Farmer champions
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Farmer Feature: Bob Puetz
Posted onHog farmer uses conservation to prepare land for next generation By Micaela Cashman In the gently rolling hills of northwest Plymouth County, Bob Puetz has spent a lifetime farming the land he calls home. The region, once dominated by tallgrass prairie, is rich with loam soil. But with erosion risk on slopes and naturally poor…
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Farmer Feature: Ross Kurash
Posted onRoss Kurash’s Recipe for Conservation Success: Recognition + Education + Implementation By Micaela Cashman Ross Kurash and his wife, Cassie, farm in northeast Iowa on the border of the Paleozoic Plateau, also known as the “Driftless Region.” This region is very different from the rest of the state, with steep bluffs, dense woodland, and rugged…
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Farmer Feature: Emery Davis
Posted onHow one Eastern Iowa farmer makes conservation rewarding By: Micaela Cashman Emery Davis farms in Crawfordsville, Iowa, near the Iowa State Research Farm. His small family farm in the Southern Iowa Drift Plain was shaped by glaciers over 500,000 years ago and has been deeply eroded by streams, rolling hills, and valleys. Sloped land and…
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Farmer Feature: Emily Boettcher
Posted onA New Generation of Conservation: Emily Boettcher Carries on Father’s Commitment to Healthy Soil Even after growing up on a Dickinson County farm that’s been in her family since 1936, Emily Boettcher never thought she’d become a farmer. She got her degree in sociological justice from Northwestern College and planned to become a police officer. …
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Iowa Cover Crop wins Team Award
Posted onIowa Cover Crop wins team award for statewide network of cover crop advocates By Rebekah Jones JEFFERSON, IA (IAWA) — Iowa Cover Crop (ICC), a Jefferson-based conservation business co-owned by Bill and Melissa Frederick and James and Megan Holz, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Iowa Watershed Team Impact Award. They will be recognized…
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Here to help – farmers support farmers in adding regenerative practices
Posted onIowa farmer, Dean Sponheim, nears 100,000 acres of cover crops with his entrepreneurial endeavors, after seeing successful cover crops on his own farm in 2012. By Dan Looker OSAGE, Iowa (IAWA) It’s a warm, sunny February day in Osage, Iowa, where about 100 farmers are gathered inside a meeting hall at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds.…
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Iowa regenerative farmer Kelly Garrett named Top Producer Award finalist
Posted onDENISON, Iowa (IAWA) – Sixth-generation Iowa farmer and regenerative ag advocate Kelly Garrett is one of just three finalists for the prestigious Farm Journal 2023 Top Producer of the Year award. Qualifying for this Top Producer magazine honor is a big deal for any farmer – the publication’s subscribers must meet operational requirements (2,000+ corn or soybean…
Posted in Cover Crops, Farmer champions, MAWQP, New, Nutrient Management, Press release, Spotlight Stories, SW Iowa -
Changing water, soil health mindsets where the prairie meets the hills
Posted onNE Iowa farmer optimistic about future of water quality, soil health after first decade of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy By Adam Sodders ARLINGTON, Iowa (IAWA) – Tim Recker’s family has a long history of crop farming in northeast Iowa’s Fayette County, and he’s adding to that legacy as a leader in on-farm soil and…