Jeff Hafner built his Panora farm’s charitable operations from the ground up.
Writer: Emmett McMenamy
Photos: Duane Tinkey
Early Morning Harvest is one of Iowa’s most publicly accessible farms, inviting visitors to experience a working farm with a stone grain mill. The farm opens its doors to the community and helps Iowans in need, all while producing and selling an array of organic grains and produce, eggs, honey and other food products.
Just an hour west of Des Moines, near Panora, Early Morning Harvest grows crops year-round with hydroponics, aquaponics and greenhouses and sells the produce in 55 Iowa counties. At the farm’s store, in a charming converted barn, customers can buy goods produced on the farm and nearby, including organic stone-ground flours and cereals.
Owner Jeff Hafner enthusiastically welcomes visitors to look around. Group or individual tours can be arranged on the farm’s website. The tours can be tailored to visitors’ particular interests, and the staff is eager to answer questions.
But Early Morning Harvest is more than an idyllic getaway for city dwellers. It has a social mission, too. In an effort to give back to the community, each dollar spent at Early Morning Harvest helps feed Iowans across the state. For example, for each 4-pound bag of flour Hafner sold in November, he donated another bag to the Food Bank of Iowa.
“Everyone thinks of the holidays as gathering around the table, baking with Grandma, and pulling out your favorite recipe,” he said. “So we can help facilitate family time by donating. Family is important, no matter what your family looks like.”
True to its mission, Early Morning Harvest is a family farm. Hafner began farming more than 40 years ago and now works alongside his wife and cousin on the same land his grandparents farmed. Early Morning Harvest became a full-time commercial operation in 2021 and now employs a staff of 12 to 15, depending on the season.
Hafner never expected this level of success but has learned to seize opportunities to build the business from the roots up in a way that benefits the broader community. He said he’s motivated to make the farm as efficient as possible, for profit but also with “the overall goal of getting healthy, nutritious food to our community.”
With the bigger staff, Hafner now fills in gaps during the daily routines.
“I’ve learned to be flexible and adapt,” he said. “God and Mother Nature will give you opportunities that you’re not prepared for. The question is, are you prepared to take them when they show up?”
Iowa Stops Hunger is an ongoing Business Publications Corp. initiative to raise awareness about food insecurity in Iowa and inspire action to combat it.
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