(SBA) - Two new field specialists have joined the farm business management team with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
Joseph Lensing and Eric Weuve both joined in May. Lensing will serve a 12-county region in northeast Iowa and Weuve will serve 12 counties in north central Iowa.
Both bring years of experience in farming and ag-related careers. Lensing fills a position previously held by Melissa O’Rourke, who retired last year; and Weuve fills a position previously held by Kelvin Leibold, who retired earlier this year.
“We are excited to add these two new members to our farm management extension team,” said Chad Hart, extension grain markets specialist and a state specialist with the farm management team.
“Joseph Lensing is a home-grown farm management specialist from northeast Iowa. His experiences with SilverEdge Cooperative and NYLIFE Securities translate into working knowledge of on-farm production and finance issues,” said Hart.
“Eric Weuve is also a known commodity in north central Iowa. Given his wealth of experience teaching agriculture at the college level, Eric provides a broad base of agricultural knowledge for producers in the area,” said Hart.
Lensing earned his bachelor's degree in ag business, marketing and financial management from Upper Iowa University in 2019. After graduation, he worked for an ag cooperative and later for an insurance company.
Lensing farms with his father and brother in Fayette County, where they grow crops and finish about 250 head of beef a year.
Weuve earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in ag education from Northwest Missouri State University, and has taught ag education at the collegiate level since 2006, most recently at Ellsworth Community College.
Weuve farms with his father on the family farm near McCallsburg, where they grow corn and soybeans.
Lensing said he looks forward to serving as a farm management specialist because of the opportunity to deliver fact-based solutions for farmers.
“I want to be a factually based, objective provider of advice,” he said. “I pride myself on truth and honesty and with all of the research that Iowa State conducts, it’s very important that this gets into the hands of people who can benefit – in Iowa and across the globe.”
Weuve said he was drawn to the position because of the opportunity to help all kinds of farmers, with all types of backgrounds.
“I’m really passionate about production agriculture and I want to help others succeed,” he said. “I want to help the beginning farmers and those who maybe want to transition into retirement. I’m excited to work with everyone, whether they’re directly involved or they want to be directly involved.”
