Farm Entrepreneur Sharon Krause: Focused on Opportunities for Others

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Sharon Krause believes that the future of agriculture is close to home. “From an environmental perspective, the more food that we can grow closer to home, the more we reduce our costs between transportation and storage,” Krause told American Farmland Owner.

But efficiency is only part of the equation. “Most importantly, the health benefits of foods that are grown closer to home… something that’s picked closer to ripeness is better. If we can grow food in healthier soils, it’s better. So, it all really ties back,” Krause explained.

Sharon Krause bio

• In Harmony Farm – Co-Founder

• Dalla Terra Ranch – Owner

• Philanthropist

• Firestone – Former environmental engineer

Krause has been focused on the environment for several decades. That was once her guiding principle as an environmental engineer. But these days it is a mission for In Harmony Farm, her 223-acre agricultural farm and training ground near Earlham, Iowa.

In Harmony Farm Purpose

Her philosophy resonates with a growing number of consumers and landowners who see agriculture not just as an economic engine but as a public good. Yet translating that vision into reality is not simple.

Even well-intentioned efforts—like getting healthier, locally grown food into schools—run into structural challenges. Krause pointed out that in Iowa, “Our growing season completely is opposite of the school system.”

Crops some kids love, like peppers, simply aren’t available during the months when school is in session.

Krause founded In Harmony Farm after confronting a deeply personal question: what would happen to her farm when she was gone?

Farm Succession Planning

“I started to think about what would happen to my farm, Dalla Terra Ranch, when I passed,” she explained.

With five children unlikely to continue the operation, and the realities of running a livestock farm largely on her own, Krause began exploring a transition before it was forced upon her.

At the same time, broader social needs were becoming clear. Krause and a colleague convened roughly 60 stakeholders across central Iowa to identify gaps between agriculture, healthy eating, and opportunities for underserved communities.

The conclusion was strikingly consistent. “There are individuals and families that want to grow specialty crops,” Krause said. “They don’t need 40 acres. They don’t need 80 acres. You know, three to five acres of specialty crops is a pretty significant operation.”

Challenges for Beginning Farmers

The problem, of course, is access. High land prices and the scarcity of small parcels make entry nearly impossible for beginning farmers. “That barrier to entry,” Krause emphasized, is one of the biggest obstacles facing the next generation.

Her solution was bold. Krause donated 70 acres of her own land to launch In Harmony Farm, with 25 tillable acres divided into 10 or 11 parcels for new and beginning farmers.

Crucially, the land came with infrastructure already in place—water service, storage containers that double as tornado shelters, wash-and-pack facilities, and cold storage.

“That’s a barrier to entry,” she said. “Putting in water service on a farm is expensive… a cooler, all of those pieces.”

Beyond land and equipment, In Harmony provides something equally valuable: education. The program offers a five-year curriculum that starts with basic business fundamentals—tax IDs, insurance, banking—before moving into specialty crop agronomy and soil health.

“How can we assist these farmers and teach them about producing more food in a healthier way on the same amount of land?” Krause asked. “So, work smarter, not harder.”

Finding Farmer Opportunities at Farmers Markets

Markets are the final pillar. As Krause noted, selling at a farmers market works at a quarter-acre scale, but not at four acres. In Harmony helps connect growers to larger buyers and institutions, ensuring their operations are economically viable.

Perhaps most forward-looking is what happens after graduation. In Harmony works with partners like the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation to place farmers on permanent land, allowing them to transition to independence while maintaining conservation practices.

Underlying all of this is a reality many farmland owners face: succession is emotional and complicated.

“I know every inch of that farm,” Krause said of her years raising sheep. “All of a sudden, it is very personal.”

For her, In Harmony Farm became a way to honor that legacy, while conservation easements on the remaining land provide assurance that its character will endure.

“You can kind of put some bumpers in there,” she said, “that give you the assurance that even when I don’t own the land… someone else will have to comply with some of this conservation.”

Krause’s vision for the future is expansive. She imagines “Iowa speckled with these specialty crop farms all across the state, feeding all of these rural and urban communities.”

For American farmland owners, her story underscores a powerful idea: the future of farming may depend less on scale, and more on intention—using land not only to produce crops, but to grow farmers, communities, and long-term stewardship.

Former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack followed Krause to the farm and shared how In Harmony Farm brought opportunities to farmers from across the world.