Growing Together is a blog series featuring people who have joined Peoples Company and their motivation to team up with a national leader in agricultural real estate services to pair experience with data-driven decision-making and deliver value to landowners. If you would like to learn more about partnering with or joining Peoples Company, please reach out to Molly Zaver, Director of Industry Partnerships, at Molly@PeoplesCompany.com.
What was your background before joining Peoples Company?
Before joining Peoples Company, my career had always been rooted in agriculture. I owned and operated a family farm for nearly 20 years, then moved into real estate sales and farm management with UFARM in 2001. Over the years, I have worked with cropland, livestock operations, pivot and gravity-irrigated acres, dryland farms, pasture, and CRP ground across South-Central Nebraska. That hands-on background has helped me relate to landowners and operators because I understand both the business and the day-to-day realities of working the land.
What led you to Peoples Company?
UFARM’s decision to become affiliated with Peoples Company created an opportunity to pair a long-standing Nebraska farm management legacy with a broader national farmland services platform. Peoples Company brought added resources, expanded service lines, and deeper brokerage, appraisal, capital markets, crop insurance, energy management, and corporate service capabilities while allowing our team to continue serving clients with the same local relationships and values that have guided UFARM for decades.
How has your business changed since becoming part of Peoples Company?
The biggest change has been access to a larger platform without losing the local focus that clients value. We still work directly with landowners and tenants in the same communities, but now we can connect them with more specialized resources and a broader network. Tools like FarmWorth give us better mapping and farm information in one place, while PropelMapper helps us capture field observations and turn them into stronger farm reports. The transition has also strengthened the way we approach land sales, farm management, and long-term planning for families who want practical guidance and responsible stewardship.
What has been the best part of being affiliated with Peoples Company?
The best part has been seeing how well the values of the two organizations fit together. UFARM has always believed in treating a client’s land as if it were our own, and Peoples Company shares that commitment to trusted guidance, long-term relationships, and stewardship. It has been encouraging to see that our clients can keep working with the same people they know while gaining the advantages of a larger organization, including technology and reporting tools that help us communicate more clearly and manage farms more efficiently.
Is there a success that you have had that wouldn’t have occurred if you were not part of the company?
One example is the ability to bring more visibility and expertise to land sales and farm management. Peoples Company has a strong national reputation in agricultural land brokerage and auctions, and that has created additional confidence when talking with landowners who are considering selling property. Being part of the company gives us access to people, systems, marketing support, FarmWorth mapping and data tools, PropelMapper reporting, and Capital Markets resources that can help create stronger outcomes than we could have achieved on our own.
What are some advantages of being part of Peoples Company?
There are several advantages. The first is breadth of service: landowners can turn to one organization for management, brokerage, auctions, appraisal, capital markets, crop insurance, energy management, and related services. The second is technology: FarmWorth helps us use mapping, farm data, ownership information, soils, boundaries, and other key information to better understand a property, while PropelMapper supports more efficient farm reporting by helping document field visits, photos, notes, and observations. The third is scale: Peoples Company has a larger team and broader reach, which helps when clients need specialized expertise, investment perspective, market exposure, or support from the Capital Markets division. The fourth is continuity: UFARM clients still have local professionals who understand Nebraska agriculture and the families who own the land.
What was the most challenging thing about becoming affiliated with Peoples Company?
The most challenging part was simply working through change. UFARM has a long history, and many of our client relationships go back years. Any transition requires communication, patience, and trust. We wanted clients to understand that while the name and platform were expanding, the people, local knowledge, and commitment to service were staying in place.
What advice would you give to someone who is considering joining Peoples Company?
I would tell them to look closely at the people, the culture, and the resources. If you value relationships, client service, and practical agricultural experience, Peoples Company is a strong fit. The company offers national reach, Capital Markets expertise, technology like FarmWorth and PropelMapper, and a broad service platform, but it also respects the importance of local knowledge. For someone who wants to grow while continuing to serve landowners the right way, that combination matters.
What else would you like to share about your affiliation with Peoples Company?
I am proud of the history UFARM brings to this affiliation and optimistic about what it means for our clients. Agriculture has changed a great deal over the years, and landowners face more complexity than ever before. Being part of Peoples Company gives us more tools to help them navigate those decisions. Those tools and resources help us serve clients with stronger information while continuing to provide the grounded, relationship-driven service they expect from our team.
Reach out to Mike Waller at 308.893.6606 or email him at Mike.Waller@PeoplesCompany.com.
