The old saying “Knee high by the 4^th of July” seems a little crazy now that the corn is mostly waist high in the first half of June. It’s hard to picture over a month ago that I was out walking our two dogs on a cool, crisp morning. While the dogs were doing their business, I looked over at my neighbor’s fields that were tilled up. I was able to spot the rows of corn sprouting through the crust.  My neighbor’s John Deere tractor and planter were parked at the end of the lane after a night of planting soybeans, ready for the next day’s freshly tilled field work. I imagined how much farming has changed since the land was first surveyed and parceled by the original owners.  It is hard to visualize now what farming would’ve looked like with the farmers using teams of horses to clear and work the land. I remember spending time with my grandparents and great grandparents listening to them talk about growing up in rural Iowa. Can you imagine living through the Great Depression and then witnessing the booms in farming after World War II?

I enjoy looking over vintage aerial photos of our local farmsteads and how they’ve changed over the years. Not only aesthetically but, in functionality as well. The old photos displaying magnificent barns with hay lofts, corn cribs, farrowing sheds, and chicken houses give perspective of a different time. The newer photos of the same farms show the transition over to Morton-type pole barns, grain bins with legs, and hoop buildings. I was born in 1973 so I can remember how the rural Iowa landscape changed at that time with a horizon dotted by blue Harvestore silos. Unfortunately, that agricultural “boom” didn’t last either and the farm crisis of the 1980’s was deeply engraved in my memory as well. It definitely affected my family while growing up on our farm in Southeast Iowa and changed rural America forever.

Growing up on a farm in the 80’s and early 90’s was not easy after the crisis. However, we re-grouped and learned to get by on a little less while working a little harder. This is a large part of why I enjoy working with farmers today. It is gratifying for me to be a part of the process whether it be helping with a beginning farmer loan or helping a customer expand their current farming operation. Our experienced lenders will help you take advantage of opportunities in the good times and figure out prudent solutions in the down times with responsible lending practices. That’s the great thing about our locally owned and operated bank. The lending decisions are made by people who live in the areas we serve and who understand the needs of our customers.

I’m sure you can tell by now that I’m a little nostalgic. Our country’s checkered history intrigues me. Poncho and Lefty on the radio, old photographs, and faded patina farm tractors always catch my attention. At Iowa State Bank & Trust Co., we have had our doors open since 1934. We’ve seen a lot of changes happen with community banking and farming in rural Iowa over the years. We’ve been here through the good and not so good times. We are merely a reflection of our past, present, and future customers.

– Russ McGee, VP Ag Lending