Farmland Owner Wins PFI Legacy Award

OMAHA (DTN) -- Sixty-two percent of farmland in the Midwest is owned by non-operating landowners, according to the Nature Conservancy.

Farmland owners like Ruth Rabinowitz of Madison County, Iowa, play a critical role in the future of sustainable farming. On Tuesday, Practical Farmers of Iowa announced Rabinowitz as the recipient of its 2025 Farmland Owner Legacy Award for her commitment to improving conservation on farmland.

Rabinowitz manages 800 acres of her family's farmland in Iowa and South Dakota, where she works to enhance soil health and wildlife habitat. Rabinowitz took over the farms' management in 2012, adding a range of conservation practices, according to a news release from Practical Farmers.

In Iowa and South Dakota, Rabinowitz's farms grow corn, soybeans and alfalfa with conservation practices in place such as cover crops, no-till, expanded buffers and limited chemical use. She has also established ponds, orchards and pollinator habitats along with 300 native trees and shrubs planted, restored oxbows, seeded prairie and created wildlife corridors, the news release stated.

"It's in my blood to grow things, and I felt for the land right away," Rabinowitz stated in the release. "It needed me to take care of it because everyone else was extracting from it."

The Farmland Owner Legacy Award is presented annually to landowners who use their land to help the next generation get started; advance land stewardship and environmental quality; promote long-term sustainability of farm businesses; and strengthen rural communities.

For Rabinowitz, caring for the land goes beyond farming. "It's meditation, it's art and it's reparation for what's been going on for decades," she stated.

The 2025 Farmland Legacy Award was presented to Rabinowitz on Oct. 23 during a celebration in Winterset. Listen to her acceptance speech here: https://www.youtube.com/….

Nominations will open in February for the 2026 award.

Read more about Rabinowitz' commitment to conservation in the Practical Farmer article "The Wonder of Windbreaks": https://practicalfarmers.org/….

Practical Farmers of Iowa is a nonprofit with more than 8,000 members that equips farmers to build resilient farms and communities through learning opportunities, on-farm research and educational content from its network of farmers.

The organization also provides funding and technical assistance for farmers who adopt regenerative farming practices. To learn more about the organization, visit https://practicalfarmers.org/….

Susan Payne can be reached at Susan.Payne@dtn.com

Follow her on social platform X @jpusan

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