Mark D. Zacharda grew up on Zacharda Farms, which was owned and operated by his dad and uncle.
He helped milk cows until they sold them at the turn of the century, and then he helped them cash crop. However, he didn’t go straight from school to the farm. He graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in agriculture science and earned a teaching certification from Saginaw Valley State University, and then he moved to Virginia to teach high school biology.
“I really enjoyed being a teacher,” Mark said. “Farming can be stressful, but teaching can be even more so. They’re similar in a lot of ways. There are farmers who just get by...if yields aren’t terrible, and if prices aren’t bad, and you have crop insurance to back it up, they can make it. Some teachers also just phone it in, but if you want to really do what’s best by the students or optimize your farm’s profitability while doing what’s best by the environment, you have to really work.”
Mark married his wife Stephanie, and they have two daughters, Edie and Maisie. After living in Virginia for four years, a trip home to Michigan for the holidays inspired Mark to consider going into farming full-time.
“My dad Mark and uncle Bob were getting older, and I wanted to work on the farm,” he said. “We moved back to Michigan in 2012 and my uncle retired in 2014, and since then my dad and I have been partners. So, I’ve been working on the farm for a majority of my life, but full-time for nine years.”
Job change
Mark made the change from teaching to farming for many lifestyle reasons.
“I enjoy working outside,” Mark said. “When I was teaching all day under fluorescent lights, it started to eat away at me after a while. Now I’m out in the field, an eagle flies by, there are deer running around – I’m closer to nature.”
Mark likes working with his hands, plus appreciates the autonomy.
“It’s really gratifying when something breaks and you can repair it yourself,” he said. “I’m always tinkering and looking for ways to increase efficiency. For instance, if I build a rack on the trailer, it can hold two more bales, which means each trip is more efficient...Plus, I also like being my own boss.”
Not only is being outside good for his mental health, but he also sees how it benefits the larger population.
“More people being aware of the natural world is a potential game-changer for the health of the planet,” he said. “People aren’t going to care about things like climate change and waste reduction if they don’t spend any time outside. Production farmers have a huge and exciting role to play in enhancing the health of the planet.”
Legacy
Mark’s family had already worked with GreenStone for 30 years when he came back to the farm. He got an operating loan through financial services officer Barb Dinsmore, and he worked with specialist Mark Klett on crop insurance.
“I really enjoy working with Mark,” he said. “He farmed himself, so he totally gets it. He’s also super responsive. I don’t like to bug people outside of business hours, but this is farming, so when I text him, he responds even if it’s 9:00 p.m. on a Sunday night.”
Mark Klett uses GreenStone’s exclusive crop insurance analysis tool, Optimum, to present options to his customers. Using this special resource GreenStone has available for its crop insurance customers, he can review and compare the vast array of available options to generate a customized, data-driven recommendation for each farm’s specific needs.
“Farmers are looking at types of policies, levels of coverage, and different options,” Mark said. “Since there are multiple levels of everything, it can get complicated. Optimum allows me to lay out the data for farmers, so we can compare the policies, narrow down our choices, and make decisions – basically, select the optimum choice.”
Mark Zacharda also appreciates the policy assessment through Optimum and enjoys working with GreenStone on improving his coverage.
“Mark does a great job explaining all the changes and any new options in the crop insurance world from year to year,” he said. “Mark introduced me to ECO and SCO, which have bigger premiums, but you get increased coverage. I’ve been thinking more lately about biting the bullet on these crop insurance premiums and taking advantage of the new programs to have that peace of mind.”
For instance, Mark’s farm had a soybean field hit by a hailstorm in 2021. There was so much damage that they replanted, but the beans got too much rain, and the replanted ones didn’t have enough time to fully grow.
“On that field, we’ll get maybe 20 bushels an acre,” Mark said. “The damage caused𠊊 poor yield. So then with crop insurance – I don’t like paying for it, but I feel very reassured having that backup. When you break down your costs per acre, insurance has become one of those costs you just have to factor in. With the changes in weather pattens and the volatility in the markets, a farming operation just has to have crop insurance - it’s become a no-brainer. There are so many levels and programs, with a good agent and experience, each farmer can find where the sweet spot is for crop insurance.”
Mark sees the recent weather extremes as another reason to explore his crop insurance options. For instance, the margin protection programs offer increased backup.
“Mark Klett called it ECO on steroids,” Mark said. “With all the volatility in the world, including pandemics and climate change, the extremes we’re dealing with more and more are even more of a reason to take a look at enhanced crop insurance.”
Crop insurance specialist Mark Klett has been working with the Zacharda family for years.
“Mark Zacharda is one of the more analytical customers I have,” he said. “He always takes notes when we meet, asks questions, and keeps himself up to date. He understands that crop insurance isn’t just an expense – it’s a tool to help him.”
Sustainable future
The Zachardas farm approximately 1350 acres and grow soybeans, corn, wheat, and hay. On their intergenerational farm, Mark is focused on taking measures to become even more sustainable.
“Over time, we’ve made some changes,” Mark said. “We participate in Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) programs through the USDA. We’ve put in filter strips and field borders to be a buffer between the field nutrients and the water, we’ve planted habitat areas and trees. Also, we concentrate on soil testing and following the recommendations after analysis. We have been an environmentally verified farm for our cropping system through NRCS since 2014.”
The farm recently started using a yield and moisture monitor in their combine to put together yield maps.
“It makes you wonder why you even put seed and fertilizer in certain parts,” Mark joked. “Really, it really helps you make better decisions about your inputs and where best to use them.”
“I could work in the office all day long, looking at projections, evaluating how much profit we could make, analyzing data ... but I don’t have time,” Mark said. “My wife, daughters and I like to spend our time together during the farm’s off season - skiing, snowmobiling, sledding.”
To view the article in the online 2022 Winter Partners Magazine, click here.
