We partner with farmers all around the state. Read their stories and find connections in your area by clicking on the regions below.
Steve Berger is famous in southeast Iowa for his history of no-till and he is fast becoming a household name when it comes to cover crops. In 2007, he planted 1,000 acres of rye on his farm near Wellman in Washington County. He also has a hog finishing operation.
Read MoreILF farmer partner Scott Swanson started out farming part-time and eventually made it into a full-time career. He grows corn, soybeans, clover/grass, hay and some small grains on his 1,500 acre farm near Ollie in Keokuk County. Scott also has a cow-calf operation.
Read MoreILF farmer partner John Kielkopf grows corn and soybeans near Hedrick in Keokuk County. John’s dad, Ron, started no-till on their farm in the early 1990’s when the first no-till drills were released. John and his dad believe their no-till system does less damage to soil structure compared to a system relying on extensive full-width tillage. Long-term no-till has improved water infiltration in their fields.
Read MoreFirst generation farmer Mike Deahr began farming in the 1980s. They became conservationists shortly after that. “When we first moved to the farm, I bought a couple of cows. At that time the local municipality wasn’t doing a good job of keeping the water free of human sewage. One of my cows died in the creek. I became a conservationist because of that.”
Read MoreILF Farmer Partner Jerry Andresen started farming in 1968 and is now farming with his brother and son. They have 240 acres of row crops and also have a 40 head cow-calf operation. He uses strip-till on the contour to help with soil erosion.
Read MoreBrothers Randy, Steve and Dana Norby grew up helping on their parent’s farm in Osage, which was settled in 1868. Over the past two decades, the Norbys have executed a variety of conservation practices. They first began no-till soybeans in 1992, strip-till corn in 2002, and no-till corn and cover crops in 2012. They also uses buffer strips and CRP borders to help with erosion control, nutrient placement, cost reduction, water permeability and retention, soil tilth, and labor reduction on the farm.
Read MoreILF farmer partner Robert Lynch (center) has been farming for 36 years on land that has been in his family for over 100 years. He grows corn and soybeans using no-till on his soybeans into standing corn stalks and strip-tills corn on the soybean stubble and where he is growing corn on corn. He was a ridge-tilller for 18 years and began strip-tilling three years ago. He has also implemented grassed waterways on his land.
Read MoreILF farmer partner Jon Gisleson runs a century farm in rural Floyd, Iowa, growing corn and soybeans. He has been a no-tiller/strip-tiller for over 20 years and is proud of it. But it wasn’t an easy transition
Read MoreNate Ronsiek says he learned many conservation practices from his late father, Vince, while growing up on his family's century farm and while earning an agriculture degree at Kansas State University.
Read MoreFor the past 12 years, Brian Hoffman has been farming with his dad, Keith, growing corn and soybeans near Laurens in Pocahontas County. On their 250 acres, Hoffman uses no-till on his soybeans and he strip-tills his corn. In 2012, Brian began using cereal rye cover crop on about half his acres. He is also a beekeeper and maintains six hives.
Read MoreRobert Pridie has 60 head of organic grass-fed cattle. Farming since 1981, Robert farms 300 acres for himself and 400 acres for his father. Most of his corn-soybean acres are under minimum tillage which he defines as one-pass field cultivation prior to planting. Robert has farmed for over 30 years and has been certified organic since 2003. In switching to organic, the greatest challenge was figuring out his income during the three years of transition.
Read MoreBruce has been farming since 1993, renting the majority of the land he farms. He has been motivated to implement conservation practices because of the bottom line - it saves money. He is motivated by economics and improving water and soil quality are added benefits. Each year he has increased the number of acres that are no-tilled and he is hoping to get to 100 percent no-till soon.
Read More
