Iowa Farm Named Bayer ForwardFarm

LADORA, Iowa (DTN) -- Regenerative agriculture, sustainability and farm profitability were in the spotlight on Tuesday, Oct. 7, as Bayer announced that Cornfed Farms of Ladora, Iowa, will be the next operation participating in the company's ForwardFarming initiative. Cornfed Farms joins 15 other farms from 10 countries currently in the program. It is the first time Bayer has selected a Midwest farm.

Operated by Alan and Sara Mohr, Cornfed Farms is a fourth-generation diversified farm that can trace its roots in Iowa County to 1891. In addition to growing corn and soybeans, the Mohrs also operate a 1,000-head cattle feedlot.

Through the initiative, Bayer partners with selected farms to implement innovative agricultural practices intended to emphasize farmers' economic success while being socially responsible and environmentally conscious.

"There's an equation that fits together that we look at that it has to be productive, has to be profitable, has to be sustainable. And our belief is you don't have to choose between the three of those," said Brian Naber, Bayer's head of crop science for North America and Australia/New Zealand, during the event program. "That's exactly why we're here launching our first ForwardFarm here in the Midwest. We're going to bring our innovation, which is everything from seeds and traits and crop protection. We're going collaborate with partners that also will bring innovation to the equation. This isn't about us bringing our research equipment that you can simulate doing a lot of things with. This is doing production agriculture at scale with your equipment on your operation under your management."

Like many farmers, the Mohrs have adopted no-till practices and cover crops to reduce soil erosion and enhance soil health. As part of the ForwardFarming program, they will be exploring how intermediate crops such as CoverCress and camelina can be incorporated into rotations. Attendees at the event heard how these crops will be planted on the Mohr's farm yet this fall.

"What I'm excited about with the Bayer partnership is making ourselves better, doing a better job and being firsthand at some of the innovation happening in agriculture," Alan Mohr told DTN following the event program. "Being connected with a group of people that's in the know and being on the leading edge of things is exciting. Like the CoverCress and the camelina, obviously at this point there's really no end use for it just yet, but the excitement around it. Let's grow this stuff, see where it takes us. They're on so many different levels where they see the results a little quicker than what we see out here on the farm, and I just feel like maybe that'll cut out some of the time associated with making a change."

Next spring, Bayer plans to establish a DeKalb corn hybrid trial at Cornfed Farms, along with a demonstration plot of the Preceon Smart Corn System, its short-stature corn.

"Who do farmers go to for information that they trust?" asked Naber during a conversation with DTN following the event program. "They trust information from their own farm first. Number two, they trust it from their neighbors. Number three, they trust the information from other farmers, not necessarily their neighbors. So, this farmer-to-farmer dialog is critical in this. It's just so much more effective when you let farmers experience and then talk amongst themselves about what they're experiencing."

In addition to the Mohr family and Bayer representatives, those gathered for the event heard from Julie Kenney, CEO of the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.

"Nothing about what happens on a farm -- generation after generation, year after year, day after day -- is easy. And we are facing significant challenges in agriculture right now," said Naig during his remarks. "Yet even with those headwinds that we experience, farmers continue to show tremendous resilience. They continue to adopt new technologies, new tools, that help them produce high-quality food, fiber and fuel while also being careful stewards of the land.

"The Mohr family embodies this resilient spirit of blending tried and true experiences with new ideas to build a more productive and sustainable farm," he continued. "Productivity and sustainability aren't competing goals. They go hand in hand. For as long as we've been farming, we've been innovating. It's in our DNA. And that's exactly what ForwardFarming is all about. This initiative celebrates the ingenuity and dedication of farmers and driving sustainability at the farm level in real ways."

Currently, Cornfed Farms is the only operation in the United States participating. Previous participants included Harborview Farms in Rock Hall, Maryland, and Bowles Farming Co. in Los Banos, California.

More information about ForwardFarming can be found at www.forwardfarming.com.

Jason Jenkins can be reached at jason.jenkins@dtn.com

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