A south-central Iowa farmer is encouraging more producers to adopt conservation practices to improve soil health and sustainability.
“The public wants more wildlife, they want smaller farms, and they want more diversity in our rural communities,” said Marion County farmer Matt Russell.
Russell tells Brownfield his family transitioned all of their row crop acres into permanent pasture and cover.
“We need cleaner water, we need more diversity on the land, and our farm is a really good opportunity to do that,” he said. “We’re in the Whitebreast Watershed and so if we can hold soil on our farm, all of those things work together.”
He says managed grazing allows them to better utilize pasture resources for their cattle.
“Using the cattle to make money, for the cow-calf operation it’s not been a bad few years to be in the cow/calf business.”
Russell says the next 15 years will be focused on managing the operation around ecosystem services.
