From no-till to grassed waterways to terraces to cover crops, farmers like Jarad Weber use a variety of practices to keep soil on their fields and out of Iowa's waterways. Farmers use a variety of conservation practices to protect Iowa's water quality, and Jarad exemplifies that conservation mindset as the 2019 Conservation Farmer of the Year.

 

 

Iowa Minute Transcript

Laurie Johns: These rocks will help stop erosion along the Raccoon River at this urban park. It's a conservation practice. But there are things like this, and a lot more, going on in rural Iowa. Jarad Weber's family has been farming in southeastern Iowa since 1905. He won the Conservation Farmer of the Year Award for all that he does today.       

Jarad Weber: Handful of things that we do: terraces, waterways, cover crops another one we've been playing with. We do no-tilling, we do some strip tilling, we do some conventional tillage...what keeps our dirt on the hills.

Laurie Johns: Of course, some years are harder than others.

Jarad Weber: We're on our third planting of beans. You're going out in cover crop that's this high, thank goodness for auto steer.

Laurie Johns: But innovation in ag helps farmers keep building that conservation success.

Jarad Weber: I'm just excited about trying some new stuff. Any conservation is good conservation. I mean if you keep that dirt where it's supposed to be then you've got it there to farm, and I think that's important.

Laurie Johns: To learn more about practices farmers are using to improve watersheds across the state, check out ConservationCountsIowa.com.

Return to The Iowa Dish