The Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) presented its 2016 Iowa Environmental Steward Award to Black Hawk County Farm Bureau members Ben and Anna Bader of Jesup.
The Baders are part owners and operators of Bader Farms with Ben’s parents, Lee and Debra. Ben’s portion of the family farm consists of a 1,000-head feeder-to-finish swine barn and 600 rented row-crop acres. Sows are owned and managed through a co-op shared arrangement in conjunction with other producers.
Ben, a 2008 Iowa State University graduate who majored in agricultural systems technology, utilizes precision technology and data analysis for fertilizer application. He collects his own soil grid samples and completes prescription mapping for nutrients. The Baders no-till nearly all their soybeans and have also planted many grassed waterways, buffer strips, terraces and cover crops to preserve water quality and improve soil health.