Rod Pierce

With a lifetime of experience on the farm, Rod Pierce has seen many changes in agriculture over the years. Getting his start in 1973, he has expanded his rural Boone County operation to grow more than 1,600 acres of corn and soybeans. Early in his career, Rod, along with many farmers, used moldboard plows to prepare their soil for planting. Over his many years of farming, he has discovered alternatives to the plow that result in less soil movement and improved soil health. In addition to no-till on some of his acres, Rod also utilizes vertical tillage to redistribute residue and reduce soil disturbance. One of Rod’s recent improvements to his operation was an in-row fertilizer unit on his planter. His hope is to apply nutrients directly where they’re needed to reduce losses.

Central IowaLiz RipleySeptember 1, 2022Boone County

Carl Kurtz

For nearly 50 years, Carl has been fostering his family’s farm back to the native prairie. He still combines every year, harvesting prairie seed rather than grain, but there is no need for planting or any other inputs. Rather than restarting every year, the prairie’s diversity builds upon itself through Carl’s management of prescribed burns and the physical removal or spot spraying of invasive species.

Central IowaLiz RipleySeptember 1, 2022Marshall County

Mark Thompson

Mark farms just under 1000 acres in Badger Iowa, about 15 minutes north of Fort Dodge. As a young man, he farmed alongside his father and grandfather, who abandoned the moldboard in the 60s. Continuing his grandfather’s legacy, Mark switched to minimum tillage 20 years ago and cover crops in the last 10 years. He admits that when he first implemented cover crops, there were a few years when he “got burned by not listening to how the older farmers made it work.”

Central IowaLiz RipleyJuly 19, 2022Webster County

Lee Tesdell

Although Lee didn’t grow up in Iowa, his family has been farming outside Slater since the mid-1800s. Since he returned to the family land in the early 80s, Lee has continually experimented with the cutting edge of conservation practices, while maintaining high levels of productivity. Lee’s strong ethic for water quality has specifically led to the installation of 3 saturated buffers and a bioreactor.

Central IowaLiz RipleyJuly 19, 2022Polk County

Wade Dooley

At 10 years old, Wade Dooley had cattle that he cared for, and at 14, he tended field of row crops on his own. After attending ISU and moving to Florida to grow watermelons commercially, Wade returned to Albion in 2008 to become the sixth generation to farm family land. At the time that he returned, he operated 800 acres of row crops and had a 120 cow herd.

Central IowaLiz RipleyJuly 19, 2022Marshall County

Craig Fleishman

Craig Fleishman farms in rural Minburn, Dallas County, where he raises corn, soybeans, oats and hay. He calls his Century Farm “halfway between conventional and organic” and has been using ridge-tillage since 1981 and no-tillage since 1985.

Central IowaLiz RipleyJuly 7, 2022Dallas County

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