Eastern Iowa Farmer Fall 2018

WHY FARMERS MATTER
Caring
for the land
Conservation practices at abbey and elsewhere
preserve soil for generations to come
BY SARA MILLHOUSE
EASTERN IOWA FARMER
Dave Ruden’s eyes
light up.
“I’m really, really
interested in
prairie strips,” he
said, pointing to a low grass strip
between the high cornrows just out
the truck window. “Imagine that in
prairie, permanently.”
Ruden’s life is caught up in the
intersection of agriculture and
conservation, from milking as a
teenager at his parents’ cattle, hog
and dairy farm near Bernard to
working with cropland renters and
monks as farm manager at New
Melleray Abbey south of Peosta.
When he finishes work at the abbey,
he might head to a Dubuque
Soil and Water Conservation board
meeting or a watershed management
authority meeting for Catfish
Creek or the Maquoketa River.
His actions, both on the abbey
grounds and as a commissioner,
trickle down to affect those
downstream, and those who will
come after him. Soil conservation
practices have taken root across
Eastern Iowa as farmers are implementing
a variety of techniques.
The abbey property is one such
example.
A little less than 10 years ago,
the monks made the difficult decision
to cease farming their land,
beyond a vegetable garden that
provides much of their food. The
monks were aging, and they sold
their equipment. Ruden fielded
104 EASTERN IOWA FARMER | FALL 2018 eifarmer.com