North East Iowa Farmer Partners

Paul was born and raised on a farm and began his own operation in 1997 after graduating from ISU. His grandparents purchased the family farm in 1973. Paul and his father farm 1,000 acres in corn, soybeans, oats and hay and also have a cow/calf operation. He has also implemented rye cover crops, installed waterways and terraces and has some CRP ground.

Third generation farmer Max Schmidt began farming in 1969 with 40 milk cows and 153 acres. Today the farm has grown to 3,500 acres in row crops and a large farrow-to-finish hog operation. Schmidt’s hog operation has been organized as KMAX Farms LLC, with four former employees now partnering with the company. The hog manure produced is recycled back to the land providing the fertility for the next corn or soybean crop.

Simultaneous strip-till, fertilizer application and planting is the right springtime combination for Fayette County producer and ILF farmer partner Collin Jensen, who saves fuel, reduces soil erosion, improves soil quality and lessens compaction by farming this way.

Eric and Cindy Boehm have been farming since 1975 and have been applying conservation practices for a number of years and is an “ongoing process” says Eric. They are adding cover crops this year to some of their acres. Other conservation efforts include establishing prairie and reconstructing a wetland. The streambank stabilization of Brush Creek, which flows through his property, was initially completed in the mid-1990s and has been repaired or redone several times since then due to flooding.

Dave Ruden has farmed his entire life and most recently, he has been farming for a higher purpose. Ruden is the farm manager for the New Melleray Abbey located south of Dubuque. The New Melleray Abbey has approximately 3,400 acres including 1,400 acres of wooded land. The farm has been the property of the Abbey since 1849 when it was founded. The farm was run by the monks at the abbey in the past, but Ruden now oversees the work of tenants to whom they rent the row crop acres.

Tom Vaske began farming in 1993 after college graduation, working with his father. In 2001, he struck out on his own and currently farms 960 acres of row crops. He also has a cow/calf operation. He and his wife, Jen, have three boys to keep them on the run.

Margaret Hogan lives in Delaware County with her husband John and together they have been farming for over 50 years. She is a science teacher in Dyersville and is an Iowa Learning Farms farmer partner. The Hogan’s grow corn, soybeans, and alfalfa and raise beef cattle. For many years they had dairy cows and are still active with Delaware County Dairy Producers.

Beginning as a child, Craig Embretson became an important part of his family’s Clayton County farm. In addition to 960 acres of row-crop land, Craig owns 270 acres of land in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) as well as 325 acres of forested land. Situated among the rolling hills of Northeast Iowa, Craig puts great effort into preserving soil health and water quality on his farm.

Blake and Sally Hollis farm together outside of Waterloo in Black Hawk County. They met at Iowa State University where Blake studied Ag Business and Sally studied Mechanical Engineering. Blake moved back to the farm and Sally worked at John Deere in various roles until transitioning to working on the farm full-time in 2013. They raise pigs and farm corn and soybeans, both organic and non-organic.

Dick Sloan was raised on a farm a few miles away from the 320 acres he’s farmed since 1978, both just outside Brandon. While he was raised with a strong emphasis on conservation, his practices continue to evolve as he innovates tirelessly towards greater efficiency and resilience. A strong believer in experimentation, he told us that he’s “not afraid to make mistakes, because it’s the only way to find what works best on your land.”

Frank Moore’s insight is unique in multiple regards. Firstly, his family doesn’t trace farming back multiple generations. Although neither of Frank’s parents grew up on farms, their family moved to Cresco in 1969 to raise crops and pure bred sows. Soon after Frank returned to help on the farm, he took a job at the local NRCS office to help the family continue farming and expand before the farm crisis struck.

In 1986, Jody and Jim Kerns were 22 and 24 years-old and newly-weds when they began restoring their first 35 acres to forest. Jody had grown up on a farm and Jim’s family owned the Edgewood meat locker in town, but they shared a sense of adventure to try something new on the land. During the first few years of the restoration, the farmers Jim encountered at the meat locker shook their heads at the Kerns’ endeavor.

Mark Mueller began farming in 1995 on his farm near Waverly, Iowa. As a fourth-generation caretaker of the land, Mueller recognizes his obligation to protect the soil and water for those that will one day follow in his footsteps.