A big award for a conservation farming leader in Eastern Iowa. Voss Farms has been around since 1867 making it a heritage farm in Western Linn and Eastern Benton Counties. The fifth generation is Dan Voss who was recently named Iowa’s Conservation Farmer of the Year, and he says the value of those conservation practices has been on full display during this very dry growing season.
“It’s about the third year in a row we’ve been dry, this was the driest year. Our yields took a little bit of a hit but I was quite surprised with how well they did. I give conservation farming credit for that along with good genetics. I’m pretty happy with the way things went conservation wise, had a good stand on both our corn and soybeans. What we do here is a little different. In addition to corn and soybeans we raise hay and oats as cash crops, have a market for some straw. I try to be diversified and have some rotation.”
He adds he’s quite honored to be recognized for his longtime efforts and leadership role in the transition to more environmentally friendly conservation practices, which she’s been doing for over two decades.
“Started no till 1988. Started strip tilling some corn in 1996, that was actually my Dad’s idea. Started cover crops about 10-11 years ago, started small and then increased. I’m pretty happy with cover crops, think the biggest problem I can see is if you choose to let them grow, which I’m not saying that’s bad, and then it turns off dry there certainly can be challenged establishing an acceptable stand. I’ve never dealt with that because I haven’t let my cover crops get that tall in a dry year.”
As far as his advice, he says start small and make it work for your operation.
