The Iowa Soybean Association is recognizing a southern Iowa farmer for her work in conservation.
ISA has named Aimee Bissell of Bedford a conservation champion through a new initiative called Iowa?s Front Forty. Bissell, who grows corn and soybeans on her family farm outside of Bedford, told IARN affiliate KMA that her family has participated in numerous conservation practices throughout the years. Their most recent project involves protecting pollinators on the farm and was inspired by an old monument found near the family?s land.
“My father-in-law found a cast iron monument not far from our farm,” said Bissell. “It sticks about three feet out of the ground. When you look at the monument, it has Missouri on one side and Iowa on the other. Next to it appears to be what I would call a headstone and there’s a plaque on it that says that that iron marker was a remnant of the Honey War and was placed there in 1850 to identify the northwest corner of the territory of Missouri.”
Bissell says the pollinator project is just the latest in a series of conservation efforts on the farm.
“We have done several trials with the Soybean Association where we either trial a new product or a practice, we’ve done nitrogen studies to make sure we put on the appropriate amount of nitrogen, we test tile lines for water quality and our new project is a pollinator project,” said Bissell. “Our son just grew his first rye crop to be used for seed that will be planted on fields for cover crops.”
Bissell ? who grew up in Corning ? did not have a farming background, but has recently gotten more involved in the family?s operation. She says she hopes her children will continue the farm for generations to come.
“For us, farming isn’t necessarily a job or an occupation, it’s a way of life,” said Bissell. “It’s really a lifestyle. I love the lifestyle. I love raising our children in this lifestyle. I really hope that they continue on with this lifestyle. We feel that we’re just borrowing this ground from our children. So, we’re currently just trying to protect their assets, so that they continue on the same legacy that we’re working for right now.”
You can learn more about Iowa?s Front Forty and see other conservation champions around the state by visiting iowafrontforty.com.
