Episode #29
Episode 190: What the 1980s Farm Crisis Should Have Taught Us with Wendy Johnson
Wendy Mariko Johnson farms in Floyd County, Iowa, near Charles City. She grew up on an Iowa farm, left at 18 in the 1990s for an 18-year career in the Los Angeles fashion industry, and returned in 2010 with her husband Johnny Rafkin. Having watched farms close across Iowa in the 1980s, she came back determined to follow the three things that carried her parents through that era: diversification, low cost of production, and little to no debt. Today Wendy runs two businesses from the same land. Jóia Food & Fiber Farm carries 160 ewes, 25 cows and their calves, plus hogs, chickens, and ducks across roughly 130 certified organic acres, alongside 15 acres of Kernza and more than 6,000 trees planted over the past decade. Jóia Sleep turns the farm's wool into comforters, mattress toppers, and pillows. She also co-manages Center View Farms, her family's thousand-acre commodity operation, and serves as vice president of the Perennial Promise Growers Cooperative, co-founder of 99 Counties, and chair of Iowa's USDA Farm Service Agency state committee. Her current question is how to take what she has proven on 130 acres and extend it across a thousand. In this episode, John and Wendy discuss: What carried her parents through the 1980s farm crisis, and why it still applies How direct marketing made her a price maker instead of a price taker Why the thousand-acre corn and soybean farm is becoming obsolete How Kernza thrived through a 10-inch drought year and a 12-inch rain month Why she hires custom operators instead of owning machinery What it would take to treat agrarian labor like the skilled trades Whether the next generation wants land ownership or just land access Why she would rather be paid on practice and nutrition than on yield Four years of silvopasture planted over field tile Additional Resources To listen to the podcast episode featuring Austin Unruh on integrating trees into working pastures, please visit: https://advancingecoag.com/podcast/episode-97-integrating-trees-into-working-pastures-with-austin-unruh/ To learn more about Jóia Food & Fiber Farm, please visit: https://www.joiafoodfarm.com/ To learn more about Jóia Sleep, please visit: https://www.joiasleep.com/ To learn more about 99 Counties, please visit: https://99counties.com/ To learn more about the Perennial Promise Growers' Cooperative, please visit: https://perennialpromise.com/ Learn more about AEA's regenerative programs and products: https://www.advancingecoag.com About John Kempf John Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA). A top expert in biological and regenerative farming, John founded AEA in 2006 to help fellow farmers by providing the education, tools, and strategies that will have a global effect on the food supply and those who grow it. Through intense study and the knowledge gleaned from many industry leaders, John is building a comprehensive systems-based approach to plant nutrition – a system solidly based on the sciences of plant physiology, mineral nutrition, and soil microbiology. Support For This Show & Helping You Grow Since 2006, AEA has been on a mission to help growers become more resilient, efficient, and profitable with regenerative agriculture. AEA works directly with growers to apply its unique line of liquid mineral crop nutrition products and biological inoculants. Informed by cutting-edge plant and soil data-gathering techniques, AEA's science-based programs empower farm operations to meet the crop quality markers that matter the most. AEA has created real and lasting change on millions of acres with its products and data-driven services by working hand-in-hand with growers to produce healthier soil, stronger crops, and higher profits. Beyond working on the ground with growers, AEA leads in regenerative agriculture media and education, producing and distributing the popular and highly-regarded Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, inspiring webinars, and other educational content that serve as go-to resources for growers worldwide. Learn more about AEA's regenerative programs and products: https://www.advancingecoag.com
