Dean Asmus knows he’s in for long days during harvest season on his corn and soybean farm in eastern Nebraska.

“We try to get started by 8:00 in the morning, and we usually don’t quit until 11:30 or 12:00 at night, so they’re long hours,” he explained. “It takes a lot of hours and, and there’s only six of us, so we just push pretty hard and keep everything rolling during the day.”

But Dean doesn’t mind the 15-hour days or the hard work.

“It’s a lot of fun just sitting in the combine watching what you did all summer, what you can improve on going into next year,” he said. “I just enjoy farming.”

In addition to running the combine, Dean spends his time thinking about ways he can make the operation more productive during the next growing season – identifying patches where yields were lower, figuring out why, and game-planning a solution.

Dean and his brother took over the operation from their dad, and they now have three sons farming alongside them. That’s required growth and additional farmland, which the family rents from Farmland Partners. He’s enjoyed the seven-year relationship.

“They want to work with the farmer instead of just trying to gouge us on prices and cash rents,” Dean concluded. “And they make you feel like part of their family.”