Jared Goplen’s Role Supporting Midwest Farmers

Before earning graduate degrees in agronomy, working for University of Minnesota Extension, and landing his current role of agronomy manager for Wyffels Hybrids, Jared Goplen was, like many of the growers he supports, born and raised on a Midwest family farm – the same one he farms now when not working for Wyffels.

As an agronomy manager, Goplen supports growers in northwest Iowa, southern Minnesota, and eastern South Dakota. Come early April, he will be offering his expertise to support Successful Farming’s coverage of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Crop Progress report. 

In our latest agronomist Q&A, we spoke with Goplen about how his substantial research background and experience with Extension fit into how he supports the growers in his multistate territory.

SF: You started college aiming to go into engineering. How did you end up in agronomy? 

JG: I went to Augustana University in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where I started as an engineering and physics major, thinking I wanted to be an engineer of some kind. I quickly realized that it wasn’t my cup of tea, so I switched to biology and then decided to go on to grad school at the University of Minnesota. I spent about six years there working on my graduate degrees. Then, I worked with University of Minnesota Extension for about five years prior to joining Wyffels.

SF: How did you earn the title “Weed Watcher” in graduate school?

JG: I did a lot of work on herbicide-resistant giant ragweed in southeastern Minnesota – a pretty challenging weed. As part of that process, I did a number of trials looking at weed biology to try to find some weak points in the weed life cycle to target it and, hopefully, do a better job of controlling it. That’s where that name came from. 

I did some work looking at how things like crop rotation, tillage, and planting date interact with how long a giant ragweed plant or seed will persist in a field. The findings there – to summarize six years of my life: giant ragweed only sticks around in the seed bank for about two years, so if we do a really good job of controlling weed seeds, preventing them from going back into the system, we can make some good progress in a fairly short period of time. 

SF: How do you tailor your support and advice to growers in different areas? 

JG: Working with Extension throughout the state of Minnesota, and now in my role with Wyffels, it has been really fun to see how farming practices — or even the culture and attitudes of farmers — can change in a short geography. It’s always entertaining and fun to learn how decisions are made differently in different geographies. 

At the end of the day, we’re all trying to do the same thing, so that makes it a little bit easier despite some of those differences. We’re all trying to grow the most profitable and productive crops possible. It’s just that some of the strategies might change, whether you’re in some drier areas of eastern South Dakota and you’re utilizing no-till or strip-till, or you’re working with heavy, wet soils, and water in the spring tends to be your biggest challenge. In some ways, it’s relatively small changes that tweak that management system. Otherwise a lot of things are fairly universal from an agronomy standpoint.

SF: What are some of your interests that help you recharge after a busy growing season? 

JG: I have a couple kids – of course, they keep me busy. The farm keeps me busy, as well. We primarily grow corn and soybeans, and then we do have a cow-calf operation, as well, so we have a few acres of hay. 

I really enjoy ice fishing, and I do some woodworking, skiing, snowboarding, fishing, camping, you name it – whenever there’s time.

SF: Of all the growers you’ve worked with, does one in particular stand out in your memory? 

JG: There are a couple that could almost be lumped together that have similar mindset. I’d say it’s the advanced, progressive farmers that are pushing the envelope – they’re always trying something new, and trying to learn about the system. Whether it be trying totally different practices – planting corn in strips with soybeans, trying to maximize light interception – or trying to push the envelope in terms of yield from a fertility equipment/tillage standpoint, those folks are always ones that stick in my mind. 

They’re very like-minded to me in that they’re always trying to get 1% better every year. To do that, they’re trying to learn from others or do some research projects of their own. They’re very inquisitive. Those farmers will stick with me just because they’re asking the right questions that make me stop and think as an agronomist, which tells me they’re going in the right direction.