege of working alongside my son and his young family, who live in that 100 year old house that my great grandfather built.

It takes many hands across generations to sustain it.

Rich farming history with deep roots.

Today, the U.

S farmer represents only 1% of this country's population.

But we're growing nearly half of the world's soybeans.

Let me repeat that 1% of this country's population is growing nearly half of the world's soybeans.

Now there are differing points of view on how to farm.

But I'm certain that along with the unyielding perseverance for defined skills that have been home through generations, that science and technology have become the frontline tools and our efforts towards continuous improvement, being probable is required.

But without a dedication to improving the land, the water in the air, the next generation could be lost.

In my 40 years of farming, the size of my farm has grown considerably.

Science and technology has led that charge for change, not only with the machines that I use, but the seeds that I plant.

Modern innovations have given us the ability to plant and harvest in the timely fashion.

We're able to utilize variable rate technology using global positioning satellites, where I can place my seed within an inch.

My my fertilizers within that zone as well.

Computers are as much a part of the American modern farm as the harness was to granddad's horses.

I've increased my production 3 to 4 times that of my grandfather while reducing my fertilizer workload.

Another inputs behalf on the very same land and through good record keeping evaluation of all my practices I have been able to set my bass lines is key performance indicators and my dedicated efforts towards continuous improvement.

Some may resist the direction of modern area culture for the romantic notions of the past, but I've witnessed firsthand this transition, and I'm a testament to the responsible lot comes my grandfather.

He saw White House is pepper black with soil after windstorms due to soil erosion.

And today I maintain that soil on my fields by using Memmel tillage cover crops and a whole long list of other conservation practices.

The modern tools that I and the other 2.1 million farmers in the U.

S.

Used today our allies on our efforts to produce a bountiful harvest while protecting our land and our environment for future generations, using science to provide assurances to the Mecca consumer.

I've worked on a first of its kind effort with sustainability with soy that very same soybean, I might add, that my grandfather first planted what were the future look like?

Not just soy, but it will also include other crops that produce Maur with less water with less input.

And we'll adapt to changing climate conditions.

Though our way of life has similarities with wonderful memories of ah, simpler time.

I was commissioned by my parents to be socially and economically responsible.

And just as I've had to embrace changing perspectives, I also recognize that the transition has begun on my farm.

My story of hands across generations runs deep, deep with tradition that carries on with a willingness to innovate as I look towards a brighter future.

Thank you.