{"id":11418,"date":"2020-05-01T13:46:36","date_gmt":"2020-05-01T17:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/?p=11418"},"modified":"2025-05-13T16:57:59","modified_gmt":"2025-05-13T20:57:59","slug":"farm-transition-plans-conservation-legacies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/growingreturns\/2020\/05\/01\/farm-transition-plans-conservation-legacies\/","title":{"rendered":"How farm transition plans can preserve conservation values and legacies"},"content":{"rendered":"

This blog is authored by Bethany Baratta<\/a>, senior writer at Iowa Soybean Association.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

A significant number of farmland acres in Iowa will be transferred to the next generation of farmers in the coming decade, providing a great opportunity for preserving and expanding conservation practices that have proven financial and resilience benefits.<\/p>\n

According to Iowa State University, 60% of Iowa farmland is owned by people over the age of 65, and 35% of Iowa farmland is owned by those over 75. By 2024, landlords in the U.S. expect to transfer 91.5 million acres, or 10% of all U.S. farmland.<\/p>\n

The way in which the land is transferred from one generation to the next could have a profound impact on the future of conservation efforts, and of the land itself.<\/p>\n

Having a farm transition plan that includes conservation not only ensures the continuation of the farm \u2014 it also helps preserve a farmer\u2019s conservation legacy. Here\u2019s how two Iowa farmers are navigating their planning to ensure their conservation legacies endure.<\/p>\n

One farmer\u2019s \u201caha\u201d moment<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all committed to trying new practices that make soil better and protect our water,\u201d says farmer Ray Gaesser of Corning, Iowa. \u201cAnd we need to have a plan for how we can continue those efforts when we step away from the farm.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Farmer Ray Gaesser of Corning, Iowa.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ray and his wife Elaine are currently working through their formalized transition plan with their son, Chris, and his wife, Shannon, who are partners in their row crop business.<\/p>\n

Chris recalls the moment when he and his parents watched four inches of rain fall in one hours\u2019 time, washing away crop residue that had built up over decades. The painful event prompted them to increase their conservation efforts.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though we were doing something already, it wasn\u2019t enough, and we knew we had to do better,\u201d Chris says.<\/p>\n

The family planted cereal rye as a cover crop to help stabilize their soil and build soil health. Currently, the Gaessers have about 65% of their acres covered in cover crops. They see their dedication to conservation as a perfect complement to their transition plan, which sets up the continuation of the family\u2019s commitments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a responsibility to transition and help the next generation,\u201d Ray says. \u201cWe also have to be able to learn to let go and let them make some of those decisions. As we learn that, we need to keep the value and the business model intact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planning to mentor the next generation of farmers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well known for his conservation efforts, Mitchell County farmer Wayne Fredericks and his wife Ruth have one daughter who lives in Texas with her family. Wayne hasn\u2019t identified an heir who will take over the farming operation when he retires.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will definitely write a conservation lease,\u201d says Wayne. \u201cIn there, we will have the goal on what we want to happen in terms of tillage practices and conservation efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Iowa farmer Wayne Fredericks is well known for his conservation practices.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Fredericks raise soybeans and corn in a 50-50 rotation and have been long-time users of no-till and strip-till. They have spent many years working on trials with the Iowa Soybean Association and have implemented cover crops on nearly all of their acres. They have installed grassed waterways, buffer strips and have implemented other practices which build soil health and protect natural resources. Wayne also has some land set aside as a pollinator habitat.<\/p>\n

Though he doesn\u2019t have a transition plan formalized for his land, he expects to reach out to younger farmers showing progress and promise in continuing his conservation legacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is to transition my acres to maybe one, two or three young farmers who are either already strip-tilling, no-tilling or transitioning to that point,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some real value\u201d in conservation inheritance<\/strong><\/p>\n

Wayne says conservation practices and improved soil health ought to be figured into farmland values, much like Corn Suitability Ratings are for farms in Iowa.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you really sit down and put value on soil carbon and what the inherited value of that organic matter is to the soil, there\u2019s some real value there,\u201d Wayne says.<\/p>\n

Through Wayne\u2019s soil testing, he\u2019s calculated a 2.5% increase in organic matter on three different farms over the past 25 years. According to a USDA analysis<\/a>, every percent increase in soil organic matter equates to an additional 16,500 gallons of water available in the soil and approximately $18 per acre value1<\/sup> in improved moisture and soil resilience.<\/p>\n

Soil organic matter also provides a significant source of nutrients. At current prices of commercial fertilizer, every percent increase in soil organic matter equates to approximately $11 per acre value2<\/sup> in nutrients, bringing the total estimated value of improved soil organic matter to approximately $29 per acre for both the nutrient value and available water holding capacity, which Wayne says ought to be accounted for.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy field should be more productive than the farmer across the field that has the same soil and does full-width tillage,\u201d Wayne says. He added that incentives like reduced crop insurance rates should be provided for more productive acres with increased soil health scores, since they reduce risk potential. Having a farm transition plan that includes conservation not only ensures the continuation of the farm \u2014 it also helps preserve a farmer\u2019s conservation legacy. <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

How to pass conservation commitments on to the next generation<\/strong><\/p>\n

David Baker is the director and a farm transition specialist with Iowa State University\u2019s Beginning Farmer Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere shouldn\u2019t be anything holding farmers back from continuing conservation practices,\u201d Baker says.<\/p>\n

Baker says mentorship, coupled with financial assistance programs for conservation practices, will help grow conservation efforts in the state. He\u2019s worked with several farmers to determine the best ways to include conservation in contracts and agreements with their heirs and non-heir tenants and operators.<\/p>\n

Some resources Baker recommends include:<\/p>\n