by JoAnn Alumbaugh

Running a farm is hard enough with two people. It’s even more challenging for one person, but Monica Lursen from Clarksville, Iowa, is up to the challenge.

This dynamic, competent go-getter was recently named a 2024 Iowa Master Farm Homemaker. She’ll be the first to tell you she’s not in this journey alone. She has two capable sons (Christopher and Patrick) and their wives who are buying into the operation. She has a strong network of advisers. And, she has a husband who is undoubtedly looking down from above and nodding his approval.

Keeping it together

Monica’s husband, Larry, died in 2011. It was a devastating loss, but she decided to keep the farm and related businesses while working on a plan to bring Christopher, Patrick, and their families into the operation.

“I’d grown up on a farm, so I understood farming, but I had to learn all the little things that you don’t even think about,” she says. The “boys” were in their late-20s when Larry died, but they both wanted to farm — and each of them has a skill set that benefits the operation.

“In the years since Larry’s death, Monica has grown their LLC farming operation to 2,200 acres of corn and soybeans,” writes Marylou Ahrens, who nominated Monica for the award. “Monica has purchased two additional farms since Larry’s death and added 350 acres to their farming LLC.”

Monica had always been involved in the farm, but she also had a full-time career for 45 years as a registered dietitian. She has held numerous dietetic positions. Most recently, she was the nutritionist director and diabetes educator at a critical access hospital, and also served as executive director for the Iowa Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics from 1998 to 2021.

Larry gave back to his community in many ways. Monica, too, has served in numerous capacities for her church and community, even with full-time employment off the farm. She is active in Faith Lutheran Church in Shell Rock and the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

Education is key

Education is a high priority for Monica. She graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in dietetics. She honors her husband through an annual scholarship given to ISU students and gives one in her name as well. She continues to serve ISU through various College of Human Sciences work and ISU Extension Women in Ag programs.

Now that she’s “retired,” Monica does all the bookkeeping for the multiple farm entities in which her family is involved. She continues to oversee decisions related to the farm with the help of her sons and trusted advisers. She’s also “Uber Oma,” helping transport her grandchildren to their activities.

This energetic, hardworking farm woman sets a wonderful example for those around her, and she will no doubt accept the role of Iowa Master Farm Homemaker in the same way she’s embraced all her endeavors.