Mark Thompson

Mark farms just under 1000 acres in Badger Iowa, about 15 minutes north of Fort Dodge. As a young man, he farmed alongside his father and grandfather, who abandoned the moldboard in the 60s. Continuing his grandfather’s legacy, Mark switched to minimum tillage 20 years ago and cover crops in the last 10 years. He admits that when he first implemented cover crops, there were a few years when he “got burned by not listening to how the older farmers made it work.”

Now, with 100% of his acres covered during the winter, he is a “true believer,” and he spreads word of their benefits to his customers, managing 60 farms across the country with Sunderman Management. Mark is equal parts farmer and communicator and holds fast to a proverb passed down from his grandfather that “there’s always a better way to do things, not just the way you do them.” But he doesn’t recommend anything to his customers that he or the other managers haven’t tried themselves.

As a devoted part of our network, Mark enjoys hosting or leading field days deeply. He often begins by asking the audience to give a show of hands for who wants to make $50/acre. When everyone raises their hands, he quickly follows up with the response “Then quit tilling your soy beans.”

Building a Culture of Conservation: 

“I ask people why they till, and usually their answers are the same. They say ‘Dad did; grandpa did it; my neighbor does it.’ The tradition I was raised with had more to do with rethinking things and asking myself ‘Is this really making me any money, or am I just doing it because everyone else is.’ And the truth is, most people can’t do what we do to the soil and get away with it. At some point, that won’t be the case.”

Contact Information

Mark Thompson
223 3rd Ave SE
Badger IA 50516
515-571-0171
mark.thompson@frontiernet.net