Tell ASA Your Conservation Story!

All U.S. soybean farmers are eligible to enter and potentially be honored with a Conservation Legacy Award.

July 24, 2023. St. Louis, MO. Share the story of how conservation is part of your farm operation, and you could be recognized with a Conservation Legacy Award. The awards recognize farm management practices of U.S. soybean farmers that are both environmentally friendly and profitable.

Are you using a reduced tillage practice on your farm? Do you grow cover crops? Have you taken steps to improve energy efficiency or water quality? These are just a few conservation practices used on some farms that help produce sustainable U.S. soybeans. Different regions of the country have their own unique challenges and ways to approach conservation and sustainability. We want to hear your farm’s conservation story!

All U.S. soybean farmers are eligible to enter and potentially be presented a Conservation Legacy Award. Entries are judged on soil management, water management, input management, conservation, environmental management, and sustainability.

The selection process for these awards is divided into four regions: Midwest, Upper Midwest, Northeast and South. A farmer from each of these regions will be recognized at the 2024 Commodity Classic in Houston, TX, and one of those four will be named the National Conservation Legacy Award recipient.

Award Winners Receive:
• An expense-paid trip for two to Commodity Classic Feb. 28–March 2, 2024, in Houston, TX.
• Recognition at the ASA Awards Celebration at Commodity Classic.
• A feature story and news segment on their farm in Farm Journal magazine and on the AgDay television show.
• Video produced on their unique farming and conservation practices.

The Conservation Legacy Awards are sponsored by the American Soybean Association, BASF, Bayer, Nutrien, the United Soybean Board/Soybean Checkoff, and Valent U.S.A.

More information on past winners and how to submit an application is available in the “About” section under “Awards” on the ASA website. All applications must be submitted by Aug. 31, 2023.
 

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Regional Winners of the 2023 ASA Conservation Legacy Awards Announced

Les Seiler
Fayette, Ohio
Regional Winner: Northeast

“Thirty years into [conservation practices] and the aggregation of the soils is really good. We’ve seen the need to do something different besides the conventional farming practices of moldboard plowing and a lot of tillage,” says Ohio farmer Les Seiler as he describes the land he and his brother, Jerry, farm.

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Terry and Lori Dabbs
Stuttgart, Arkansas
Regional Winner: South

It’s water first when it comes to Terry and Lori Dabbs most treasured resource. For these Stuttgart, Arkansas farmers, their farming legacy solely focuses on water conservation.

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Tom Perlick
Beaver Brook Township, Wisconsin
Regional Winner: Upper Midwest

When Tom Perlick’s father unexpectedly passed away, Perlick knew he had to keep the farm in the family. He also knew there had to be a better way to farm. Others said he couldn’t, but he knew he could. Perlick soon blazed a conservation trail that proved the naysayers wrong.

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Michael Vittetoe
Washington, Iowa
Regional Winner: Midwest

Michael Vittetoe credits his father and grandfather for being good stewards of the land. His grandfather was an early adopter of reduced tillage and Vittetoe says of his father, “My dad was big on no-till back in the ‘80s when it was first starting to be a thing.”

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Ohio Farmer Wins National Conservation Legacy Award

Orlando, FL., March 11, 2023. Les Seiler’s overarching goal for his Fayette, Ohio, farm is sustainable crop production to preserve and improve the land for future generations. After three decades of dedication to this goal, Seiler’s fellow growers and conservationists are honoring his work.

The American Soybean Association presented Seiler with the 2023 National Conservation Legacy Award during the annual ASA Awards Celebration event at the Commodity Classic farm show in Orlando.

The Conservation Legacy Award is a national program designed to recognize the outstanding environmental and conservation achievements of soybean farmers, which in turn help produce more sustainable U.S. soybeans. The program is sponsored by ASA, BASF, Bayer, Nutrien, the United Soybean Board/Soy Checkoff and Valent USA.
 

Seiler says he began focusing on soil preservation in 1986, when he and his brother set aside conventional tillage practices and looked to conservation farming methods on their Ohio farm.

Now, more than 30 years later, the Seilers continue to make no till, grass waterways and filter strips, and planting cover crops routine components of their overall farm management plan.

“We have so much soil erosion because of poor soil health, and we can’t infiltrate water on the land anymore,” Seiler said. “We’ve seen the need to do something different besides conventional farming practices of moldboard plowing and a lot of tillage.”

Thinking outside the area’s traditional farming methods has proven beneficial to Seiler’s soil composition.

“Soils have changed dramatically over the years of using no-till and covers,” he explains. “Infiltration rates have increased, erosion and runoff are reduced, and nutrient inputs, especially phosphorus and potash, have been drastically reduced or eliminated. Organic matter content on the soils has increased.”

Seiler’s conservation efforts have also helped reduce soil erosion and promote water absorption.

Waterways are used where needed in the Seiler operation. The practice involves 15-to-30-foot-wide buffer strips on all fields and along streams. The most visible is what Seiler calls a “massive two-stage ditch in one of their major drainage channels.” The venture was a cooperative effort with The Nature Conservancy.

Seiler Farms is part of the Western Lake Erie Basin, where he says farming practices need to be improved to help mitigate losses. Seiler says the Maumee River is one of the biggest contributors to the algal bloom issues of Lake Erie.

He recalls the Toledo water crisis of 2014, in which several people had no access to water for two days because of the algal blooms. Seiler realized during this situation that he didn’t want to be a contributing factor to anyone going without water.

“I don’t think there should be anybody anywhere in the world who wonders where their next glass of water is coming from, or if water is going to be an issue,” Seiler says. “I hope someday that somebody says, ‘that guy made a difference.’ I don’t want to be the one who didn’t realize the importance of that.” Click here to read more about Seiler’s operation and conservation practices.

The following individuals were recognized for receiving regional Conservation Legacy Awards during ASA’s awards program. Click on a name below to read more on each of the regional winners’ operations.

• Terry & Lori Dabbs, Stuttgart, Arkansas (South Region)
• Tom Perlick, Washburn, Wisconsin (Upper Midwest Region)
• Michael Vittetoe, Washington, Iowa (Midwest Region)
• Les Seiler, Fayette, Ohio (Northeast Region)

A national selection committee, composed of soybean farmers, conservationists, agronomists and natural resource professionals, evaluated nominations based on each farmer’s environmental and economic programs. The achievements of these farmers serve as a positive example for other farmers and help produce a more sustainable U.S. soybean crop.