When you can join Hank
Start times are local to Ames, IA.
- Planting Season on a Large-Scale FarmStarts 7:30 AM, 7 hours
- Harvest Day on a 5,000-Acre FarmStarts 8 AM, 7 hours
What Hank hosts
Planting Season on a Large-Scale Farm
Ride the planter in spring, check seed depth in the field and see how one week sets up the whole year.
- Length
- 7 hours
- Group
- 1–2 guests
- Price
- $150
Harvest Day on a 5,000-Acre Farm
Ride the combine, check the grain markets and see modern large-scale farming up close.
- Length
- 7 hours
- Group
- 1–2 guests
- Price
- $150
About Hank
Hank Larsen is the fourth generation to farm his family's land in central Iowa. He studied agronomy at college, worked a few seasons for a seed company and then came home to farm with his father and sister.
Today he and his sister run about 5,000 acres of corn and soybeans with a crew of six. He relies on GPS-guided equipment, yield maps and soil data to decide what to plant where and how much to spend on inputs. His mornings start with the grain markets and the weather forecast, and in harvest season his days end well after dark.
Hank hosts because most people have never seen how modern row-crop farming works, and he wants them to understand the economics behind it, including how much can hinge on a few cents a bushel.
What you’ll learn from Hank
- How GPS guidance and yield monitors are used during harvest
- How grain moves from the combine to the cart, trucks and bins
- How farmers use futures and crop insurance to manage risk
- What land rent and input costs mean for a farm's bottom line
