South East Iowa Farmer Partners

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.

Jarad Weber farms amongst the hills in Lee County where he is a 5th generation farmer. He took over from his dad and uncle in 2004 and grew the family farm with the help of his brother Levi. Jarad worked in central Iowa for a few growing seasons and learned about the differences in farming a couple of hours can make. He took what he learned and implemented it on the family farm. In addition, he challenges himself by trying new practices and technologies like cover crops, planting green, grid sampling, and automatic shutoffs to preserve his soil and increase yield.

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.

ILF 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.

ILF 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.

In 1978, Rob Stout began farming 400 acres with his dad. Over the years he has grown the operation and now employs cover crops on his entire 1,100 acres. From the outset, Rob has been deeply interested in the cutting-edge agronomic practices that help conserve our natural resources. He started with minimum tillage, but it didn’t take long for him to jump into no-till and purchase a no-till planter with his dad in 1983.

George Schaefer had no idea he would return to his family’s century farm in Kalona when he took a job in San Francisco in 1975. He returned in 2000 for his brother Steve’s wedding, who had taken over the operation after their father. After traveling the world, George felt the pull back to his home, and he joined the operation full-time, raising 900 acres of organic and non-organic crops and beef cattle.