Iowa farmland supports ministries abroad

Catholic-based organization works to feed millions "from the Heartland" By GWEN TIETGEN Osceoal Sentinel-Tribune Managing Editor About 1,500 acres of farmland in south central Iowa help abandoned street children in Africa, those struggling to get by in the Amazon and poor children and adults with physical handicaps and leprosy in India. The farmland in Clarke, Union, Warren and Decatur counties called Divine Word Farms, benefits five specific missions for needy children through Divine Word Missionaries. The Catholic-based missionary society, with an office in Techny, Ill., has 6,000 missionaries in 67 countries. Divine Word seized its first plat, 80 acres in Union County, in 2003 and planted 16 acres of hardwood trees. Brother Dennis Newton, mission director, said fundraising through farming links the missionary to its past, when missionaries farmed in the countries in which they worked and a large farm in Techny provided food for the priests, brothers and seminaries. The city has since taken over the Illinois farm. "We embrace farming today because we are looking to the future. We expect this investment in agricultural land and agricultural enterprises to provide financial stability for vital ministries," Newton said. Divine Word will soon venture into the cattle industry with a new farm, slated for 500 head, on 20 acres about two miles south of Lorimor. Russell Kelley, a farmer near Thayer, and his family will run the operation, which he expects will start operations next month. The proceeds benefit a help center in Thailand for abandoned and orphaned HIV/AIDS infants and children, which also serves as an educational center and hospice. Earlier this year, Divine Word purchased 480 acres in Colorado and 1,260 acres in Nebraska. Newton said their benefactors have supported the purchase of farmland. They like using a portion of their gifts for self-reliance and financial security, he said. "Besides offering us current income through leases, crops and cattle, the land itself is an investment. A gift received today and invested in our farm enterprises is a gift that will continue to support our ministries for years and years to come," he said. Divine Word leases the land to farmers or puts the acreage into the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program. In all, the society has about 1,110 acres in tillable land, all in Iowa, and an additional 2,210 acres in the conservation program. Dave Gallagher, treasurer of Divine Word Missionaries, said most donations are distributed through its international headquarters in Rome, but they were given permission to earmark farm proceeds toward children's causes. It's a good investment with a guaranteed revenue stream through conservation acres and leases. The farms generate an average of $100 an acre, Newton said. "We began talking about where we wanted to have our money invested. We thought land values in southcentral Iowa were rather attractive as opposed to other farmland in the Midwest, and it's along Interstate 35, so we saw it as a place where there could be potential growth," Newton said. Brother Damien Lunders, whose mission in Thailand will benefit from the new cattle farm, attended a blessing and dedication for the farm last month. He has spent eight years in Thailand and arrived back in the United States about a month ago. He runs the Mother of Perpetual Help Center in the province of Udon Thani, one of the country's poorest because it has no industry, he said. He works with more than 500 families. "We're very grateful for the help," Lunders said. "This can be ongoing, long-term support for the center. AIDS is so strong there because of the poverty. It'll be a long time before it's under control."