John Mesko: (00:29)
Welcome back to The People of Soil Health. Today, Ben Gleason joins me. Ben serves as the sustainable program manager for Iowa Corn, where he works on a range of environmental projects affecting Iowa corn growers. Ben, welcome to the podcast.
Ben Gleason: (00:45)
Thanks, John. Happy to be here.
John Mesko: (00:46)
It is good to have you. And I always like to remind people when I'm out and about traveling, Iowa is kind of the center of the universe. And I say this with all due respect to every other state, but it is pretty much the center of the universe when it comes to corn and farming in general. We love our Iowa farmers as a backbone to agriculture in this country. And you are from Iowa. You grew up in Iowa and went to college in Iowa, so you're steeped in that tradition and kind of that experience of having that around you in your formative years. Tell us how you came to joining Iowa Corn, your background and your interests that led you to where you are today.
Ben Gleason: (01:35)
Sure, John. Yeah, you're right, I was born and raised in northeast Iowa, Charles City. Agriculture is a huge part of Iowa, through and through. We're number one in corn. We bat with Illinois, one and two for soybeans. We're number one in pork production, ethanol, eggs. So yeah, growing up in Iowa my whole life, agriculture's been a huge part of it. I grew up in town, but my dad's side of the family, my dad and my grandpa, and some great uncles and others worked at the Oliver and then the White Farm tractor plant in town building tractors. And then my mom's side of the family have been landowners, have owned a couple of farms since the early eighties. So even though I grew up in town, certainly agriculture is a part of my life and upbringing.
Ben Gleason: (02:31)
And I went to Iowa State and got a degree in animal ecology to do natural resources management. And that's basically what I do now, helping farmers do that on their land. Previously, I worked for the Iowa Department of Agriculture. I was a project coordinator for a few watershed projects, so worked one-on-one with farmers in that local watershed to address the resource concern for ... Each lake or stream had different issues. And so we worked with the farmers on getting conservation practices on the ground, getting them signed up for cost-share programs, designing and laying out terraces, and working with contractors and all sorts of things. So yeah, that's where I came from, where I've been prior to working for Iowa Corn.
John Mesko: (03:25)
Well, it's a good work indeed. And I commend Iowa Corn for even having a role like yours, sustainable program manager, as part of the staff there, and as part of the emphasis in serving producers in Iowa. So tell us some of the primary objectives that you're trying to achieve in your role there.
Ben Gleason: (03:45)
Right. We have a strategic plan for the organization, and we go through a planning process every three to five years, like a lot of organizations. And we've got a few major goals, supply side production arena. And so we want to protect and improve our land, water, and natural resources. Look at our nutrient reduction strategy and water quality. We promote soil practices for the land. And we want to involve Iowa corn growers in watershed projects. That's one major goal and a few objectives. Another one is minimize regulations on farmers that could potentially reduce profitability. So when you're looking at some of the environmental sort of regulations that you see across the country, whether it affects land use or the use of inputs like fertilizer or pesticides, those are things that are a concern to our members.
Ben Gleason: (04:54)
And we want to maintain our social license to operate, so letting farmers do what they do best in a responsible manner. So that's a big part of that goal. And so that involves getting more conservation on the ground to maintain that license to operate. And then another big goal we have is being a leader in sustainability, making sure that sustainability is a part of all of our operations at Iowa Corn. Not just my work, but when we're looking at promoting exports or ethanol, those buyers want to know that feed stock for those products was environmentally sound and sustainable for the long-term.
John Mesko: (05:44)
Well, it's become such an important part of every aspect of our economy, commerce, as you were saying, even international commerce is something that's really focused on sustainability. And people want to know, what is the impact of the dollar that they're spending on the environment and on people. And is this product going to continue to be produced in a responsible manner? I certainly appreciate the work that you're doing there. And I know one of the things that is very important, and maybe the highlight or a highlight of the work there around sustainability in Iowa is regarding water quality. And for many years now Iowa has been kind of on the hot seat, I guess, or how to phrase it exactly. But there's an awful lot of concern about water quality coming off of farms in Iowa. Tell us about the current situation there in the state and how it relates to corn growers and the work that you're doing.
Ben Gleason: (06:44)
Yeah, it has been in the spotlight and a point of emphasis for agriculture. And not just agriculture, a big part of what we've been doing in Iowa was really collaboration, whether it's cities, both their drinking water and their wastewater plants. A lot of our parks and recreational areas have lakes and things of that nature. So it's really a partnership with a variety of stakeholders all working in the same direction. So that's one of the biggest positives over the last five to 10 years, is everyone kind of working together to move that needle. We are moving the needle. Some would like it to move faster. And depending on where you are and what your favorite issue is, it kind of varies.
Ben Gleason: (07:38)
But when you look back to decades ago, we've really made a lot of progress on soil erosion. A lot of our phosphorus moves with soil erosion, so that's where we've made our most progress. You look at our tilling practices today, we don't have ... If you have a moldboard plow, it's probably a decoration in your farmyard, or something like that, you know?
John Mesko: (08:09)
Yeah.
Ben Gleason: (08:09)
You look at the no-till ... And we're not all no-till by any means. But strip-till is really gaining popularity because it is kind of the best of both worlds, where you get a little bit of tillage to do what you want tillage to do, but still maintaining some residue where you don't need tillage. We've seen a big, big jump in cover crops, which is fantastic. We went from virtually zero acres to ... We're looking at about two million acres. I think we'll be well over that this year with an early harvest that's rapidly progressing right now.
Ben Gleason: (08:45)
So that'll allow a lot more cover crop acres to get seeded. And hopefully, we don't have too dry of conditions out there, that we'll get good germination and get good growth on cover crops. Because we need those cover crops. While we've made progress on phosphorus and sediment and soil erosion, the nitrogen issue is a little trickier. Just the way the nitrogen cycle moves, and it's water-soluble, and how do you manage the water? And we're looking at all sorts of new technology. One of our most effective practices are the nutrient reduction wetlands that only have been developed in the last 15 years or so. And we're still making adjustments on how to design them and fit them in the landscape, because they're pretty big and ... The footprint's small relative to their impact, but they still ... If you're the landowner, it makes an impact to your operation.
Ben Gleason: (09:53)
So we're making progress. We've got a long ways to go. Obviously, our water quality issues didn't pop up overnight, so we're not planning to solve them overnight either. But we've got a lot of momentum going, and we would like to keep it that way.
John Mesko: (10:11)
Well, absolutely. And some of the things that we work on at SHP around conservation practices, cover crops, and reduced tillage, some of the things you've talked about already, are things that affect soil erosion and soil health and helping nutrients be more available for the crop. Tell us a little bit more about some of the things that Iowa Corn is doing with SHP, some of the projects that we've been working on with you guys.
Ben Gleason: (10:41)
Early on, five, six years ago we helped recruit a lot of the first-time participants, especially in Iowa. We've got several of our board members jumped on board to do the strip trials and be a part of Soil Health Partnership. And we quickly had to ... Didn't have an issue recruiting. Everybody was interested. You think how far soil health has come in the five years, as far as it's just a ... It's not a fad anymore. So we've pivoted from recruiting to ... And then even after our initial recruiting we were a little more strategic in trying to pick out geographic areas across the state where we wanted a site. And then now we're more helping out with field days. We help host the summer research meetings, getting all the farmers in a room and sharing tips and tricks and results. Get the Soil Health Partnership farmers and the field managers involved in some of our bigger communication efforts.
Ben Gleason: (11:51)
I've had the Power Farming Show seminars. We've done that a couple of times where we've had some Soil Health Partnership farmers on panels talking about what they're doing, what they're finding. And right now we've got a campaign that we're partnering with Soil Health Partnership and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Iowa Ag Water Alliance, and a bunch of other partners. It's Clean Water in Iowa Starts Here. And so we're doing The Big Show, which is a big ag farm program every day from 11 to one. Every Wednesday, we're doing a live radio remote at a farm or some other water quality-related event. And live broadcasts. Even talking to farmers about what they're doing and what they're seeing. And actually, October 21st is the Soil Health Partnership field day. So working with Dustin and Lisa, the field managers, on getting that all squared away. And highlighting all the work that Soil Health Partnership is doing. And kind of alluded to it, but making the connection between soil health and water quality, and how those practices do both double duty.
John Mesko: (13:09)
Absolutely. I mean, it all starts with the soil, maintaining quality, both for water, and then the nutrient availability. All those things rely heavily on the ability of the soil to process and manage its own ecosystem. I think it's really important we're able to work together on some of these things. I've been on a number of farms in Iowa, SHP farms in Iowa, that are doing some work. As you said, strip trials and side-by-side trials. What are some of the impacts and insights that you're seeing as you ... You referenced the events where bringing farmers together to talk about what they're learning and what they're seeing. And as you navigate your way through the folks there in Iowa, what are some of the impacts you're seeing of farmers taking the responsibility to learn about and implement some of these conservation practices?
Ben Gleason: (14:09)
Yeah, there's been huge impacts across the state from those Soil Health Partnership farmers sharing what they're doing, what they're learning, the data they're collecting. Some of their intuitions that are being verified by doing the trials. The data part is huge. Farmers appreciate data to backup what they think they're seeing. Or if they're experimenting with different types of applications or types of ... Whether it's a cover crop species or a fertilizer product, having that data to help them guide their experiments, whether it's a regimented, robust, statistically valid experiment like Soil Health Partnership or ... Farmers experiment on their own all the time, and so it's good to help guide that data collection. Whether it's a farmer in the partnership or his neighbor, they can kind of compare notes just on good data collection and good science to make sure that when they're thinking these things through that they're not getting a bias one way or another.
Ben Gleason: (15:29)
And then the other big thing, I think ... We've mentioned that the soil health awareness is huge now. I think that mission is accomplished. It's a part of the decision-making now, I believe, for the most part. But I think the other thing is that the networking that the partnership provides, whether it's the farmers in the partnership, as far as getting them together at, like I mentioned, the summer research meeting and having them talk one-on-one, or whether they're doing that at their home farm. Whether it's a field day or even informally at the implement dealer or the coffee shop or whatever, I think having that data, having the greater awareness just makes it easier to talk about it. And that's what at Iowa Corn we really stress, farmer-to-farmer, peer-to-peer learning. So we think that works best, and that's why we support the Soil Health Partnership.
John Mesko: (16:29)
Well, and we certainly appreciate it. And I think you're right. You said something in your comment here about farmers looking to verify their intuition. I might borrow that from you in the future. Because it's really hard to be a farmer for any length of time and not start to just learn and know what's going on. It's really hard to ignore what is actually happening on the ground. It may not be that a farmer is able to explain exactly why something's happening, but they might see the impact of a cover crop or a change in tillage or nutrient application timing, or whatever the case may be. Really being able to verify that intuition, to give confidence to a farmer to say, "I can implement this practice on more acres. I can feel confident in telling my neighbor about it, because it's not just something that I think I'm seeing; it's something that is verified. I'm actually seeing it."
Ben Gleason: (17:28)
Yeah, absolutely. That's why our land grant universities are so important. That's why we look to Iowa State University for a lot. So yeah, it's a test and verification process. And it's a regular part of the day on the farm, is working with Mother Nature and trying to explain things and how they happen. And as business owners trying to increase profitability, you're not going to do that if you're doing the same thing year after year. So it's just a natural part of the business.
John Mesko: (18:02)
I agree. And it's fun to be a part of it. One of the things we were talking about before we started recording here, before the COVID pandemic, if we would have scheduled this podcast recording we probably would have been sitting down across the table together. I mentioned to you that I have a suitcase full of recording equipment that I would have gladly run down there to Iowa to sit down with you and record us. And yet we're doing this over the internet, we're doing this remotely. And as so many things have been affected by COVID ... And we were kind of talking about how we've had to change the way we serve farmers. Tell me how things have gone there at Iowa Corn as you guys pivot to a new reality of working remotely more.
Ben Gleason: (18:46)
The pandemic has touched every part of everyone's lives. In Iowa Corn, a big part of what we do is outreach to farmers. And traditionally, that's been a lot of events, in-person events with a lot of people and closed space. And that's not really ... Shouldn't be doing that right now, I guess. And we're not. So how do we keep information going to our farmers? And the big part of those events is the networking and things like that. So how do we try to maintain some semblance of that? We noticed early on people were reading their mail more than ever, especially if you live in a rural area and you don't get to see a lot of the people every day. So we've done some more mailings. We've noticed in some surveys that the farm publications have been getting picked up and read a lot more than maybe sitting in a pile somewhere. So using those as a medium to reach farmers.
Ben Gleason: (19:56)
A lot of social media. And also, everybody's switched to virtual events. And we've done more recently some events outside, but also having the virtual option, live-streaming those events. You can be anywhere in the world, or if you're not comfortable for health reasons, you can still watch and learn, and those sorts of things. And this will continue to evolve. As we get close to winter and we can't have outside events, we're going to have to continue to figure out how to continue that farmer-to-farmer information exchange in a safe way. So I don't know what this winter is going to look like. A lot of the indoor events, you think about all the trade shows and stuff like that. I don't know what we're going to do, but we've got to figure out something, because we can't just let the information flow stop. So we'll figure it out, and work with partners like you guys to make it happen.
John Mesko: (21:04)
Well, I agree. And the ability to connect over the internet with a camera and a microphone, it's not really that new. I mean, my career I've been having remote meetings for 20 years or more with different people. But the ability for the average person or somebody who doesn't work in this kind of field to adapt and to understand and to really benefit from the technology has really been highlighted by COVID. I think if there's one good thing that has come out of this, and there may be more than that, but certainly everyone's comfort level on connecting over the internet with a camera and being able to navigate the technology successfully has really improved. I am very, very pleased to be able to connect with people remotely like this. And I think the effectiveness is there. I think it's strong. I'd always much prefer to be in-person with people because you lose a whole sense of camaraderie, I think. But in another sense, we're doing this together. We're going through this pandemic as a society together, and that's not a bad thing either.
Ben Gleason: (22:15)
Yeah, I totally agree. Technology always has its kinks, but thankfully this pandemic didn't happen 10 years ago. Now, most people have a smartphone or a tablet or something with a camera. Who knew that that camera would come in so handy when you're stuck at home? Thankfully, our technology arrived ahead of this pandemic.
John Mesko: (22:44)
Yeah, I agree. I agree. Well, it's really been a pleasure to talk with you, Ben. And I appreciate you, again, joining me for the podcast today.
Ben Gleason: (22:54)
Yeah, thanks, John. And we look forward to continue working with Soil Health Partnership, and continuing to advance this farmer learning from both farmers who are new to cover crops, and what they find out, to the experienced folks, and helping spread that message.
John Mesko: (23:13)
Absolutely. Thank you for the work that you're doing. And thank you to all of the folks at Iowa Corn for the continued support for the Soil Health Partnership. Have a great day, Ben. We'll do this again in-person someday.
Ben Gleason: (23:26)
Yes, yes, please. Thanks, John.
