~by Taylor Teays for The Scranton Journal
Iowa Cover Crop, the Jefferson based cover crop retail and application business, covering Iowa and the Midwest, was recently awarded the Secretary’s Ag Leader Award, recognized as a leader in conservation.
The award was presented by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, and was given to one individual and one business making an impact in water quality and conservation. The individual receiving the award was Molly Haub from West Branch. Iowa Cover Crop, founded by James Holz (pictured, right) and Bill Frederick (left), received the business award after making exceptional contributions to Iowa agriculture.
“Iowa has set records for conservation adoption each of the last two years and that takes individuals, partners, businesses, farmers and landowners working together to make that happen. I want to commend Molly Haub with Premier Crop Systems and James Holz and Bill Frederick with Iowa Cover Crop for being leaders in water quality and conservation and I am pleased to present them with the Secretary’s Ag Leader Award for Conservation,” commented Secretary Naig.
Holz and Frederick are Greene County natives, growing up together as classmates and 4-H friends. In 2014, the duo founded Iowa Cover Crop in an effort to assist neighbors with diversifying their family farm operations. Now, 10 years later, the business has a growing dealer network, allowing them to offer seed and application services throughout the Midwest.
According to Holz, receiving this award recognizes that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and state leaders are committed to conservation, “and in our little part of it, cover crops.”
“We think cover crop and biomass planting have a chance to transform the landscape of Iowa. We want to see 12-15 million acres of cover crops in the state in 10 years. We think this will give agriculture an opportunity to improve soil and water for our urban and rural neighbors,” added Holz.
The duo has a combined 20 years of experience growing cover crops, with personal experience with seeding rye grain, rye grass, oats, spring and winter wheat, peas, hairy vetch, common vetch, rapeseed, forage kale, crimson clover, radish and turnips on their family farms. The latest study shows that 3.8 million acres of cover crops were planted statewide, with that number made possible by Iowa Cover Crop.
Cover crops are an important factor in water and soil quality, as they have been proven to reduce nutrient loads draining from farmland. “Iowa Cover Crop is a small part of that movement. We are excited to see how much improvement we can see in our farming careers,” Holz added.
Anyone interested in learning more can visit Iowa Cover Crop’s website at iowacovercrop.com, or stop into their warehouse.
“We have our new warehouse south of Jefferson on Hwy. 4. If anyone wants to talk conservation or cover crops, we would love to visit with you,” concluded Holz.
