Cedar County duo named Iowa Conservation Farmers of the Year

Two Cedar County farmers, who live just outside West Branch, recently were named 2021 Iowa Conservation Farmers of the Year.

The “prestigious” award sponsored by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship was recently presented to Ken Fawcett and his nephew, Kent Stuart, both Farm Bureau families.

Farm Bureau officials said the 80-foot strip of “brightly colored pollinator habitat” on their farm, along with “saturated buffers and cover crops,” are just a few of reasons why these families were chosen for the award.

The Fawcett and Stuart farm duo live just outside of West Branch and have dedicated more than 50 years to continuous conservation efforts on their farm to improve their environmental footprint while sharing their experiences with their farming peers, according to a news release.

As winners of the 69th annual statewide conservation award, Fawcett Farms received a John Deere 6E Series utility tractor for use for up to 12 months or 200 hours. The tractor award is sponsored by Van Wall Equipment of Perry and John Deere.

“As farmers, we know that everyone has a role to play in protecting our soil and water quality, and that’s why leading by example and sharing information to best accomplish our goals is so important,” Iowa Farm Bureau Federation President Craig Hill said in a statement. “Our role as farmers is more than just growing food; we must all work toward leaving the land and water better for the next generation, and Ken and Kent continue to serve as role models by continuously implementing more conservation practices on their farm and sharing their experiences with other farmers to incorporate on their farms.”

Officials said Fawcett Farms was an early adopter of no-till in the 1970s and have been eager to embrace technology and incorporate new practices on their farm. They built a pond to prevent erosion next to a natural freshwater spring in the 1980s, followed by the installation of a saturated buffer and thousands of tree plantings. In recent times, they also have planted more acres of cover crops, all efforts that successfully protect the water quality in the creeks snaking through the farm.

The new addition of the pollinator habitat improves soil health and water quality on the farm, while keeping the soil in place.

Fawcett, in a statement, said the technology has transformed farming and enabled many new conservation practices over the past 40 years, and he sees even more changes to come in the years ahead.

“I think technology can help diversify agriculture, not just field by field but acre by acre,” Fawcett said. “By knowing what each acre is doing, we can tailor the practices to the soil better. We can plant crops in the most productive areas, and we can look for the best locations to use some of the conservation programs that are most beneficial.”

Fawcett and Stuart know conservation progress is a long-term goal and their work is never done, so they remain focused on their continuous improvement.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, in a statement, thanked Fawcett and Stuart for being leaders in environmental stewardship.

“This family farm has made long-term investments to improve the health of the soil, prevent soil erosion and enhance water quality in our rivers, lakes and streams,” Naig said.

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