John and Laurie Currie returned to farming in northwest
Iowa during the economic crisis of the 1980s. People told
the couple they were crazy. While they perhaps didn’t
know enough at the time to share the sentiment, they did
keep their off-farm jobs until they earned enough from
agriculture to support their family – he as an engineer, she
as a teacher.
It was one of the many decisions driven as much by
necessity as the dream to restore the original footprint
of his family’s farm, established in 1911 when his great grandfather
put money down on ground to be split
between his four sons. Only John's grandfather chose
to continue farming through the depression years of
the 1930s.
To gain his own foothold in the industry, John began his
farming career on his father-in-law’s ground. A few years
later, his father passed away, and John was the only family
member interested in farming. He became sole operator
and, as opportunity and money allowed, slowly knitted
together parcels to restore a portion of the Odebolt-area
Cook Ranch bought by his great-grandfather. His youngest
son, David, returned to the farm with his family a couple
years ago.
“I think the legacy aspect of what Dad has been able to do
influenced a lot of my decision to come back,” said David.
“If (the farm) still looked the way Grandpa had it, then
maybe it wouldn’t have been as much of a draw. My two
daughters are the sixth generation living in the house my
ancestors built. That’s a pretty cool deal.”
Continuing the Legacy
Even as John and Laurie expanded the farm, they never
aspired to grow beyond what they could manage together.
David has come around to a similar mindset.
“Real estate is king. You know, that’s how I’ve always
viewed it – own as many acres as you can,” David said. “But
then I hear wisdom from Dad about, ‘Well, if you own as
many acres as you can get, you have to farm as many acres
as you can, and the purpose of living on a farm loses some
of its luster.’ ”
“We've been able to agree on that balance between what
is most effective for our operation and what is best for
our families. We're able to do a lot more of the things that
make farming fun and do them as a family.”
Both agree that sustainability practices adopted over the
years by John save time and reduce some of their costs.
John said labor and circumstances shaped some of his
early decisions.
“I was one of the first no-tillers in our area. A lot of it was
just manpower. Laurie and I were the only ones farming at
the time, and we had a short 2,000 acres between us. Now,
it’s more about machinery and fuel costs and just looking
at the sustainability of the topsoil we have. That soil is
pretty precious.”
Adopting Reduced Tillage Practices
The first time John appreciated the potential of no-till was
in the spring of 1991. The previous fall had been too wet to
work his fields, and a wet spring made planting season
very difficult.
“At that point, I stopped discing and planted right into
standing stocks. You could see the soil contact because
everything was matted down from the snow we’d had, and
the planter would cut right through the residue. That was
the first time I think I realized, hey, this works a lot better if
you don’t even touch the stuff.
“From that point on, the soil has just carried the
equipment better. It’s got more of a natural structure. You
see worm holes all over through the soil. The infiltration
when you get a hard rain is so much better.”
The Curries had also strip-tilled until switching to 20-inch
rows, which allows them to leave more space between
seeds in the row for root development while also creating
a canopy of plant cover later in the season to help
suppress weeds.
“The canopy closing and not allowing sunlight to hit
weeds and grow was a big reason for us moving to 20-inch
rows,” John said. “Some of the late-season management
that people do, whether that’s doing side dressing with
nitrogen passes or other things, we can’t do with 20-inch
rows. But I think our yield is as good or better than a lot of
people regardless.”
After harvest, the Curries are left with more biomass than
they would see with 30-inch rows. This breaks down into
nutrients and, eventually, adds to the soil structure. And
while the Curries know their soil is healthier because of
no-till, they don’t claim it leads to superior yields. “I’m sure
there are years where maybe it has cost us a bushel or two
(versus conventional tillage). But I look at it in the long
term, and I’m convinced we’re doing it the right way.”
Managing Volatility, Maintaining Consistency
Just as his dad did, David returned to the operation during
a challenging period in agriculture. Volatility and rising
costs mean the two weigh every expense, especially
for fertilizer. What is the most efficient way to grow a
bushel with the least amount of nitrogen? How can the
biologicals they sell through their seed dealership reduce
the amount of nitrogen needed?
As they work through the decisions, David said he
appreciates the position his dad has created for him:
“Dad has been doing a lot of the front-edge practices
when nobody else was. Some of that was because of
manpower and efficiency and trying to accomplish the
most with the least.
“A lot of family farms, when they get transferred down
generation to generation, keep a lot of the same
practices. I’ve walked into a situation where efficiency
and sustainability and trying new practices has been
hammered out. Now those practices are just part of what
we do. And we’re not going back.”
