The Pences and Clarks…generations helping generations!

I remember seeing Jim Clark in my Dad’s home office, sitting side-by-side with him, looking at plat books, working the calculator, looking at reports, listening to phone calls and participating in owner and farmer meetings. My Dad, Hugh Pence, was a Halderman fieldman for over 60+ years, and served as Jim’s mentor and helped prepare him for his future career as a fieldman. They worked together as colleagues for many decades, until my Dad retired. (well, he sort of retired…at 92, he still manages a few family farms and loves to attend Halderman meetings when able!)

Along the way, the Pence and Clark families became intertwined in a new way, with the Pence family as Halderman clients. Lucky for us, Jim’s son, Sam Clark, chose to follow in his Dad’s footsteps and joined Halderman, too. As my brother and I became involved in the farming business as investors, Sam’s portfolio was taking off. We needed assistance with both the day-to-day operation and long-term strategic management of our farms, and Sam had the perfect skill set to provide the expertise and advice we needed. And thus, the marriage of the next generation of Pences and Clarks began.

For more than a decade now, Sam has been a stable force in our lives. Serving multi-generational farming families can be challenging. Varying viewpoints, investment strategies, income needs, and risk profiles require a fieldman with a broad base of skills. Understanding the business side of the equation is obviously important, but getting to know the individual family members and their personal communication styles and goals are what separates the good from the great. Being incredibly responsive, offering thoughtful solutions, and having compassion for all members of the family is what separates the great from the outstanding. And from the Pence family’s perspective, Jim and Sam Clark are both outstanding fieldmen. Thank you Haldermans, and thank you Jim and Sam!

Julie Minner

soybean field grain bin

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