Establishing a clear goal and finding the right people to help accomplish it are two key early steps for beginning farmers to turn their dreams into reality, says Caleb Hopkins, vice president at Westside State Bank in Breda.

“You’re the quarterback, and you’ve got to assemble a team around you,” he says. Hopkins, and a panel of other experts, offered tips and other tools for beginning farmers earlier this month at the Start Smart Conference hosted by the Coalition to Support Iowa’s...