“This is how we’ve always done it.”
“You’ve got to turn the dirt black.”
“That will never work...”
These are just a few of the excuses Wright County, Iowa farmer Nate Huntley hears about why farmers are skeptical about cover crops, trying new manure application or incorporating practices to lower carbon emissions.
“I had a friend who told me he’ll do it when it pencils out better,” Huntley says. “I told him I could fight him on that: fuel savings, no ripper, etc. You can go back and forth about the cost of implements, but I think it’s just an excuse. There are ways to start bit by bit.”
In addition to raising corn and soybeans, Huntley is a contract grower for Smithfield Foods. He’s currently working on his first Pork Cares Farm Impact Report with National Pork Board to show the changes taking place on the farm and how farming can help lower carbon emissions.
“As a pork producer, we are constantly trying to improve. Whether it’s biosecurity, health, wellbeing, everyone is constantly trying to get better,” Huntley says. “Why not look at how it all ties together - we’re putting manure on the ground, growing corn for feed, how can we sustainably do that better?”
Across the county, Josh Nelson, a grain farmer and contract hog grower, points out that change is hard.
“When I was a kid, dad still plowed and they were very proud of the job they did plowing even though ditches were black and everyone’s houses need powerwashed. They were told they were doing a good job of caring for the soil,” Nelson says. “Now, people still plow – but it’s a rare enough instance when someone plows. There’s still a lot of tillage and still a lot of cultural practices where people feel like they have to do things a certain way because of pressure from others.”
He says it’s a culturally conservative area and many people are worried about control.
“Talk about sustainability and minds move to rules and regulations. There is a big fear if you start measuring your environmental impact, someone will use it against you. You have to get people past that to say what you are doing is a good thing and this is why. Once you start measuring data and share why we are doing this, people are more willing to tell their story.”
Nelson also believes it’s just a matter of time before these reports are more than a good idea.
“That’s why Nate and I will be ahead of the curve. At some point, they will need more people teaching others how to do things,” Nelson says. “If you’ve got a Nate Huntley in northwest Wright County telling hog producers how to raise crops with cover crops and safely apply manure, they’re going to take more from that than just about anyone.”
