While millions of Americans maneuver through rush hour traffic on their way to office buildings every morning, Greg Vogel steps onto his porch to collect his thoughts. When he is ready to begin his work day, Vogel steps into his office, 160 acres of farmland just miles outside of Ames.

Vogel, agriculture specialist for agricultural education and studies, is the operator of the College of Agriculture’s 450 farm, the only student-managed farm in the nation.

Each semester, approximately 40 agriculture students take control of the farm as a part of Agriculture 450, Vogel said. He describes the farm operation as a “team teaching” effort.

The 450 farm was created in 1943 to give ISU students the opportunity to apply skills they learned in the classroom.

“It allows all people involved, from the students to the professors, to give opinions, but it’s up to the students to sort those out,” Vogel said.

He describes his role on the farm as the daily “reality check.”

“It’s my job to take [the students’] decisions and implement them on the farm,” Vogel said. “Sometimes you have to bite your tongue a little bit and let the students try something different.”

Vogel said the farm is completely self-sustaining. The 450 farm has a $1.2 million net worth, even though it receives no funding from Iowa State, he said.

“We get a little bit dirty some days,” Vogel said. “This [farm] is actually a production unit. Students get the opportunity to apply management techniques and develop critical thinking skills in a real life situation.”

Mary Kaiser, senior in agriculture education, said working on the farm this summer will be a valuable experience.

“This is the perfect class for me. I’ve taken marketing classes before, but we dealt with fictitious numbers. Here on the farm, the numbers are real and the decisions we make have a significant effect on the farm,” Kaiser said.

While working on the 450 farm, Vogel said, students are taught the value of preserving Iowa’s environment.

“We need to value the resources that Iowa has. Our land is in constant need of conservation,” Kaiser said.

Vogel said he learns just as much from the students as they learn from him. Students provide up-to-date information, while he contributes years of experience.

He said he loves his job, even though it’s a challenge.

“I like watching things grow. I like the idea that it’s renewable every year. A lot of people do the same thing day after day, all year long. I get the opportunity to do different things every week,” Vogel said.

Vogel is just beginning his 12th year on the farm. He lives with his wife Jeanne and their two dogs, Mike and Doc.

He said he assists in an outreach program that attracts hundreds of young students to the 450 farm every year. Vogel said he enjoys showing young people how rewarding farm life can be.

In the days to come, Vogel can be found in the fields, planting this year’s soybean crop. He said on some nights he may be hard at work until the sun sets but when he gets tired, he looks forward to a new task.

Vogel said that living on the farm is as good as it gets.

“There’s a certain solitude to living in the country. You can look across the horizon in the evenings and see the outline of the buildings against the sunset,” Vogel said. “There’s just a peaceful contentment that goes with that.