Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today presented Tyson Miller and Adam Millikin with Eldon C. Stutsman Inc. and the entire team at Premier Crop Systems with the Secretary’s Ag Leader Award for Conservation. The awards recognize leaders who are helping accelerate conservation across Iowa through innovation, collaboration, and on-the-ground efforts that support farmers while protecting soil and water resources. The award presentation was made as part of the annual Iowa Agribusiness Showcase and Conference in Altoona.
“I am pleased to present Tyson Miller and Adam Millikin at Stutsman and the team at Premier Crop Systems with this leadership in conservation award. By working with farmers to get conservation practices on the ground and optimize nitrogen use, these agronomists and ag retailers are driving real, measurable water quality progress,” said Secretary Naig. “From farm to faucet, clean water is a non-negotiable and the solutions implemented must be system wide. I commend these ag leaders for being strong examples of how agronomists and ag retailers can help accelerate this important work and be good stewards of our environment.”
Secretary Naig selected the awardees this year because of their work and actions supporting the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative (INI) at Iowa State University. The INI is a public-private partnership built around farmer-led, on-farm research that generates real-world data to improve nitrogen use efficiency. That research has led to the development of N-FACT, a nitrogen recommendation tool that uses Iowa-specific field trial data to deliver more precise nitrogen rate guidance. Research shows farmers can save as much as $34 per acre by using N-FACT recommendations instead of legacy MRTN (Maximum Return to Nitrogen) rates, while maintaining productivity and protecting water quality. Secretary Naig encourages farmers and agronomists to use N-FACT as they plan for the 2026 growing season…