Hans Riensche is the recipient of a 2024 USA Iowa Scholarship, which he intends to use to build an understanding of how farming families can profitably, sustainably and equitably build and transition multi-generational farming enterprises.
Hans is the sixth generation of his family to farm in Northeastern Iowa. Working alongside his parents and siblings, Hans and his wife grow corn, soybeans, wheat and pennycress. Looking to to bring new ideas and enterprises, Hans recently began growing specialty soybeans for use as a low-carbon aquaculture feed. They are also raising their first winter oilseed crop this year. Hans is very interested in testing various products for their viability as an alternative to traditional inputs, moving into crops which improve biodiversity and reduce environmental impact.
"I believe that the agribusiness sector must see transition planning as a pillar of sustainable agriculture," says Hans. "Agribusinesses benefit from long-term, strategic planning and improving transition planning will make the sector more appealing to the next generation."
Hans hopes to focus on how family farms with different enterprises, end markets, societal pressures and cultural values have adapted to survive for generations. By actively engaging in transition planning and a long term ownership plan, it would help farming businesses to adopt innovative practices, technologies and techniques to enhance productivity and reduce environmental impact.
During his scholarship, Hans intends to canvas a range of perspectives from Latin America, Asia, Europe and Australia/NZ.
