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Change to student aid formula would hit Iowa farm families

Darcy and Eric Wemark and their family milk nearly 600 cows at their dairy operation in Ridgeway, near Decorah in northeast Iowa.

The family also has 450 heifers, a 2,500-head swine facility and farms about 1,500 acres of corn and soybeans on land it mostly rents.

The couple’s eldest son, Carson, is finishing his first year at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, where he’s studying agronomy. The 19-year-old plans to carry on in the family business, as does their eldest daughter, Addison. The high school senior plans to head to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville to study dairy science next fall.

Carson currently receives federal financial aid through a Pell Grant to help the family pay for the roughly $16,000 annual expense to send him to college, including tuition, fees, room and board, and other expenses.

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Not always sunshine & lollipops working with cattle!

Video: Not always sunshine & lollipops working with cattle!

Doing vaccinations when life happens. It is not always rosy working with cattle or any livestock. Including people and dogs, ha aha. But in the end, it all came together, even after pushing the 5 cattle that got out due to me not having the head gate closed properly... twice! Finn worked pretty good bringing them up, Munch would not stay out as you could hear. He is a bit too young and wants to be with his people all the time.