Step outside on a Palmyra, Mich., farm with Jim Isley and his son, Jake, and you’ll step into fields of conservation ideas turned into reality.
“I guess one of the mottos we have is ‘let’s find out what we don’t know,’” says Jim Isley. “There are a lot of things we don’t know.”
The idea is to uncover and improve the land started generations before them. The Isley family has farmed in southeast Michigan for more than 150 years. It was Jim’s father and grandfather who realized some practices are better than others.
Jim has adopted that conservation mindset at Sunrise Farms, the farm he now operates with his wife and son in Lenawee County, Mich.
“It’s important to me that if my children want to farm, that I give them the opportunity to do so,” he says. “And not just financially, but having them get the land in better condition than what I got it.”
While the conservation foundation was always there, it wasn’t until recently they decided to do more.
“We have been conservation-minded for a long time, but it really wasn’t until the last 12 to 15 years where we began to actually say, ‘What kind of practices can we implement that will help us to achieve this goal?’” says Laurie Isley.
They now strip-till and no-till 100% of their acres. It allows them to apply all of their nutrients subsurface.
They also have a steady plan for soil sampling: half of their acres one year, the other half the next.
“It’s kind of like driving down the road in a car and not looking at the speedometer,” says Jim. “Let’s find out what we use. The soil sampling, while it sounds excessive, I want to keep right on it.”
Constantly testing if their ideas work keeps them on track. They use cover crops on a majority of their acres, primarily an annual ryegrass mix. It’s all part of a system that works together.
Yet, the largest conservation change may have come from studying the farm’s proximity to Lake Erie, which the Isley family says is 30 miles east.
“Where we’re located, because we’re on that sandy soil, we’re so close to Lake Erie and everything we have is tile-drained, I’m farming differently,” says Jake. “Knowing I want to put that nutrient right where the crop is going to need it and it has the smallest chance of getting away.”
The family was already years into conservation practices before 2014 when an algae bloom led to a temporary shutdown of Toledo, Ohio’s water supply.
The Isleys say the water quality issue put a spotlight on farming practices, both positive and negative, and how they affect water quality. It’s also why Jim now serves on a local watershed council.
“As my dad talked about, there’s a lot of research being done,” says Jake. “What practices can we implement to keep phosphorus in the field, to keep nitrogen in the field so they’re not in the water and they’re not making it to Lake Erie.”
The situation gave the family a platform to showcase their practices, as they hosted political leaders from the state of Michigan and USDA.
“The end-goal would be not only to make the farm and keep it sustainable, but to encourage others to try conservation practices,” says Jim.
“Of course, the question you always have to answer is, ‘Why doesn’t everybody do that?’ As Jim mentioned, that’s one of our long-term goals,” says Laurie.
The family plans to implement a drainage water management plan across the farm. They’re monitoring that water for quality and nutrient levels through a multi-year study with Michigan State University, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Michigan DNR.
Measurements are recorded on multiple sites daily and preliminary results show minimal nutrient loss through their tile lines.
“We don’t know what we’re going to find, but you create your hypothesis and you try to prove it,” says Jim. “So, we anticipate that this site that is controlled will have less nutrient loss.”
As the Isleys show you what they’re doing, the goal is continuous improvement…
“We care about the environment, we care about water quality, we care about the soil and we are here for the long haul,” adds Laurie. “We are here in order to have something that will go beyond us.”
Congratulations to Jim Isley and the Isley family, a regional American Soybean Association Conservation Legacy Award Winner. Jason, along with other regional winners, will be honored with the American Soybean Association’s regional Conservation Legacy Award.
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