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Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award presented at State Fair, honors water innovators

At the recent Iowa State Farmers, 39 farm families were recognized with the Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Awards at the Iowa State Fair. The award acknowledges farmers who take voluntary actions to improve and protect the state’s natural resources while serving as leaders in their communities.

Practices undertaken by honorees include in-field and edge-of-field practices such as cover crops, no-till, wetlands, bioreactors and saturated buffers, among others.

“The Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award recognizes the farmers who have made stewardship a priority. Their commitment to protecting, preserving, and restoring Iowa’s natural resources will ensure that future generations can enjoy the benefits of healthy soils and improved water quality for decades to come,” said Gov. Kim Reynolds in a statement. “Congratulations to the 2023 winners of the IFELA award. We applaud your leadership and commitment to environmental excellence!”

The 2023 award recipients, listed alphabetically by last name, include:

Craig and Nancy Anderson
Plymouth County

Daniel and Lisa Berns
Clayton County

Bice Family Farm
Boone County

Buhr Family Farms LLC
Benton County

Roger Bumann
Ida County

Cook Family Farm
Black Hawk County

Rusty & Karen Corderman
Sac County

Perry and Stacy Corey
Calhoun County

Kendall & Maureen Curtis
Chad, Kristie & Kyler Curtis
Howard County

Downs Family Farm
Madison County

Scott Eichelberger Family
Muscatine County

Troy & Jeanne Elbert
Pocahontas County

Ryan and Kristy Gibbs Family
Delaware County

Joshua Henik
Linn County

Mitchell and Brian Hora
Washington County

John Kielkopf and Ron Kielkopf
Keokuk County

Steve Killpack
Harrison County

John & Ione Koster
Carroll County

Krogmeier Dairy & Hinterland Dairy
Lee County

Buffalo Grove Farms
Boone County

Millard Land Corp.
Darrell Millard
Buena Vista County

Tynie Enterprises
Tyler, Annie, Tripp, Sawyer and Walker Millard
Buena Vista County

BarLee Farms, Ltd.
Miller Time Farms, Inc.
Black Hawk County

KA Miller Farm
Kris and Michele Miller
Wapello County

Mike Paustian
Scott County

Valley View Farms, Inc.
Randy, Josh, and Jake Pedersen
Cedar County

Peters Farm
Pocahontas County

Dan and Lori Ryner
Ryner Farms, Gillespie Family Farms
Madison County

Sampson Family Farm
Story County

Jon Sampson Farm
Humboldt County

Searle, Inc.
Leland H. Searle and Matthew L. Searle
Marshall County

Curt Sindergard
Pocahontas County

Jarrett Smith
Clay County

Zack Smith
Winnebago County

Todd and Angie Thilges
Kossuth County

Jasen and Jen Tiefenthaler
Sac County

Ryan & Tarin Tiefenthaler
Carroll County

Vos Family Farm
Ron and Nancy Vos
Sioux County

Hal R. Youngkin and Lu Anne Youngkin
Shelby County