The ‘Khaki Farmer’ Embraces Technology

Jason Haglund is a fifth-generation Iowa farmer, tech enthusiast, and founding member of Rural Policy Partners.

- By Lisa Foust Prater

Technology in agriculture is constantly evolving, thanks in part to farmers who are willing to try new products and methods. Jason Haglund, nicknamed the “Khaki Farmer” on social media due to his business-casual work wear, is one of those early adopters. Haglund and his wife, Jennifer, farm with his sister and brother-in-law, Lynae and Joshua Kruse, growing 500 acres of corn and soybeans in central Iowa’s Boone County. The Haglunds have two sons, Zane and Beckett, and the Kruses have two daughters, Natalie and Emmalyn.

Haglund is the fifth generation of his family to farm their land. His great-great grandfather, J.B. Haglund, a Finnish-speaking Swede, came to America and established the farm in 1885.

Pushing the Envelope

High-yield farmers, such as David Hula and Randy Dowdy, have mentored Haglund, inspiring him to make the most of his land. “I’m a firm believer that you should always surround yourself with people smarter than you,” he said. “It helps to challenge you to see what you can do.” Those relationships led Haglund to implement practices including cover crops, late-season fungicide, and nutrient management. “We're really looking at how we maximize what we can do. It’s been really exciting,” he said. “Sometimes, it’s a little scary because we're mixing a whole lot of things together for that sprayer pass, and even our cooperative will be like, ‘You have to come out here and mix it because we don’t even know how to do this.’”

Not every trial succeeds. A few years ago, Haglund tried intercropping — planting multiple crops in a field at the same time. He did a six-row/six-row split of corn and soybeans in an 80-acre test field.