When Matt Hanson delivers his grain to the elevator in town, he gets some looks.
Matt Hanson climbs out of his combine cab during the first day of soybean harvest 2024. Hanson is starting small to build up his family farm in eastern Nebraska. He uses older equipment and invests in upgrades when he can.
Matt Hanson stands by one of the old grain trucks he still uses on his eastern-Nebraska farm.
Framed aerial photos sit on the Hanson dining-room table. Matt Hanson is the fifth generation to run the farm in Saunders County, Nebraska.
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Matt Hanson talks with his dad, Howard Hanson, in the grain truck. Both men had full-time jobs in town but helped on the farm – Matt as a teenager and his dad in his spare time. Now that Matt Hanson has traded in his day job in accounting to farm full-time, he says he's hoping to grow the operation smartly to support his family, and continue the farm for a sixth generation and beyond.
Matt Hanson shows a board from his grandpa’s old barn, dated 1903. The Hansons are using the wood for projects that celebrate the legacy of their eastern Nebraska farm.
Raised in small town South Dakota, Janelle is enjoying her time as editor of Tri-State Neighbor and Midwest Messenger while raising kids, chickens and no till vegetables in central Sioux Falls. Reach her at janelle.atyeo@lee.net.
Janelle Atyeo
Editor
