Waterloo farmer to receive environmental award at Iowa State Fair

For many years, Mike Cook trusted the local grain elevator to tell him how much fertilizer to put on his corn and soybeans.

But then Cook, 66, of Waterloo, realized the rate they told him was based on average yields from farms in more fertile parts of the state. That meant he was applying too much fertilizer.

“When I got the agronomist out there, he said I have enough fertilizer on the ground to last a year or two,” Cook said. Now, he applies less fertilizer, saving money and reducing the risk excess nutrients will run into rivers and lakes.

“I reduced my expenses by 40 percent,” he added.

This year, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will recognize Cook and his family at the Iowa State Fair as an Iowa Farm Environmental Leader. He and 38 others will receive awards presented by Gov. Kim Reynolds, Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig and Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon.

The fair runs Aug. 10-20 in Des Moines.

Farming runs in the family

Cook is a third-generation farmer in Black Hawk County, where his grandfather moved when he retired from the railroad. McKinley Cook grew apples and vegetables, raised chickens and sold their eggs, his grandson said.

McKinley Cook gave 10 acres to Mike’s dad, Mack Cook, who farmed in the offseason while working at John Deere in Waterloo. Mike Cook followed his dad into engineering with farming on the side.

Mike Cook graduated from Southern University and A&M College, in Baton Rouge, La., in 1980 with a mechanical engineering degree. He worked for John Deere until he retired in 2008. Cook planted sweet corn in 1985 and used the proceeds to buy equipment for traditional row crops.

Cook now farms 120 acres, growing corn and soybeans, as well as produce he sells at the Waterloo Urban Farmers Market from May to October.

Conservation practices can improve soil, save money

“We’ve changed our farming practices here, I’d say seven years ago,” Cook said.

He no longer tills most of his acres, which reduces erosion and helps build up the beneficial organic matter in the soil. Not tilling also saves time and fuel costs, he said.

For the last two years, Cook has been growing cover crops on two acres. He plants cereal rye after harvest and lets it grow throughout winter and early spring, when it is killed off before planting corn or beans. The cover crop keeps soil in place, soaks up excess nutrients and helps with weed suppression, he said.

Cook plans to plant cover crops on 100 acres this fall. He hopes to get some financial assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which shares the cost of cover crops to get farmers to try the practice.

“What I’m looking for now is a drill so I can plant the cover crops myself,” he said.

Mike Cook Nomination Form by Gazetteonline on Scribd

Clark Porter, the Iowa environmental specialist who nominated Cook for the award, noted Cook and two other farmers have a 12-acre plot, where they have grant funding to run trials on wide-row corn, which leaves room for cover crops, and strip-cropping, where different crops are grown in alternating strips.

In a September YouTube video, Cook describes planting gourds in between rows of corn.

“They host field days at this location, where attendees learn about the field trials, soil health, and lessons learned on site,” Porter said.

Award recognizes mentorship

In additional to environmental stewardship, the Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Awards recognize farmers who serve as “local leaders to encourage other farmers to follow in their footsteps,” the Agriculture Department says online.

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Cook in 2021 hired Haseeb Muhammad, a Waterloo high school student, to work on his farm, where Muhammad planted seeds, weeded, watered and then helped take the produce crop to market.

“I never really thought about farming,” Muhammad told The Gazette last year. "Once I went out to Mr. Cook’s, he showed me the way a young Black man might be able to make a career out of that."

Cook plans for his oldest daughter, Nicole, to take over the farm with her husband in future years. Until then, Cook is using his farm as a classroom to teach about machinery, entrepreneurship, conservation and hard work, he said.

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