SWISHER, Iowa (DTN) -- From table to table, a group of 27 aspiring and beginning farmers filled out worksheets -- tallying costs, mapping goals and creating plans for the businesses they want to build -- at Monday's Practical Farmers Business Workshop in Swisher, Iowa.

Jose Cesario Pinto, a remote sensing data coordinator for Practical Farmers, listened keenly to each speaker with the focus of someone with more than a professional interest in the answers -- his family's farm in Brazil is counting on them.

The workshop, held at Cedar Ridge Distillery, featured several speakers from Practical Farmers' partner organizations and experienced farmers who focused on business planning, assessing risk tolerance, conducting market research and recordkeeping.

As more advanced topics were introduced throughout the day, the workshop invited beginning farmers to develop their farm vision and sharpen their business plans among a network of other beginning farmers looking to do the same.

Growing up in the city of Londrina, Parana, Brazil, Cesario Pinto was always interested in nature and animals. Both of his parents are dentists, so while he wasn't as often exposed to farming, lessons learned from his grandfather early on helped him maintain an interest in agriculture.

After spending eight years in the United States exploring agriculture education, he earned a master's in agronomy from Kansas State University and a doctoral degree from the University of Nebraska Lincoln in agronomy, focusing on integrating remote sensing and crop modeling tools to enhance nitrogen recommendations.

Cesario Pinto joined Practical Farmers in December 2024 as a remote sensing data coordinator, managing on-farm research projects and leading efforts to integrate satellite imagery and field data to evaluate how using cover crops affects fieldwork suitability, crop performance and yield stability in the Midwest. His analysis provides actionable insights to improve agricultural resilience under weather conditions, helping farmers make informed, data-driven decisions.

He learned about Practical Farmers during graduate school, impressed by its membership and research growth outside of Iowa. Twenty-five percent of its 9,912 members farm or reside out of state, according to its 2025 annual report. In addition to Iowa, farmer-led research through its Cooperators' Program was conducted in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Last year, 185 on-farm research trials were conducted to test real-world on-farm solutions.

"I heard they were doing a lot of work with conservation practices and cover crops, and I was familiar with that. I was in Nebraska at the time," he said.

Since his grandfather's passing, Cesario Pinto's mother and three siblings own the farm -- approximately 1,000 acres -- which is currently leased for raising corn and soybeans, in addition to sugarcane and cattle.

Attending Monday's workshop was beneficial for Cesario Pinto on the business and financial side of beginning farming.

"One of the speakers said, farming is a business itself, right? So, you have to learn the financial parts, besides the management, and everything. It's a learning process that sometimes, I feel, we don't get to see that much in practice during school," he said.

In late 2026, Cesario Pinto plans to return to Brazil. While he is seeking opportunities in agribusiness, smart agriculture, ag technology and sustainability, he is also interested in assisting his mother in learning the financial and business matters involved in beginning a farm business.

"I'm eager to learn more about the perspectives presented in this workshop," he said. "It's opened a lot of windows in my head, so I can search for more and hopefully put that into practice in the future. She's managing (the land) for now, but at the same time, she's in the process of splitting between her siblings. And that takes time."

Monday's business workshop offered invaluable information and perspective for beginning farmers. Designed to bring beginning farmers together to network, plan and discuss ways to improve their farms, the workshop helps farmers build a sense of community among this fast-growing farming demographic.

Speakers included: Amber Mohr, business viability manager at Practical Farmers; Carly Zierke, co-owner of Sweet Season Farm; Laura Krouse, who launched one of Iowa's first community-supported agriculture programs from Abbe Hills Farms; Jayme Ungs, regional market president at Peoples Bank; Danelle Myer, owner of One Farm in Logan.

Susan Payne can be reached at susan.payne@dtn.com

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