Growing the Farm With Cover Crops
Ryan and his wife, Kristy, raise corn, soybeans, cereal rye, buckwheat, feeder cattle and contract and pasture pigs at Gibbsfield Farms near Worthington, Iowa. In 2019, they added a new enterprise – Gibbsfield Ag – to provide cover crop seed and services to farmers in their area of northeastern Iowa. “The seed business ties in hand-in-hand with my farming operation,” Ryan says, “because we are growing cover crops on our farm and I'm able to share what I've learned with my customers.”
He and Kristy got started with cover crops in 2017, as part of a farm transition to no-till that included adding cover crops to their farm. The following year, Ryan started working as a dealer for Iowa Cover Crop. “The second year, we expanded again and put in an LLC to protect ourselves,” Ryan says.
Gibbsfield Ag has expanded rapidly since then. Ryan now uses a 30-foot grain drill to do custom seed applications and hires aerial seeding for some of his customers. His neighbor also cleans seed for him, and he is continually adding storage and other infrastructure to build capacity.
“I wanted to expand my operation with a different crop aside from corn and beans,” Ryan says. “Since I was already a seed dealer, I had a market for my own cover crop seed.”
In 2022, with his cover crop seed business growing, Ryan enrolled in PFI's Cover Crop Business Accelerator. Participants in the program, which is run in partnership with Iowa Soybean Association, receive customized business support about how to build a viable business plan, market to customers and set strategic goals.
“We were looking at income expansion and were asking: Where should we invest or expand to get the best return on investment?” Ryan says. “We got some great advice through this program.”
Driving Healthy Soils and Resilient Communities
Nurturing more cover crop businesses like this is a key reason why PFI and ISA started the Cover Crop Business Accelerator in 2020. Not only do these businesses help farmers diversify their incomes, they create new opportunities in rural communities. Vitally, they are also helping farmers plant cover crops on more acres – which is essential for Iowa to reach water quality goals spelled out in the state's nutrient reduction strategy.
The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, adopted in 2013, calls for a 45% cut in levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that move from Iowa watersheds into the Mississippi River Basin, and eventually the Gulf of Mexico, where they contribute to a vast area that's unable to support marine life. Cover crops are one of the key practices outlined in the strategy. But farmers face a range of barriers to adding or expanding cover crop acres – including access to cover crop seed.
That's one reason why businesses like Gibbsfield Ag are so critical.
“Cover crops contribute to rural Iowa communities by improving water quality,” Ryan says. “When farms flood, that's the same water that travels through all of these communities taking the topsoil away.”
Keeping soil in place is one reason Ryan wants to see more cover crops in his community. But he also sees their potential to improve water quality and food systems. “Employing cover crops is part of a larger societal benefit,” he says. “Healthier soil means a better-quality cash crop, and that means more nutrient-dense food and healthier living.”
Through Gibbsfield Ag, Ryan hopes he can help customers find ways to make cover crops feasible on their farms. By addressing some of his customers' barriers and concerns, he sees the potential to unlock a cascade of cover crop acres – with improved water quality, healthier rural communities and more resilient farms following in tow.
“For us, resiliency means making each acre the most profitable it can be while cutting back on certain inputs,” Ryan says. Diversifying rotations and revenue streams is Ryan's approach to building resiliency on his farm. “We sell cereal rye, we have hogs, we have cattle – so even if two markets fail, we won't ruin our business.”
