Ernie Aust was one of the most unique NRCS employees I have had the privilege of working with. Ernie was special. He served as Area Conservationist in Southwest Iowa and I was fortunate to have him as a supervisor. Looking back, it is obvious Ernie missed his calling. His talents would have been better utilized as an engineer or resource conservationist. During our professional visits, Ernie had little interest in talking about performance appraisals and workload analysis; instead he wanted to talk about engineering practices and variations …
Taking Action Toward Sustainability – Pt 2
This is one in a series of posts covering what a few progressive ag retailers are doing to address sustainability in their organizations. This week we will take a look at GROWMARK’s sustainability initiative endure which focuses on practices that endure over time to make the most prudent use of natural resources to enhance customer profitability and environmental longevity. GROWMARK As GROWMARK leaders discussed the company’s endure sustainability initiative before it launched earlier this year, they realized they could best promote …
Taking Action Toward Sustainability Pt 1
This is one in a series of posts covering what a few progressive ag retailers are doing to address sustainability in their organizations. This week we will take a look at The Andersons, Inc., a diversified company rooted in agriculture conducting business across North America in the grain, ethanol, plant nutrient, rail, and retail sectors. The Andersons, Inc. If you want to know what it feels like to be in a squeeze shoot you can either listen to someone who has been in one or you can try one out for yourself. Trust me; it’s easier to …
I hope to see you at the InfoAg Conference
If you have an interest in precision agriculture, you should attend the 2016 InfoAg Conference. I will be at Booth #11.InfoAg features an educational program that includes plenary and breakout sessions. There is also an extensive exhibit hall of leading hardware, software, and vendors to precision agriculture. The educational programs are perfect for learning new perspectives about how to put technology to work in the field. It is also a great place to hear more about new products and services as well as the unique perspective on the global …
Conversation Starter
“Hey, what are you going to do differently to help improve water quality?”Some discussions about conservation are naturally hard to start. Educated as an agronomist, I did not have formal training in conservation. I remember, as a young NRCS employee, being fearful that I would start out on the wrong foot or offend a farmer - long before I could get to the main point of my visit. On the other hand, sometimes the situation lent itself to an easy conversation. And those times were golden - when the problem was obvious and the approach was …
Choose Variety for Conservation
If you don’t care about the long-term results, then sure one size fits all…It seems like we have to learn the same lessons over and over. In 1986, I was a new District Conservationist in the Carroll Field Office in West Central Iowa. NRCS was just rolling out the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). In those first years, we conservation planners wrote one CRP plan after another, for pure stands of smooth bromegrass on CRP. It only took a few years before the wildlife biologist realized that a solid seeding of smooth bromegrass was almost …