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John Deere is proud to sponsor this program celebrating Iowa's Century Farms.

♪♪ What does it mean to have land in the same family for 100 years?

For farmers, a century of land ownership is significant.

It is respected by the agricultural community as a whole.

And, as early as the 1930's, century farm programs were established nationwide to honor this special milestone.

In Iowa, a program began in 1976 and to date 18,330 families have been recognized as having a century farm.

These families share a profound passion for farming the land and have a strong conviction to keep it in the family for generations to come.

Tim Bardole, fifth generation.

Pete Bardole, fifth generation farmer.

Roy Bardole, fourth generation.

Phyllis Bardole, fourth generation.

My name is Craig Sage and I'm the tenth generation farmer here.

I am Harold Hill and I am the fourth generation of the founder of the farm, J.B. Hill.

My name is Jay Hansen and I am the fifth generation to work our farm.

Agriculture has been the heart of Iowa ever since the land was opened up to settlers in 1833.

A family farm represents the traditions upon which the state was built and century farms hold special meaning for the state's heritage.

These owners view their farms as a resource, both for sustenance and enjoyment.

But it is not merely property to them.

Their farm is a big part of their identity.

Jay Hansen: It is gratifying to know that we are carrying on a heritage that began many years ago.

And there's always hope that it will continue after we are gone.

Jeanne Hansen: It's pretty incredible to have a piece of land that has gone the generation to generation and I'm proud to be there and it's a wonderful place for the kids to watch them grow, the grandkids to watch them grow and have the love for it.

Harold Hill: I guess the best way to describe it is home base.

It gives a sense of history, of history with family, with a connectedness to in some sense a history of the county but also a history of the state because it gives us a real tie to this land.

That's hard to grasp for some people who are used to moving from place to place.

But to be tied to a certain piece of property through family it gives a sense of belonging.

A secure future for their land farmed for future generations.

It's everything a farm family wants, especially century farmers.

There's a sense of pride in farming acres that have been in the family for generations.

It takes commitment to continue an operation for over 100 years.

And it means so much to families to pass the land onto the next generation.

Roots are deep.

The story is important.

♪♪ John Baker: I think we need to make that distinction between century ownership of a farm asset called farm land and a century farm business.

And I think for those businesses that have went on for a long period of time, been handed down through the generations, the families have created a culture within that family and make a conscious effort to have discussions to make sure that that next generation is prepared to come into the farm business.

Roy Bardole is proud to say he farms with two of his sons near Rippey along with his wife, Phyllis.

He represents the fourth generation of the Bardole family and his sons make up the fifth.

His great-grandfather bought the land in north central Iowa in 1901.

Roy Bardole: Bill, which is my great-granddad, came from Lancaster County Pennsylvania.

They came on a train, they loaded all of their goods in a rail car and I have the padlock that they used to lock the rail car when they came to this part of the country.

Jim and Ann Sage farm with their son, Craig, who represents the tenth generation of the family to farm in America.

They farmed the same land in Iowa since the early 1870's.

Jim Sage: The Sage's have farmed in America, they came over to Connecticut and moved across New York State, Illinois and then to Iowa and I'm proud of that because a lot of families don't have that heritage and it's just something that is, as a farmer, it's in our blood.

Wiese and Sons has enjoyed more than 100 years in the Herford cattle business.

In 1903, Ed Wiese, settled east of Manning and the farming legacy has continued since then.

Gene Wiese: It's working well.

But we're always trying to make it work a little better.

But our business is related to land care, land management and the cattle business.

And it has been our livelihood for many years and we're continuing to attempt to improve both cattle and the land.

So we're trying to take care of things as we expect the next generations to continue and we're hopeful that they will.

The Hansen family operates a dairy farm southwest of Hudson.

It is considered a heritage farm, meaning it has been in the same family for 150 years.

Jay Hansen: In 1864 my great-great-grandfather, Christian Brandhorst, moved from Michigan to Blackhawk County, Iowa, Hudson, Iowa and purchased the farm, 240 acres that we currently still have in our family.

Today, fourth generation farmer Keith Hora, farms with his family near Washington.

The Hora's bought their land in 1873.

Keith Hora: That particular piece of land my great-grandfather bought it from a man who in turn originally bought it from the federal government.

So there's only been one other owner of this property from the federal government to the Hora's so it has been in the Hora name for that long, which is what, 140 some years.

Harold Hill, with his wife Carol, is the fourth generation of his family to farm land near Minburn.

Harold Hill: My great-grandfather, J.B. Hill, came here in 1866 from New York State and then he bought the farm in 1867 and his wife and four children came to join him then in 1867.

And I think the original farm was like 360 acres that he bought.

Over the years, the average size of farms has continually increased as the number of farms has decreased.

While there has been a shift towards larger farms, the traditional family farm structure is still predominant.

An overwhelming majority of Iowa farms are still sole proprietorships with at least one family member working full-time on the farm.

Today's owners would not be century farmers if they had less than the same degree of commitment to the land as their ancestors.

Generations before them acquired the precious acres and held onto them, often facing threat of war, economic ruin, volatile weather, family sickness and death.

Ann Sage: It's just a lot of pride that our children wanted to continue, or two of our sons wanted to continue with that heritage.

And I'm just proud of all of the generations that were able to continue through different crises of farm commodity prices low, weather challenges, all sorts of things and yet they were able to maintain the farm.

For many century farmers, owning land is so deeply woven into their belief system, it almost has the same power as a religious conviction.

Perhaps it centers on a need for security.

But there also is the recognition that their land affects all that surrounds them.

Roy Bardole: We are no till farmers.

We believe that if we take care of the soil, the water pretty well takes care of itself.

The soil is the greatest asset that we have and that is the reason that we became no till farmers was to care for the soil and care for the natural resources that we are given.

Keith Hora: I just think it gives you a sense of pride to know that there will be someone in your family that will someday be farming this land and continuing I guess to be good citizens of the community.

Harold Hill: I really enjoy working the land.

There's a certain satisfaction and I realize now with tractors with their enclosed cabs and air conditioning and sound systems you don't get the sense we used to but still that idea that particularly in the spring with the tillage there is a certain aroma with working in the soil, there's a unique smell that when you get out of the tractor, even now, it's there and it's just a very comforting, rewarding experience for me.

The land often has been considered a gift from God meant to nourish and sustain all living creatures.

The idea of private citizens owning land is a relatively recent concept.

Many farms were homesteaded under the 1862 Homestead Act signed by President Abraham Lincoln.

This act granted up to 160 acres of free, public land to individuals for the purpose of transferring land from the public domain to private ownership.

Homesteading mostly ended during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration.

But it was not until 1976 that the Homestead Act was repealed.

During the first three decades of the 20th century it was common for farms to be passed down from one generation to the next, almost always to a son.

The remaining children either married into other farming operations or left to find employment off the farm.

World War I and the Great Depression brought dramatic declines in the succession of family land.

As young men went off to war, many never returned to the farm, either because they lost their lives or were exposed to new, off-the-farm opportunities.

The Great Depression simply ruined an opportunity for thousands of young people to take over the family farm and land that had been farmed for two or more generations was lost forever.

Throughout the 20th century, American agriculture and rural life itself, underwent a dramatic transformation.

During the early part of the century half of the U.S. population lived in rural areas.

Today, it is less than a fourth.

For most, land ownership goes hand-in-hand with a deep sense of responsibility.

Roy Bardole: During that farm crisis when it felt like I had let great-granddad and granddad and dad down by, I won't say mismanaging because it wasn't mismanagement, but circumstances and so on.

It's terribly hard, terribly, terribly hard, emotionally, physically hard.

Tim was still home.

Jason was a little boy when the bank told us that they were going to start foreclosure procedures on us.

I come home and stepped in the door and started to crying.

Jason and Tim I don't think probably ever saw me cry.

I'm not sure they've seen me cry since.

The generational farms, the land itself, there are few things outside of my family and my faith, I would say there's nothing outside of those two things that are any more important than the generational farms.

Most century farm owners hope to remain on their farms until they can pass it on to a young member of the family who cares about it as much as they do.

They are vigilant as to how the land will be cared for.

Many of them continue to live in comfortable, but simple, farmhouses despite having the resources if they sold their land to build large houses in town.

They choose to remain involved instead of moving away to warmer climates.

They are, in a sense, sacrificing themselves for future generations.

Although most would insist they are content with their decisions, they feel no need to upgrade their lifestyles and view succession of their land as satisfying rather than a sacrifice.

Roy Bardole: Unless you allow your children to be a part of the operation and to start to build that enjoyment of the activity of farming, to build the love of growing crops, of taking care of livestock, whatever it may be, the activity of farming is contagious if you allow it to be.

Jay Hansen: When the sons decided they wanted to come back to the farm, we had to make a choice.

We had two options.

We could continue as we were and eventually sell out.

Or we could facilitate their involvement with the business.

And of course we decided to facilitate them to come home.

So we provided the ways and means for it to happen.

And we have no regrets.

It has been a very rewarding adventure.

Gene Wiese: It has meant continuing activity on my part to continue to be involved.

And Mrs. Gene and I have thought about that and commented about that several times, that had we not had the next generation and the following one after that, it has kept us very enthusiastic about their lives and what they're continuing to be interested in.

And because of that we have continued to be interested in it.

So generational farming has been very, very important to agriculture and we have watched it many places with many operations and we're very pleased to be involved and continue to be involved.

Century Farms don't just happen.

It takes commitment, sacrifice and a bone-deep belief that carrying on the tradition matters.

Melissa O'Rourke: What that says to me is that there must have been some good communication in the family, that over the years there must have been multiple generations involved and the younger generations coming up knew that there was a role for them in actually farming that farm, in operating a farm, not just being a future landholder.

As we go up and down Main Street throughout Iowa, throughout farm country in America, there are other kinds of family businesses out there.

But if there has been a family plumbing business or a shoe store or an apartment building owned by a family for over 100 years they don't get a sign that says century plumbing business or the century family apartment building because it's a different kind of business.

Farming as we know is not just a business, it's a way of life, it's a lifestyle, it's working land, raising livestock, producing food for the world.

And for multiple generations of families to have been involved in that over 100 years and more there has to have been good relationships, good communication, goal setting and just a legacy in that family of saying, this is what we're about, this is what we do and we do it now, we've done it in the past and we see our family doing that in the future.

Harold Hill: I have four siblings, three older brothers and a younger sister, none of whom are involved in agriculture.

So when I decided that I may like to come back to the farm I made that decision after I was sure that none of my older brothers or my sister were going to be involved.

Once I came back here then we ended up buying this farm on contract from my parents.

So that's how we ended up here at the farm.

But it has been through support of the siblings and my parents that we were able to make it this long.

Carol Hill: Everybody was worried about everybody else more than they were themselves and that's the type of family he has.

They are very caring people.

Jeanne Hansen: I think the fact that it has just been a lot of hard work.

And I think as the generations go that work ethic needs to be there in order to keep it going.

You have to be focused on what your plans are and how are you going to get to that point of hanging on.

Jay Hansen: There are a lot of farms in families, however the family is not necessarily operating the farm.

The farm is being rented to neighbors or other sources.

But in our situation we have the owners as the operators.

And we are operating solely with farm generated income.

And to get this to happen someone has to have the passion to either own the property or own and operate the property.

If that's there, the farm will inevitably be passed on.

Farm business succession planning is an integral facet of the continuation of the family farm operation.

It is vital that all farmers prepare properly for future succession, be it family or non-family, and successors need to be identified in a timely manner, offered appropriate training and given the opportunity to take control of the business, entirely or in part, in good time.

This gives younger people the chance to make decisions for a longer-term future.

It also gives them the experience of running a farm operation that they will need when the current owner retires.

Jim Sage: Most generally it has worked real well and Craig has had the time period to start learning to make the decisions and I was happy to pass that on.

He probably gets a little discouraged with me sometimes that I go down and unload corn or drive a combine or so forth.

That's kind of in my blood.

But as time goes on I turn more over to him so that he has full control and makes the decisions.

Craig Sage: I'm the president and the farmer, farm manager and so I make the day-to-day decisions.

And big decisions I will still look for input from my parents and my family, my wife, on land purchases or something like that.

But otherwise I pretty much make all the decisions.

Keith Hora: Well that just kind of slips away year by year as I'm gone more.

But as far as the decisions on some of the financing and things like that and the Hora Farms Inc. corporation itself, that I still probably maintain until I'm not able to anymore.

Curt Hora: He pretty much turned over the day-to-day farming operations to me.

I manage and maintain them.

And, like he said, he does more of the financial part of it, that is his part of the family farm.

And so I take care of employees, inputs, the production role of the corporation or the family farm and operation.

Gene Wiese: My grandfather and my father were in business and they partnered and as my grandfather matured and my father assumed pretty much complete control that transition took place.

And at that time it was not quite as large as it is today or as involved.

And then my brother and I entered the picture with the partnership with my father.

Then we came along with my brother, who dropped out of the picture because he had three daughters who left the area.

And so he made arrangements so that we could buy his interest out of which at that time Helen and David came into the picture and were able to participate.

So that transition, which can be difficult for many operations, has been pretty smooth.

Now we're looking forward to another transition with grandsons.

Keeping a farm in a family is hard.

There are a lot of factors that go into this.

Farmers age and sometimes the next generation isn't interested in continuing the operation or a family can't afford to pay for one generation retiring and another generation to make a living.

It can make for tough decisions.

Harold Hill: It has been a struggle.

We have three daughters, two of whom are married and living away and it's not likely that they would, they or their husbands, would want to come back here.

The younger daughter has an interest in the farm but I'm not sure it would be, if we were to rent the farm to her or even try to sell it that there would be enough income for her as well as for us.

My thought is probably at this point we will probably try to rent this to a younger neighbor who wants to get involved in farming and try to be of help in some way that way.

That's part of our American system that sometimes businesses stay in a family and at some point they're probably going to come to a close and that may be the case here.

It may still be owned by the family for a period of time but it may not be operated by someone in the family.

Is it hard knowing that the next generation won't be farming this land?

Harold Hill: Some days yes.

Some days no.

I think I have pretty well come to the conclusion that that's probably bound to happen and so I'm kind of accepting it.

But there is sort of a certain, I won't call it sadness, but just kind of a downer, that at this point I may be the last generation that operates, owns and operates the farm.

I guess I've just come to that conclusion and I just kind of live with it at this point.

But it's still just kind of a sadness about it.

Carol Hill: When you have daughters, we've been thinking about this for a long time.

One married a tech guy, computer guy and another one married an aeronautical engineer and those don't really go with farming too much.

It has been something we've been thinking about for a long time.

One of the major trends in agriculture is the increasing age of the farmland owner.

In 2012, over half the farmland in Iowa was owned by people over the age of 65.

The percent of farmland owned by people over the age of 75 more than doubled over the past two decades.

Given normal life expectancy, this means a substantial amount of Iowa farmland could change ownership over the next several years.

Gene Wiese: Transitions are very important.

And for senior members to kind of take a backseat sometimes is a little difficult.

But in my case it hasn't been because I have enjoyed working with my son and daughter.

And in regard to the things that Dave does, he's better at it than I am.

And it is far more involved now than it was when I was more involved.

And as far as the records are concerned with Helen, they have become immensely important to the industry.

So that transition to me has not been as difficult.

I hope it hasn't been seemingly difficult for Dave or Helen for that transition to take place.

But I depend on them entirely and I try to assist where I can and enjoy doing that role.

Helen Wiese: There's a good synergy though because the history and the historical background plus the changes that we're having now it really works to have the expertise of the generation that is preceding me.

But the transition has been very good.

Dave Wiese: We have always wanted to go ahead and perform to the top of our abilities in each part of what we do.

And we grew up that way.

We grew up with my father, my uncle and my grandfathers that they always looked for a vision to go ahead and perform to the best and do things better, find things to be gotten accomplished not only in facilities all the way to livestock and it was just something that we were just genetically involved to do.

Harold Hill: Sometimes our wishes to see the land continue under the same ownership may become so important that parents expect their children to step right in and that may not be what the children really want.

There are more important things than keeping the farm going within a family and that is to be sure that everybody comes out of this with their own personal integrity intact.

Some aging farmers haven't even started the discussion of succession and often are faced with the toughest decisions of their lives.

If they aren't farming then what will they do?

Who are they if they aren't a farmer?

Melissa O'Rourke: If somebody thinks of retiring from farming as now I'll have no role in the family farm operation that is scary.

Like any kind of business or career people need to have some other kinds of interests.

We always talk about that.

You can travel for a certain amount of time but when you're home what are some of your other interests that you could be involved in, in your community, your church, your family, whatever other endeavors it might be.

But if you can always feel like my wisdom is always going to be valued and welcomed here I think it makes it less scary for those that are maybe in what we might call the exiting or retiring generations.

John Baker: Well I think a lot of us just don't like to plan.

We have to also think about our own death.

Not a fun thing to sit around and contemplate.

And then I think often times we can find other things we'd rather do, the things that we think are urgent, that we have to get these done so we can put that off.

And I have jokingly said that we'll put it off to a rainy day but it never rains on a lot of farms, we never get around to sitting down and talking about it until it's too late.

If one examines the transfer of land from older generations to the young there are many examples that do not fit the philosophy found in the concept of century farms.

There are second and third generations of farmers who do not value the idea of ensuring that their land winds up in the hands of the generation following them.

There's the sadness felt by young farmers who cannot afford to pay the going rate for land their parents own.

And there are the stories of parents who decide to leave their land equally to all of their children despite the loyalty of one child who stayed behind to carry on the family tradition.

Jay Hansen: That's a difficult question that creates a lot of emotion.

We have -- we try to have our assets diversified in that we have farm assets and we have non-farm assets.

In the settlement of our estate we hope and we are planning to have the farm assets go to the people that are on the farm, the heirs that are operating the farm, and the non-farm assets would go to the non-farm heirs.

Jeanne Hansen: Which would be our daughter.

Jay Hansen: It has to be fair.

And I think the heirs that are operating the farm need to have a little extra consideration than those that are not operating the farm.

Roy Bardole: The folks did make it absolutely equal intentionally.

And the folks owned this 320 acres.

And they gave each one of us five kids a 20% share in their estate.

I had spent my lifetime working here and through the farm crisis and everything else held, in a sense, the inheritance together.

So was it fair?

Well it depends on who you talk to.

From my side looking out perhaps not quite.

From my siblings looking in yeah, it's fair, of course it's fair.

Well, that's a very, very difficult discussion.

Many times families get along well until inheritance times come and then it can drive a wedge in a family that lasts forever and that's sad.

That's really sad.

Three-fourths of Iowa's farmland is held without debt.

Willing the land to family increased as the most popular method of transferring the land, accounting for almost half of the farmland.

The next most popular method for transferring farmland was putting it into a trust.

Melissa O'Rourke: One of the most common myths is that there is some kind of terrible death taxes people call them at the time when you're passing farm assets on to children or grandchildren, whatever those next generations might be.

And in Iowa, be it farm or whatever assets are being passed onto a future generation, as long as things are being passed on to what are called lineal descendants, children, grandchildren and so on, there is no Iowa inheritance tax on that.

Almost all land is owned either for income, long-term investment or sentimental reasons.

If land is considered simply as an investment asset that can be sold at some point, it probably will never be owned and managed by one's heirs for future generations to come.

Jim Sage: We had stressed to our family that in their heritage, that's one of the reasons why we incorporated, that we can pass on down to the next generation so that this farm would be able to stay in the family if that generation so wished to do that.

Jay Hansen: The older generation has to be willing to let go.

And the younger generation has to be willing to step up to the plate and take responsibility.

Those two things have to happen.

Jeanne Hansen: And it's really hard as parents to let them take it and make mistakes.

He will let it go.

I will say, can I help?

That's different, that's just the mom.

Roy Bardole: I started farming in 1966.

Then Peter and Tim came back to the farm when they graduated from college in what -- '89 and '90.

Roy Bardole: Tim has a son that will graduate from college this year.

Don't know if he's going to come back to the farm or not.

It's up to him.

I'm willing to step out of the way and let him step in if he chooses.

The only way you have generational farming is when the next generation decides that they want to be a part of it.

If, as granddad and dad, I don't see to it that they are welcomed and that they feel like they're a part of and can contribute something that's when there's a breakdown and nobody comes back and you lose the generational farmers.

Century Farms can benefit their communities.

Prosperous rural towns are surrounded by prosperous farms.

The contribution of farm businesses to the rural economy, the environment and indeed to society as a whole, should not be ignored.

Those who live next to the land and toil upon it are more likely to be interested in their community than will be an absentee landowner.

John Baker: When there is a business in a rural community it has a multiplier effect and they live in the community and they buy goods in the community, they attend the local church, they attend the local schools, they participate in the community activities.

We have to have young people in these communities but if we don't make a place for them we don't have them.

And so if there isn't that farm business succession plan certainly there may still be ownership of assets by that farm family or by the family who owns that farmland.

But they may not live in that community.

Indeed they may not even live in the state of Iowa.

Century Farms sustain agriculture's legacy.

When states first launched programs to identify them, they wanted to recognize the value of such farms while increasing the understanding of agriculture among the general public.

Families honored are praised for continuing their ancestors' traditions of nurturing and caring for the land.

Wendell Berry, author of The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays writes, the care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy and after all our most pleasing responsibility.

Until we understand what the land is, we are at odds with everything we touch.

To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only legitimate hope.

Harold Hill: I knew that agriculture was very important to a large portion of my family.

And as I was away in school I felt drawn back to this place and probably as much because of the draw to the land and this farm seemed to be sort of related to who my family was and I wanted to continue that if at all possible.

Craig Sage: There's a saying and I don't think they've ever really decided who first said it, but it was live as though you're going to die tomorrow, farm as though you're going to farm forever.

And from a standpoint of no regrets I just felt that it would be good to keep the family farm going and hopefully have another generation after me follow in my footsteps also.

Gene Wiese: Well it's a compliment to Mrs. Gene and me and a compliment to their grandparents.

I'm extremely pleased that they would show an interest and I'm doubly pleased that I have some grandsons that show an interest.

So the work can carry on and the breeding program can carry on.

And to see it just not carry on would be not necessarily discouraging to me but it would be disappointing.

Peter Bardole: I love to farm.

I've loved to farm as long as I can remember.

Being out with dad and grandpa when I was little, riding in the tractor, hearing stories, I cherish those and I remember those.

I remember those stories.

I share those stories with my boys now and say this is part of your heritage, this is what I learned, remember this.

So that's what it means.

Roy Bardole: Well as much as anything it's the joy of farming with them, of working with them on a daily basis.

Not very many dads really have the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with their kids.

And for me it's a joy, I pull out of my drive in the morning to come this way and I look across the fields and know what I've got for the day and I sing praise every single morning that I had that opportunity.

♪♪ Funding for this program was provided by Iowa Public Television, the Iowa Public Television Foundation and generations of family and friends who feel passionate about Iowa Public Television programs.

By Farmers Mutual Hail Insurance Company of Iowa, seeking to protect your investment.

Securing success for America's farmers since 1893.

And by -- John Deere is committed to those linked to the land.

John Deere is proud to sponsor this program celebrating Iowa's Century Farms.