Farms.com Home   News

Change to student aid formula would hit Iowa farm families

Darcy and Eric Wemark and their family milk nearly 600 cows at their dairy operation in Ridgeway, near Decorah in northeast Iowa.

The family also has 450 heifers, a 2,500-head swine facility and farms about 1,500 acres of corn and soybeans on land it mostly rents.

The couple’s eldest son, Carson, is finishing his first year at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, where he’s studying agronomy. The 19-year-old plans to carry on in the family business, as does their eldest daughter, Addison. The high school senior plans to head to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to study dairy science next fall.

Carson currently receives federal financial aid through a Pell Grant to help the family pay for the roughly $16,000 annual expense to send him to college, including tuition, fees, room and board, and other expenses.

Click here to see more...

Trending Video

Secure Pork Supply Plan | Prepare to Protect Your Herd | U.S. Pork Producers

Video: Secure Pork Supply Plan | Prepare to Protect Your Herd | U.S. Pork Producers

Join Jill Brokaw, a third-generation pig farmer, as she dives into the vital role of the Secure Pork Supply (SPS) Plan in preparing the U.S. pork industry for potential foreign animal disease outbreaks. This video is an essential watch for pork producers who are looking to safeguard their operations against the threats of diseases like foot and mouth disease, classical swine fever, and African swine fever. Why Should Pork Producers Care? An outbreak of foreign animal diseases in the U.S. could lead to severe restrictions and potentially result in industry-wide financial losses estimated between $15 to $100 billion. The SPS Plan is a collective effort to prevent such catastrophic outcomes by enhancing biosecurity, ensuring animal traceability, and promoting effective disease monitoring.