For nearly 16 years, Wendy Johnson has tried to build an Iowa farm that could survive the kinds of economic shocks that drove farmers out of business when she was growing up in the 1980s.
She diversified her operations, growing corn, small grains and soybeans while also raising sheep, cattle, pigs and chickens. She opted to sell directly to consumers and transitioned a portion of her 1,200 acres to organic production. She avoided debt and even planted trees to protect her soil and livestock.