Conservation Agriculture

Dale and Nedra Wilcoxson run a small beef cattle operation in Kosciusko County. Their 70-acre property includes grazing and hay pastures as well as protected forest, prairie, and wetland habitat. The Wilcoxsons worked with TWF and IDEM to plant more pasture and hay land, implement rotational grazing, and keep the cows out of nearby Deed’s Creek with strategic fencing.

“The better the farmer takes care of the land, the better the land takes care of the farmer,” Dale says.

Steve Western manages 300 acres of row crops, 200 acres of hay and pasture, and a herd of 35-50 beef cattle in Whitley County. To protect soil from compaction and erosion and nearby waterways from pollution, Steve worked with TWF and other partners to implement a comprehensive conservation plan. Projects included livestock fencing, streambank stabilization, a stream crossing, cover crops, and more.

While these projects and practices have been “a learning experience,” Steve says, “it has worked out really well.”

Jim Argerbright owns 175 acres of farm land in Whitley County, managing the land with other farmers and basing his decisions on what’s good for the land and for the bottom line. Jim uses a comprehensive conservation farming approach, including cover crops, no-till planting, water and sediment control basins, nutrient and pest management, and wetland creation and restoration.

“We’ve got to have grain fields and we’ve got to have [wetlands],” Jim says.

Dean Rhoades and his family manage 450 acres of row crops, 80 acres of hay, and a small beef herd in Kosciusko County. Rhoades Farm, LLC carries a proud family legacy of conservation ethics. Through a combination of no-till planting, cover crops, grassed waterways, and water and sediment control basins, Dean and his family build soil health and keep nutrients on their fields and out of local waterways.

Dean says cover crops and other practices have “been in the theme of our operation through the generations.”