A trio of strip-tillers in Iowa are making big strides in their quest to improve water quality and promote the fact that conservation practices are indeed profitable and scalable. 

Earlier this year on the Strip-Till Farmer podcast, James Hepp informed me about The Lobe Rangers — a new conservation group he formed with fellow Iowa strip-tillers Zack Smith and Matt Bormann. They named themselves after the Des Moines Lobe — a “flat, tongue-shaped region in north central Iowa with some of the world’s most fertile soil,” as described by Iowa Public Radio.

“We feel like we’re going backwards in progress, even though our leaders are saying we’re doing better every year, especially in the Des Moines Lobe,” Hepp told me at the time. “There’s a lot of heavy tillage and nitrate levels are really high in the water. 

“We have a gubernatorial race coming up here in Iowa,” Hepp says. “We reached out to each candidate, and surprisingly, they all spoke to us. We had great conversations with all of them. They listened. They asked good questions. We’re not political. We’re not going to endorse anybody. We’re just running right down the middle, dropping truth bombs for everyone and letting them know that conservation farming is scalable.”

Field Day

The Lobe Rangers dropped some of those truth bombs during their first field day at Hepp’s farm near Rockwell City in late July. Roughly 200 people packed the place, including farmers, lawmakers, representatives from Des Moines Water Works and advocates for better water quality, according to Iowa Public Radio’s coverage of the event. 

“Regulation is coming, and it’s time that we start shaping that as farmers on our own terms,” Bormann told Iowa Public Radio. “We have plenty of science that says this stuff (conservation practices) works, and farmers aren’t going broke doing it. We as farmers need to set the bar ourselves before somebody else writes the rules for us.”

Field day attendees got an up-close look at Hepp’s strip-till and cover crop system, strip-till rig and a rainfall simulator demonstrating the benefits of soil health practices.  

Safe Bets

“We just want conversation,” Hepp says. “We’re not pointing fingers. We want people to try stuff. Most of this is not new. There are guys that have been doing strip-till for decades, so you’re not going to bet the farm on this stuff and lose.

“Some people ask, ‘Well, is that scalable?’ We let them know that it is scalable. This isn’t crazy stuff you can only do on 80 acres. And a lot of people say, ‘Well, we can’t afford to do it.’ That’s when I get out my calculator. Sure, you might spend $40 on a cover crop, but remember you just saved $50 on fewer tillage passes. There are also cost share programs that help offset the costs.” 

It’s great to see these 3 strip-tillers making an impact in their farming communities. And it’s not surprising, considering how well their messages resonated with attendees during their presentations at the National Strip-Tillage Conference. I look forward to following The Lobe Rangers’ journey and seeing what they have in store next!