Derek Young is a fourth-generation farmer who began farming in 1993 with his father and grandfather, running a soybean, corn and cattle operation. He strip-tills over half of his corn acres and no-tills most of his soybean acres while also maintaining conventional fields. He has covers flown on in the fall on over 1,000 acres,…
Mark and Brenda Kingland farm on 1,700 acres in Winnebago County, Iowa. Eight years ago, they began strip-tilling to change efficiency in their fertilizer program and improve soil health. In 2022, Mark added a drone on his farm to apply cover crops and do precision spraying. His goal is to have a cover crop mix flown on…
Join the Iowa Soybean Association Research Center for Farming Innovation, Ross McCaw and Amana Farms for a conversation on making cover crops work in your operation. Discussion topics will include seeding methods, stand establishment, equipment considerations, livestock grazing, in-season management and termination approaches. Hear practical experiences from the field, connect with fellow farmers and pick up…
Ken Fawcett has been part of Fawcett Family Farms for decades. The operation, in Cedar County, Iowa, is now run by Ken’s son, Thomas, and nephew, Kent Stuart. But though retired, Ken is still passionate about the legacy and stewardship of the family ground. Over the last 50 years, Ken and his family have adopted…
Every Wednesday, Iowa Learning Farms hosts a webinar at 12 pm. Find more information about this week’s topic at iowalearningfarms.org.
Eric Fara grew up in Shelby County, Iowa, where his family raised crops for seed and his grandpa ran a grain elevator through which he sold the seed. About 25 years ago, they started raising wagyu cattle and grazing them on cover crops when possible. Eric felt a strong pull back to the farm after…
Karl Palmberg’s Larchwood, Iowa, farm has been in his family since 1938. But when he left for college, the operation was mothballed and put into hibernation. After retiring from the military, Karl returned to the farm and is building it back from scratch. He has been reevaluating the fundamentals and pivoting what he does to…
Every Wednesday, Iowa Learning Farms hosts a webinar at 12 pm. Find more information about this week’s topic at iowalearningfarms.org.
Will Cannon and his wife, Cassie, farm 1,000 acres of strip-till corn and no-till soybeans near Prairie City, Iowa. They use cover crops on a large scale and have reduced their applied commercial fertilizer rates. They also run a custom application and farming business, along with a trucking company. Recently, they started applying compost extract to their…
The Adam family has farmed their land near Harper, Iowa, since 1851. Eric and Madison Adam are trying to manage the ground with the next 175 years in mind. One of the tools they’re using is grazing land set aside in the Conservation Reserve Program. Eric believes that CRP is an investment in soil health…