Agri-Tech Enterprises Inc

Simultaneously that summer, they found out the quarter they had been renting was going for sale on auction. “So I was already strapped and it was not even 30 days since I’d gotten the ‘go’ from the bank for the new barn. Luckily, the guy who was selling it sold it on contract, so he was financing it except for the down payment,” Todd said. They were lucky enough to receive some help again for the down payment. Then about the time the contractors were pushing dirt for the nursery, the owners of the land where they live now wanted to know if Popkens wanted to rent their 280 acres. “So I had to go back to the bank for an operating loan. We basically doubled our acres.” Revenue from the pigs paid for the land and the hog building with a enough left over to help them get by. Plus they kept their jobs in town. Looking back, he said, “We jumped in with both feet pretty hard. We stuck our neck out further than a giraffe. But not all opportunities come at opportune times.” At the 10-year mark, they made the last payment to the bank on the hog building. The ink was hardly dry on the check when they had an opportunity to purchase the 280 acres they’d been renting (it had grown to 320 acres by that point). “That was in 2006-07 before land prices went crazy. Luckily the timing worked and we’re still living here.”

“WE ARE QUALITY ABOVE OTHERS”

Where is NOT Acceptable and CROOKED STRAIGHT is Everything.

TECHNOLOGICAL & MECHANICAL SKILLS PROVIDE CAREER FLEXIBILITY

Todd and Tammy’s oldest son, Alex, graduated from SDSU in December 2010. He married a fellow graduate of Le Mars Community High School and SDSU in August 2011. His wife, Maria, works at Iowa Farm Business Association in Sheldon. “It was a good move for her and it helps with the farming side, too,” Alex said. Because Maria doesn’t have a farming background, working at Iowa Farm Business Association has helped her learn about farming and bring some financial and tax insight to the Popken operation. Alex and Maria own and live on the acreage where his maternal grandparents, Dave and Judy Hawkins, used to reside and farm several miles east of Struble. They have a daughter, Denali, who is six and in kindergarten. Denali likes ballet and is in a dance company. Tammy said it’s been good for Todd to experience some girl-focused activities.

Alex works for the Feuerhelm family who own Plymouth Dairy and Perry Creek Dairy. He helps with their farming plus drives truck and does maintenance work for them. Alex said, “They give me the flexibility to take off in the fall and help Dad with harvest.”

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