The More History You Have, the More You Make

Ag-Vocate: Sawyer Whisler

"Sawyer Whisler is a 21 yr. old, 6th generation farmer from SE. IA. He farms full time. He chores 10,000 head of pigs (2500 of his own); he farms crop acres with his dad; creates, shoots and edits a YouTube channel (This’ll Do Farm) dedicated to promoting agriculture in a positive light. He also just launched a video and audio podcast called BarnTalk shot in the hayloft of a barn on his family farm with the goal of telling the story of American agriculture. I’m his dad so I know I’m biased but he is the most passionate, hard working person I know. Super proud."

Community Champion: Chris Alcorn

"My nominee is Chris Alcorn. She is a para at our local school. She began working with a fellow teacher a few years ago to give monarchs in our area a fighting chance to survive. Although the teacher she worked with passed away from cancer last year, Chris has renewed her fight for the monarchs and is working harder than ever to create a monarch sanctuary here in Northeast Missouri so they can travel to Central America every year. She recently shared her found monarchs this year with local families so they can share this love with their young children. She is constantly working to share this love of monarchs with our community. She is a treasure."

Forward-Thinking Farmer: Dan Voss

"A fifth generation Iowa farmer, Dan Voss has been utilizing no-till and strip-till farming for almost 30 years. Beyond this method of sustainable farming, Dan has utilized precision management techniques, waterways, and cover crops. Dan has worked with the local NRCS office to use saturated buffers in certain areas of his land. “A local leader in conservation techniques, Dan has encouraged other farmers to utilize conservation methods such as cover crops. In addition, he has also hosted meetings with various stakeholders about conservation methods and has been involved in local water quality plans for several years. He remains one of the only individuals in Linn County, Iowa, to grow oats and also has hay each year, serving a local niche market and also improving the crop and economic diversity of his operation. His forward-thinking optimism has been a benefit to his operation each year. The crop diversity has helped both the soil, and the bottom line, especially during years of droughts and last summer's derecho."

Pioneer Team-Member: Scott Ford

"I would like to nominate my local Pioneer sales representative Scott Ford of Bertrand, NE, for the Pioneer Team Member award. My son and I farm irrigated corn and soybeans in south central Nebraska and call our operation 37 Ag. We plant all our acres to Pioneer brand products because of the help Scott has given us to become a profitable farming operation. You might say he has been our guide to better yields for the past several years. His service is unprecedented as compared to other seed dealers in our area. Each year before we plant, Scott meets with us and looks at each of our fields to make suggestions as to what hybrid and or variety would be the best fit for that field.

Additionally, he looks at water availability and suggests planting populations. He then creates a planting plan book with maps of each our fields and places them in a 3 - ring binder for us to refer to at planting time. Scott provides us with a seed tender and a forklift to use throughout the planting season. Scott also utilizes a Pioneer Strategic account manager along with the district agronomist that stop in regularly to inspect many of our fields and ask if they can answer any concerns we may have. If I or my son Grady do encounter any problems, Scott quickly responds to help us. When harvest rolls around, Scott is out riding with us in the combines to see how the Pioneer products he sold us are doing and even brings a harvest lunch for my crew.

This past year I won a National first place in the NCGA yield contest No-Till Irrigated class with a yield of 322.87 bu/ac, and my son Grady won a National second place in the contest in the No-Till Irrigated class with a yield of 317.35 bu/ac. I thank Scott for helping us place those hybrids in our contest fields. Scott is very genuine and always concerned about the well-being of all his customers. Please consider this outstanding, highly principled and ethical Pioneer sales representative for the Pioneer Team Member award."

Women in Ag: Laura Gentry

"I believe Laura to be a history maker in American agriculture! Her ag environmental work in both water quality and nutrient management has been outstanding. As a member of the Illinois Corn Growers Association board of directors I have watched as she took an idea, PCM, and made it into a reality. It continues to expand its scope and geographic presence. Producers now have an understanding of the economics involved in using best management practices in controlling N & P losses from production areas. The programs she has created and grown will bring untold value to efforts to control hypoxia, algae blooms and other issues created by lost nutrients. Her activity in ag production and environmental responsibility earn her a place among Pioneer history makers!

Dr. Gentry has served as Director of Water Quality Research for the IL Corn Growers Association and IL Corn Marketing Board since 2014. She also maintains an adjunct faculty position in the Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the U of IL in Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She received her Ph.D. in Soil Science from N.C. State University in 2005. From 2006-2010, she was an assistant professor of soil science at North Dakota State University. She conducted research investigating reduced tillage systems, cover crops, soil fertility, soil biology, crop rotations, and crop residue management in sugarbeet, wheat, corn, and soybean production systems.

From 2010-2013, she was a research assistant professor in the Dept. of Crop Sciences at UIUC studying sustainability of high-yielding corn environments. Her current research interests focus on nutrient management and related water quality and soil health issues in tiled-drained corn and soybean production environments.

While working for IL Corn Growers Association and IL Corn Marketing Board, Dr. Gentry established a farmer service program called Precision Conservation Management (PCM) that assists farmers with adopting conservation practices in a way that minimizes financial and management risks to the farming operation. Using aggregated, anonymized PCM data, she analyzes financial and environmental impacts of conservation practice adoption. Working with other faculty at UIUC, Dr. Gentry has published numerous extension and peer-reviewed articles and presented her findings at industry and academic events across the country. She also established and manages a 160-acre field laboratory to monitor nutrient losses from tile-drained corn/soybean fields under various agronomic management scenarios."