MADRID – Nick Helland and his father have embraced a slew of conservation practices – bioreactors, saturated buffers, cover crops and a nutrient reducing wetland — on their farm in the Greater Des Moines Watershed.
Helland said he feels there has been a “shift in the culture” among farmers from judging one another on how black they could till their soil, to now, how frequently they till and how much cover they leave on the fields.
“It’s really starting to shift the culture, demonstrate to some of our neighbors and peers that hey, this can be done,” Helland said…