Bormann realizes savings and benefits through conservation
Matt Bormann of rural Bode has experimented with strip till, vertical till and cover crops for a number of years. He is convinced of their benefit not just on his farm, but on any farm.
By KENT THOMPSON
As a fifth generation farmer and the father of three young children, Matthew Bormann wants to have something of value left for their generation and those who succeed them.
Matthew and Nancy Bormann live on a farm they purchased in 2013 from the Kenneth Bormann estate, located northeast of St. Joseph on 130th Avenue in Riverdale Township. The Bormanns farm properties in both Kossuth and Humboldt counties.
“We knew in 2012 that while it was great, corn wasn’t going to stay at $7 a bushel. That’s when we really started talking seriously ways to add conservation measures and reduce our costs of operation. We knew there would be a learning curve, but it was a great time (commodity markets wise) to try something new and figure it out,” Matt said.
“The spring of 2013 was a wet mess. At that time we still field cultivated out strips. It was too wet to run a field cultivator and we noticed our strips seemed dry enough to plant. So with more rain forecasted later that day, we decided to just plant. It was unbelievable how well it worked on a wet farm,” Bormann said.
“That was a eureka experience and all at once what we heard from Iowa State and other experts, about less tillage providing better water infiltration, less compaction and better soil quality, made a believer out of us,” the Kossuth County farmer said.
Read more about Matt's experiences and other valuable soybean farming information in this week's Salute to Area Soybean Farmers, all part of the Humboldt Independent.
