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.
Nominator First Name Nominator Last Name Nominator eMail Address

Clark Porter clark.porter@iowaagriculture.gov

Phone Number Affiliation (optional)

(515) 318-9857 Iowa Dept. of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

NOMINEE INFORMATION: Identify the farm owner/operator who is being nominated for this award.
Owner/Operator First Name (1) Owner/Operator Last Name (1) First Name (2) Last Name (2)

Michael Cook Secondary owner Secondary owner

eMail Address Phone Number

mcapril18@gmail.com (319) 230-5539

Home Address City State Zip

3511 Sage Rd. Waterloo IA 50703

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.

Point of Contact First Name Point of Contact Last Name eMail Address

Contact Fist Name Contact Last Name eMail of the point of contact

Phone Number Relationship to Nominee

Phone of contact e.g., Son, Daughter, Neighbor

Mailing Address City State Zip

Mailing address Mailing City abbr Mailing Zip

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.
Cook Family Farm

For the ceremony, please provide phonetic pronunciation of name(s). Use ALL CAPS for the syllable emphasis

MIKEall Cook

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.
 Mike is a lifelong farmer, beginning as a child helping his father. In 1988 he expanded to create his own operation. Mike has had a
second career outside of farming. He retired from an engineering career at John Deere. Mike holds a B.A. in engineering and a
Master's Degree in industrial technology. He teaches courses in advanced manufacturing technology at Hawkeye Community
College and at the John Deere Techworks Campus. He also volunteers his time teaching and mentoring historically underserved
students in STEM careers through the University of Northern Iowa's UNICUE center. Mike also mentors and employs young people
with an interest in local food production and sales. Mike has been a board member at his church and now volunteers his time there
for projects. In addition to all of his community and educational work, Mike is a local leader in regenerative and progressive farming
practices. He and two other farmer/innovators have a 12 acre experimental plot funded through a Sustainable Agriculture Research
and Education grant, where they run trials on wide row corn, strip-cropping, and intercropping. They host field days at this location
where attendees learn about the field trials, soil health, and lessons learned on site. In addition, Mike is now participating in a CIG
grant through the Black Hawk Soil and Water Conservation Society, ISU, Corteva, and NRCS. He and other volunteers have
committed 5 acres to a perennial blue grass cover crop into which they plant their corn and soybean rotations. The experiment is in
its infancy, but they hosted one field day last year.

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)
Primary Iowa County where farm is located Second County

BlackHawk [Select]

List any additional counties

What is the total size of farming operation? Please select the appropriate range of total number of acres operated:
160 acres or less 161-320 acres 321-640 acres

641-1280 acres 1281-2560 acres more than 2560 acres

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.).
Mike farms 110 acres. He rotates corn and soybeans (50/50) on 103 acres. He has two acres devoted to a multi-year soil building
project. He also raises vegetables on 5 acres. These are sold on contract to the local food bank, as well as through the local farmer's
market.

How many years has the farm been in

operation?
Recognized as a Century Farm? Recognized as a Heritage Farm?
35

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.
Mike farms 100% no-till for his row crops. He rotates between corn and soybeans. Mike employs grid testing and variable rate
application of nutrients. He has cut back on nutrients and relied on no-till to rebuild his soil, as well as add to the bottom line
through reduced inputs. Mike is experimenting with different cover crops on his SARE and CIG grant acres, as well as with a 14 acre
strip at home. He is now planning on broadcast seeding cover crops on all acres and is working on updating equipment.

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).
 In addition to no-till, crop rotations, and nutrient management practices, Mike is rebuilding a sandier, depleted area on his farm
through a permanent two-acre strip of cereal rye (conservation crop rotation). Given the topography of his land, waterways and
basins are not necessary. Mike works with an agronomist to specially formulate fertilizer for his soil types.

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.
Mike participates in the NRCS CSP program for nutrient management, pollinator planting, and conservation crop rotation.

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?
Mike said his initial motivation for employing no-till and nutrient management practices was financial. He said: "I couldn't afford to
keep doing it the way I was. I had to change something or we'd get the same results." He said his inputs kept going up and yet
"everything was fighting with me." Once he began to work with his soil instead of against it, he started to see changes in his land, his
yields, and his bottom line. Mike credits the Black Hawk County District Conservationist, Shaffer Ridgeway, with first suggesting
another way to farm. It's been a journey and Mike reports that he is still learning and wanting to try new methods. Regardless, he has
already seen changes in his soil, changes in profitability and return on investment, and even changes in the kinds of wildlife that
show up on his farm. What initially began as an attempt to reduce inputs has now become something more, and Mike remains
excited about the future.