Managing for Profit

Cover crop persistence pays

An Iowa farm couple isn’t giving up on cover crops.  Bret and Karen Seipold employ a variety of conservation practices on their Southwest Iowa farm.  Bret Seipold says he wanted to farm with less negative impact on soil.

“And one way is with cover crops,” Bret Seipold told Brownfield Ag News.  “I was wanting to just learn as much as I could about cover crops to see if that would work good on my farm for soil quality and reduced erosion.”

Although she didn’t elaborate, Karen Seipold says she and Bret’s first try at cover crops didn’t go as planned, but she says they were determined to stay with cover crops and other conservation farming methods “and hoping to keep these practices in place in a consistent way that is successful,” she said.

In addition to cover crops, the Seipolds use other conservation practices, which Karen and Bret say improve their bottom line.  Plus, says Karen Seipold, the sustainable farming methods help insure that the couple can pass the farm to succeeding generations if their choice is to work the land.

“This,” says Karen Seipold, referring to their farm, “will be here a lot longer than we will.”

AUDIO: Bret and Karen Seipold (3 min. MP3)