Regenerative agriculture lies at the heart on Mike Bretz’s rural Buchanan County operation. After being employed at General Mills for more than 25 years, Mike returned to the farm to carry on his family’s legacy while nurturing the land and water bodies nearby. Learning from the work of other regenerative farmers, Mike strives to enhance soil health. To do this, he has looked to practices that increase carbon in the soil with hopes of boosting microbial life. Soil organisms are further helped through the continuous no-till that Mike practices. In addition to corn and soybean production, Mike raises 90 head of cattle which he eventually hopes to rotationally graze year-round. Through all his efforts, Mike has seen improved infiltration, healthier soils, cleaner water, increased wildlife, reduced input costs, and added grazing opportunities.
Like many in agriculture, Brian Wolken was born and raised on a farm. By age 10, he was helping anywhere he could with his family’s Jones County operation. But Brian’s path to farming wasn’t traditional. He spent many years abroad doing jobs ranging from working at a salmon hatchery in Ireland to growing hops in New Zealand. After some persuasion from his grandfather, Brian moved back to Monticello in 2012 to once again become a part of their third-generation farm.
For four generations, Lucas Debruin’s family has been farming in rural Mahaska County. Along with his father, Lucas works hard to build soil health and improve water quality on all their row crop acres. Their goal to preserve the land can be seen through their long-term use of no-till and cover crops on 100% of their ground. This push towards conservation came from the desire for the farm to be around for generations to come. In addition to growing corn and soybeans, Lucas has also worked to diversify their operation to include bison. Currently, Lucas hopes to move from large scale bison production to smaller herds that can be marketed on a more local level.
While not your average Iowa farmer, Bill Buman has played a key role in helping conserve the state’s natural resources. While he does utilize practices such as no-tillage and cover crops on his row-crop land, Bill is also one of four Iowans producing native seed on a large scale. With greenhouses holding up to 100,000 plants, Bill harvests roughly 30 different species each year. In addition, Bill has also experimented with strip cropping and different nutrient application methods. His most recent trial was the use of a drone to apply herbicide.
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