The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship last week named two agribusinesses and two certified crop advisers as recipients of the Secretary’s Iowa Ag Leader Award for Conservation.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig made the announcement, recognizing businesses Montag Manufacturing of Emmetsburg, Klinkenborg Aerial Spraying and Seeding of Parkersburg, and CCAs Nancy Bohl Bormann from Algona and Tim Berkland from Spencer.

“These businesses and individuals have shown outstanding leadership in advancing water quality efforts in our state,” Naig said. “All of these award winners are examples of how stakeholders across agriculture are taking on the challenge of improving water quality by providing tools and information to help farmers and landowners make improvements on their farms.”

Naig, along with Deputy Secretary Julie Kenney, presented the awards at the Agribusiness Association of Iowa’s Showcase and Conference at the Iowa state fairgrounds in Des Moines.

Honorees in detail
Following is information on the award recipients:

• Nancy Bohl Bormann, CCA. Bormann of Algona is an environmental services manager and agronomist for The Maschhoffs in north-central Iowa. She works primarily with swine producers on nutrient management planning and company-wide practices to address environmental stewardship. Bormann and her husband, Matt, also farm near Algona where they use various conservation practices, including strip till and cover crops. 

They’ve held and assisted with several conservation field days to showcase practices they use. Bormann serves as chair for the Kossuth Soil and Water Conservation District and is alternate regional director for the Conservation Districts of Iowa.

• Tim Berkland, CCA. Berkland of Spencer recently served as the strategic agronomy marketing manager for Growmark in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. He has been a leader in addressing stewardship for Growmark in several areas including the 4R Plus initiative, the FS Enduring Farms program, and the collaborative efforts with Growmark and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Berkland has worked closely with growers and other agronomists in the Growmark system, providing crop and nutrient management recommendations to improve production, and protect and minimize the impact of ag production to water quality. He now serves as general manager of Growmark FS Midwest based in northwest Iowa. He continues to work with agronomists and growers to promote the 4R’s and 4R plus practices.

• Montag Manufacturing. Since 1986, Montag has been producing equipment in Emmetsburg. Roger Montag and his family have built their business creating a full line of dry fertilizer delivery systems. The latest Fortifier line allows for improved high clearance seeding of cover crops. This piece of equipment allows the applicator to improve seeding rates and increase the number of acres covered per hour.

Montag Manufacturing has a goal of helping farmers be more profitable, as well as be better stewards of the land. By encouraging the practice of cover crops, farmers can reduce erosion, stop movement of nutrients to water sources and improve soil health.

• Klinkenborg Aerial Spraying & Seeding. Klinkenborg provides aerial application services to federal, state and local governments, as well as large co-ops and individual farmers nationwide. Klinkenborg Aerial first began offering cover crop seeding services six years ago. It has quickly grown its footprint in the industry by seeding more than 60,000 acres of cover crops in 2018.

The company offers a variety of application options, with both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft equipped with GPS to offer farmers the best option possible to seed cover crops and use good conservation practices.

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