Area farm families to be honored at Iowa State Fair

Five Southeast Iowa farm families are among 89 farms who will be honored at the Iowa State Fair on Aug. 18.

Gov. Kim Reynolds, Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg, Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Julie Kenney and Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon will recognize those farm families for their environmental stewardship with Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Awards.

The five area families are:

• Greg and Aimee Shepherd, Henry County

• Rodger and Karen Krogmeier, Jefferson County

• Green Iron Farms, Tim and Ethel Sieren, Washington County

• Earl B., Tanya and Jeromy Greiner, Keokuk County

• Jerry and Georgia Rice, David and Julie Rice, Keokuk County

The award acknowledges farmers who take voluntary actions to improve and protect the environment and the state’s natural resources while serving as leaders in their farming communities.

These farm families use scientifically proven practices like cover crops, wetlands, bioreactors and saturated buffers that support the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.

The recipients recognize the benefits of conservation practices extend beyond their fields to the residents downstream, and their leadership encourages others to adopt similar conservation practices. The winners were chosen by a committee representing both conservation and agricultural groups.

Since the creation of the Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award in 2012, more than 650 Iowa farm families have been recognized by the governor, lieutenant governor, Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and Department of Natural Resources.

The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. Aug. 18 in the Oman Family Youth Inn.