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The Larson Corporation: Dig it

FARNHAMVILLE — What is the secret behind most successful small businesses? Family. While some of these businesses don’t last beyond the first generation or two, a Farnhamville-based tiling and excavating company is helping a new generation of young families to grow their future in rural Iowa. “It’s great to work in a family business like this,” said Trevor Larson, 35, who owns The Larson Corporation with his younger brother, Brett. In September 2022, the Larson brothers purchased Vosberg Enterprises Inc. from another pair of brothers — Jeff and Gary ...

Strengthening Iowa in biofuels

ROCKWELL CITY — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig celebrated two area fuel retailers recently by awarding them both with 2025 Renewable Fuels Marketing Awards. Sparky’s One Stop, a chain of convenience stores throughout western and northwest Iowa, along with Pro Cooperative, a ...

Pro Cooperative: ‘State of the art’

TERRIL — Improvements at Pro Cooperative in Terril have yielded a new agronomy complex and office, streamlined traffic flow in and out of (and throughout) the elevator grounds, put the scale system under roof, and centralized company operations. These renovations began in the fall of ...

SkyDronesUSA: Putting drones to work

GOWRIE — Drones continue to revolutionize crop production and help farmers boost their profit potential — and a Gowrie-based company has been on the leading edge of this new frontier from the start. “We’ve come a long ways in a short time,” said Duane Davis, founder of ...

InnerPlant: Communicating with plants

A seed technology company has developed a line of seeds that can detect pathogens and other stresses and signal these issues to farmers. Test plots will be established in Iowa this growing season. InnerPlant has created plants that emit light that’s detectable as far away as outer ...

Cybersecurity and AI

Alexis Stevens said the “wave of the future is already here.” She’s talking about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in agriculture, and the importance of governing it with cybersecurity. Stevens, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach farm management specialist from ...