(Editor's note -- Livestock farming is poised for tremendous growth in Iowa thanks to good market prices, a growing renewable fuels industry and increasing value of using animal nutrients as fertilizer. The importance of agriculture, particularly livestock farming, has generated a great deal of discussion across the state, including northwest Iowa. The Coalition to Support Iowa's Farmers recently visited with Adair County farmers, residents and community leaders about the benefits of agriculture and the positive impact of responsibly growing area livestock farms. Throughout March and April, the Coalition will unveil a series of articles focusing on the interconnection between strong and growing farms and vibrant and prosperous main streets in Adair County…and beyond.)

Fontanelle, Iowa’s motto is “A place to call home!” However, less than 700 people can offer a testimonial. That’s because Fontanelle and many small towns like it are losing population. And as the people leave, so do their schools, local businesses and sense of community.

This trend can change, however, if rural communities work together to solve the challenges and reap the benefits associated with modern agriculture and livestock farming.

So says Mike Cass, president of First National Bank. He was raised on a crop and livestock farm three miles north of his office overlooking Fontanelle’s town square.

Cass graduated from Des Moines Area Community College with a degree in ag business and immediately went to work for the farmer’s cooperative in Earlham. After six months of mixing fertilizer, handling grain and helping with sales and service, Cass moved closer to home, taking a job as bookkeeper and teller with First National Bank in Fontanelle.

That was 28 years ago.

“It’s gone by fast,” said Cass, who was named bank president in 1996. Today, First National Bank employs more than 40 people, has offices in Fontanelle, Greenfield, Massena, Anita and Correctionville and offers more than 5,500 customers a variety of financial and lending services.

“To be successful as a bank, it takes great employees working together as a team. And we certainly have a great team,” said Cass. “To be successful in my role, you have to be a good listener, be willing to give direction and accept the outcomes of what you do. You can’t dwell on the past but move on.”

This same philosophy can be applied in all walks of life. Strong communities, said Cass, are a lot like successful banks. It takes a team approach and people working together. Farmers are an important part of the team because they help sustain local economies and enhance the quality of life for residents.

“We have the privilege of being an agricultural bank,” Cass said. “A very high percentage of our business has always been directly involved in agriculture including machinery, real estate, livestock, crop inputs and capital improvement loans.”

Cass believes a higher percentage of people realize agriculture’s economic importance to communities.

“If the local farmers aren’t making money, the local main streets aren’t making money,” he said. “Farmers spend when they make money and local merchants see an increase in receipts.”

However, Cass believes fewer people understand the economic pressures farmers must endure and the impact these pressures have on business decisions.

“Farming has gone from putting in a hard day’s physical labor to also spending a large portion of time watching and managing trends, markets and the cost of doing business,” Cass said. “It’s the environment we live in today. We’re a global market today and there are global factors affecting demand and supply. These factors are different in the past but they have a direct impact on farmers, requiring a lot of families to farm more land and raise more livestock.”

Farmers, he added, are just like banks and other families. They work to minimize risk. This includes partnering with other farmers to purchase seed, feed and fertilizer. Or, it may mean raising livestock on contract with area farmers or another company to guarantee a consistent return and to minimize the downside if market prices go bad.

“Sure, there’s part of me that would like to see a return of the farm I was raised on – where every family has a few hogs, cattle, sheep, chickens and dairy cows and grows corn, soybeans and hay,” Cass said with a long gaze toward the town square. “But it’s unrealistic to expect those days to return. To be involved in agriculture today takes a large amount of equity and credit. To make it work, you’re very dependent on pricing and yields. You need volume so you need more acres, more hogs and more cattle.”

While people may have different reactions to these changes, Cass said there’s one thing everyone can agree on: the need to work together to make southwest Iowa more vibrant and prosperous.

“I hope 10-15 years from now that I see more activity in our small communities,” he said. “We have a lot to offer. There are good places here to raise families and more livestock. There’s a slower pace, strong quality of life and real sense of belonging that some people currently living in larger urban centers are looking for.

“We all just have to be willing to change and to consider new opportunities and ways of doing things,” Cass said.

“And we can do these things without giving up our values,” he added, “providing that we truly work together and understand each other’s concerns and reasons for doing things.”



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