Hansen Dairy Farm Wins State Award

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey announced Thursday that the Jay and Jeanne Hansen family from Hudson have been named the February winners of the “Gary Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award.”

Iowa Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Jay Johnson will present the award to the Hansen family Feb. 14 at the Hansen Farm Fresh Dairy Visitor Center, 8461 Lincoln Road, Hudson.

The “Big Show,” which airs on both radio stations WHO in Des Moines and WMT in Cedar Rapids, will broadcast live from the presentation from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Feb. 14.

“Jay and Jeanne are very deserving winners of this award,” Northey said in a news release. “They do a tremendous job of caring for their animals while also reaching out to their community to share the story of agriculture. It is great to be able to recognize a family operation like the Hansen’s that is creating new opportunities and growing a business in rural Iowa.”

The Hansens run a dairy farm with 175 cows and 190 heifers, all purebred Holsteins. In addition, they started processing and marketing their own milk in 2004 so that their four sons, Brent, Brad, Blair and Blake, could join them back on the farm. In addition to the dairy, the Hansens also raise row crops and hay.

The Hansen’s were nominated for the award by their neighbor, and customer, Joanne Vlasak. In her nomination Vlasak said, “The Hansens are a good neighbor and community member because they serve so many people in the surrounding area. Not only can people purchase great Iowa dairy products that are produced right here in the neighborhood, the have a tremendous passion to tell everyone about farm living and what it takes to get food to the market.”

The Hansens have built a visitor center and on-farm store and give regular tours to families, school groups and other visitors.

In addition to the four sons who now own and work on the farm, Jay and Jeanne have a daughter, Lynn, and 15 grandchildren.

The Wergin Good Farm Neighbor award, made possible through the financial support of the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers, recognizes Iowa livestock farmers who take pride in doing things right. This includes caring for the environment and their livestock and being good neighbors. It is named in memory of Gary Wergin, a long-time WHO Radio farm broadcaster who helped create the award.