Agriculture has always been important for Iowa Learning Farms farmer partner Bill Buman. After 30 years as a full-time farmer, Bill has tried a variety of conservation practices ranging from cover crops to strip-cropping. Although he likes conventional row-crop agriculture, Bill wanted to tackle something more interesting. This led him to native seed production. Currently he is just one of four native seed producers in Iowa. By growing dozens of different native species, Bill plays a crucial role in helping return some of Iowa’s land back to native plantings.
With a family history in Iowa dating back more than century, Bill is part of a rich farming history. While he considered a career in natural resources, it wasn’t until receiving his degree in Agronomy from Iowa State that Bill decided to become a full-time farmer. By 1993, he had fully taken over his family farm. As the sole decision maker, Bill began implementing no-tillage in 1995 and has been 100% no-till ever since. He has also planted cover crops on and off since 1997. In recent years, Bill has done trials with strip cropping. This practice of alternating 6 rows of corn and 6 rows of soybeans has shown potential despite drought conditions. Bill has also experimented with drone application of cover crop which has resulted in improved consistency across the field, as well as a reduction in seed drifting.
While corn and soybeans were profitable for him, Bill sought something more challenging. He found this in native seed production. Instead of planting just two species, he now plants up to 50 different species each year. The result is two high tunnel greenhouses filled with roughly 100,000 forbs, grasses, legumes, and sedges. As the weather warms each plant is transplanted outdoors where their lifespans can range from one to 15 years. With the increased biodiversity comes increased labor. Labor for 20 acres of land in native seed production can be equivalent to 2,000-3,000 acres in row-crop agriculture. Each day during spring and summer, Bill and his employees can plant as many as 8,000 native plants. This is in addition to the harvesting and weeding of other established native plants. Adding to the difficulty, each species thrives in different conditions. Therefore, if he plants 50 different species, he may only harvest 30. This also leads to a range of prices on certain species. Some seed is hard to sell while others, like Prairie Phlox, can sell for a considerably high price. All this work results in seed that can be utilized for many purposes such as transitioning land into the Conservation Reserve Program or restored prairie.
Unfortunately, many challenges face Iowa farmers today. One being the widespread drought conditions. Bill noted that while he did plant some cover crops this year, they likely didn’t germinate due to lack of moisture. In addition to troubling weather patterns, he sees other challenges to the adoption of conservation practices. For example, people trying out cover crops often don’t make another attempt if they see poor results. Bill understands the importance of a learning curve, as he’s had to take many risks in his time doing native seed production. It is through time and trying new things that a farmer can troubleshoot issues and make conservation practices a key part of their operation. As Bill produces native seed, he continues to benefit our state’s soil health and water quality by reintroducing biodiversity into Iowa’s landscape.
Iowa Learning Farms 