March 3, 2026<\/p>\n
Meeting Place: Gilbert High School Classroom \u2013 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
Welcome \\ Introductions: Don kicked off our meeting.<\/p>\n
Guest and family additions: none<\/p>\n
Treasurer Report: $1,903.01<\/p>\n
Old Business: We need presenters for 2026. Pay your dues.
\nNew Business:
\n\u2022 Garden city, IA, June 27, 2026, tractor ride with an entry fee of $20.00. You must have a slow-moving
\nvehicle sign. Top speed will be 13mph and the length of ride was unknown. There will be food available
\nduring the ride (breakfast and noon meal).
\n\u2022 Palm Sunday, March 29, Boone Iowa, 9-3, toy show. Don will have items for sale at this show.<\/p>\n
Discussion Items: Need presenters. See summer show schedule on back of agenda.
\nAuction or Threshing events: Bob Leeper has Facebook page with an auction in Hubbard on 5\/30\/2026.
\nAuctioneer is Jerry Vander Vorde. Sale is for the Arland Leeper collection and museum items, including toys,
\nmanuals, paper emporia, various tractors and implements. There is a 1926 Special tractor, 51 Ferguson,
\nInternationals, John Deere planter, all parade ready. AC Combine, lots of brochures, protype disc, and more.<\/p>\n
The auction is online and live. www.auctionzip.com for more information and sale bill.
\nFor Sale or Wish List: Tractor with loader and 2 row cultivators<\/p>\n
Presentation: Nate Meyer \u2013 ISU Farm Manager. He started out graduating with an Ag degree in 2009 and
\nstarted the farm in 2011. The farm at Ames is 1 of 13 across Iowa. They have different places in the state for
\nstudying various soils and climates with a variety of different seeds and plants.
\nSome locations include west of Ames, East of Gilbert, by Boone, Madrid, Ia., Chariton, etc. They start by testing
\nthe soils in each area. They have partnerships with farmers in some areas. The biggest farm is around Ames.
\nChariton has a cattle farm operation. Another large farm is the one for Ag engineering and farming. ISU has
\nabout 1,600 acres that they don\u2019t use. The county line farm of 24 acres is for water quality research (run off). Also
\nin this area there is a tile spacing research farm. Years opposite the farm progress show they host field days by
\nBoone.
\nAgronomy research moved in 1964 and is around 1400 acres. They have 50 facility members, 7 full-time staff
\nmembers, with 96 projects, and have over 400 visitors annually.
\nActive farms include:
\n1) Feel lab with hands on work.
\n2) Bio Century farm
\n3) They rent 600 acres from a non-profit
\n4) They raise non-GMO soybeans
\na. Beans are grown and sold out by United School between Boone and Ames
\n5) Corn which is taken to Kent feed mill ground and used at ISU animal farm and mixed into chicken feed.
\nInteresting fact was they grind marigolds into chicken feed to make yellow yolks.
\n6) Grains, etc.
\n7) Cattle, which includes a dairy herd.
\nThey spend a lot of time doing research for soil, plant breeding, temperatures, materials for energy, crop
\ngrowth, alternative crops, various systems and electronics, tire pressures, even organic crops.
\nCrops raised included:
\n\u2022 Corn \u2022 Soybeans \u2022 Oats
\n\u2022 Wheat \u2022 Cover Crops \u2022 Cotton, one year
\n\u2022 Small grains \u2022 miscanthus \u2022
\nThe year they had cotton they did hand pick it and used it for training for those who haven\u2019t seen cotton before.
\nThey have around 100 acres for soybeans, which they plant to grow, roast and sell.
\nTechnology research:
\nAuto steer Application control Planter control
\nComputers (new aps, updated aps) Logistics (manage people &
\nequipment, dispatch trucks to fields)
\nYield per crop
\nTracking of forge & row corps GPS for plant layout Seed experiments
\nPlots have alley ways to separate each test plot. Manual markers have been replaced using GPS. Plots can be 5
\n\u00bd, special planters are used. Large plots can be on 103 acres. They do use commercial equipment one of
\nwhich is an International Harvester, part of International nice program. They check weather, soil and log planting
\nand harvesting information. Reports are generated which can tell if they need more nitrogen, water, etc. and
\nmake comparisons to prior years.
\nStrip tilling or No till
\nPhosphorous and Potassium are put down. After harvest they put down cover crops which could include rye. In
\nthe spring the rye may have corn planted.
\nEquipment modifications included a 9450 JD in which they redirected grain, computer readouts in cab so they
\ncould monitor weight, moisture, output, etc. They can hold 56 lbs. before needing to dump. They have separate
\ndata collection points for different seeds\\plants.
\nThey also took a sprayer and made it into an air seeder which can have 2 types of seed, each with its own
\ncontrols and data collection for research. The 2 systems can even have different products. E.g. One corn, one
\nsoybean.
\nThey did research on miscanthus for nitrogen impact and found it had no benefits. Miscanthus is in the grain
\nfamily, can grow 10-12 ft tall, is used in power plants and at ISU it\u2019s used for poultry bedding after chopping.
\nThey send some to the southern Iowa farms and it can be bailed in 2 ft bales.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
March 3, 2026 Meeting Place: Gilbert High School Classroom \u2013 7 p.m. Welcome \\ Introductions: Don kicked off our meeting. Guest and family additions: none Treasurer Report: $1,903.01 Old Business: We need presenters for 2026. Pay your dues. New Business: … Continue reading