Regional Crop Reports

Follow Four Iowa Farmers Implementing 4R Plus Practices

A variety of 4R Plus practices are used on Iowa’s landscape. Learn about the practices four farmers from different regions of the state utilize, along with the benefits they see. Through the growing season they share how they achieve their soil health and water quality goals while remaining focused on top-end crop potential.

New practices enhance long-term usage of no-till

Doug Carter is a 4th-generation corn, soybean and hog farmer on the rolling to steep landscape of west central Iowa. He’s a veteran of no-till and recently added cover crops to enhance soil health benefits. Manure from the hog operation is used in crop production, and through soil testing, he’s working to balance fertility for optimal crop growth.

Conservation and nutrient practices preserve the soil

Matt and Nancy Bormann are 5th-generation corn and soybean farmers on the mostly flat landscape. Switching from intensive tillage to a strip-till, no-till and vertical-till system protects the soil from erosion. Cover crops have also been added to enhance soil health. Soil testing is at the foundation of their 4R nutrient plan.

Focused on practices that deliver results

Adam Nechanicky is a 4th-generation corn, soybean and cow-calf farmer on flat to rolling landscape. To protect against erosion, he uses no-till on soybean acres and strip-till on corn acres and reaps the economic rewards of planting cover crops on all his acres. He sells cover crop seed and runs a custom application business.

Determined to preserve soil and water quality

Roger Wuthrich is a 2nd-generation corn, soybean and wheat farmer on mostly highly erodible land. Conservation practices are used to eliminate erosion and rebuild organic matter. His attention to nutrient management saves investment on inputs and protects natural resources. His plans for the future include preparing for carbon credits.