Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award - Nomination

NOMINATOR INFORMATION: We may need to reach out to you if we have any questions about the nomination form. Please provide your preferred contact information here.
NOMINEE INFORMATION: Identify the farm owner/operator who is being nominated for this award.

NOMINEE INFORMATION POINT OF CONTACT: If correspondence regarding award status and event details should be sent to someone instead of the Nominee above, please provide their information here.

Please note that nominators will also be notified of award status. If a nomination is not selected, the nominator will be the only person notified.

CERTIFICATE INFORMATION: Those selected for this award will receive a signed certificate at an awards ceremony held during the Iowa State Fair in August. Please enter below the name(s) that should be included on the certificate, written as they should be printed on the document. Whether to include the farm name and family names, or just one or the other is a matter of personal preference.
LEADERSHIP: The Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award recognizes outstanding farmers in Iowa who not only implement best management practices in their own operations, but also strive to be leaders for conservation within the farming community. Describe below the nominee’s leadership activities, especially as related to promoting conservation and environmentally-friendly farming practices. These activities may include (but are not limited to): helping neighbors, hosting field days, community involvement, and providing leadership with local/state/national boards, committees, and organizations. FARM INFORMATION: The Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award is targeted toward farmers. Therefore, it is important for us to understand the full operation of the farm. (Note: A farm is any place from which $1,000 or more of agricultural products were produced or sold, or normally would have been sold, during the year. Government payments are included. --USDA)
What is the total size of farming operation? Please select the appropriate range of total number of acres operated:
List the agricultural products and the approximate percent (%) of the farm that is used for the production of each commodity (e.g., row crops 50%, livestock 40%). You may also list commodities such as milk, eggs, honey, etc. For livestock or fowl, please indicate an approximate scale of the operation (head) and the type of operation (starter pullets, finishing, cow/calf, etc.).

FARM OPERATION: In this section we would like to learn about the best management practices that the nominee incorporates into their standard farming operation.

Describe the following aspects of the farm operation as applicable based on the commodities produced. Information on scale of practice implementation is important (e.g., acres of cover crops).

ROW CROPS: crop rotation (including cover crops), tillage management, soil fertility management (testing frequency, application of nutrients), etc.;
LIVESTOCK/FOWL: manure management, grazing management, etc. Describe additional best management practices the nominee uses in the farm operation that provide water quality and soil sustainability benefits (terraces, grassed waterways, wetlands, prairie restoration, etc.). See reference list on website for more practice examples. Information on scale of practice implementation is encouraged (e.g., number of retention basins, acres of prairie restoration, total feet of terraces). List here any of the above best management practices that have been implemented with cost-share incentives. If no cost share has been used, please indicate that. MOTIVATION: Each farmer and farm operation/family has their own reasons for striving to implement the conservation measures described here. We would like to learn more about what motivates this nominee. What is the nominee's reason(s) for incorporating these practices? Thank You! Thank you for nominating a deserving Iowa farmer. If you have any questions about this form or the awards program, please contact Casey Judge at: award@iowaagriculture.gov
Saving your application in-progress will send an email to the Nominator eMail with a link to continue the application.