Jon Nelson knows as a farmer, he’s tasked with a huge responsibility.
The veteran South Dakota soybean grower realizes soil conservation and improving water quality must be top of mind for farmers like him.
But for Nelson, he first had to overcome challenges in his own mind to accept the role with which he’d been charged.
“To change from what we know and have done for decades is not easy,” Nelson explains. “I continue to learn how to use and implement cover crops. Maintaining a living root in the soil for as long as you can is very important.”
Today, Nelson accepts the challenge by pledging to conserve farmland to help create a sustainable and resilient operation for future generations. In partnership with his wife, Cathy, son, Tyler, and daughter-in-law, Kaleigh, Nelson farms some 2,800 acres of owned and rented land near Lake Preston, South Dakota.
“I never knew my grandfather,” Nelson says. “I can only imagine his amazement that a poor farm boy from Norway has a great grandson and potentially great-great grandchildren running what he began. I know it meant a lot to my father and mother as it does to my wife, Cathy, and I.”
From tradition to expansion
Founded by Nelson’s grandfather who emigrated from Norway in the early 1900s, the operation has been a traditional farm for most of its years. Small grains, corn, milk cows and chickens formed the foundation of the original farm. Over the years, fed cattle and hogs also found their place in the operation. As the family took on more land, soybeans were added in 1980.
After Jon graduated from South Dakota State University and came back to the farm in 1985, he and Cathy were married. The couple grew the farm’s farrowing operation and worked alongside Jon’s dad, continuing to farm by traditional means. By 1990 Jon and Cathy took the reins of the operation, focusing on mostly a corn/soybean rotation and a small amount of wheat planted annually. More than a decade later, the farm couple had expanded its feedlot to its current 2,000 head capacity and hogs were phased out of the operation.
Focusing on tradition, the Nelson farm relied on conventional tillage until giving no-till a try in the latter 1980s.
“We really didn’t understand what we were doing,” Nelson says. “The equipment we had wasn’t right for no-till, and we were going through a wet weather cycle. “We became frustrated with it and stayed with conventional tillage.”
After son, Tyler, graduated from SDSU in 2012 and returned to the farm, Nelson says he began to talk about the need to reduce tillage in the operation.
“It took some time for me to change, but by 2018 we were working at being a reduced tiller; in 2019 a larger part of our farm was prevent planted because of very excessive moisture,” Nelson says
The next winter, Nelson sat in on a meeting that discussed adding diverse biology, like fungi, to the soil.
That meeting would be the beginning of the Nelson’s journey learning about soil health.
“Within the next two years we were no-till and have not added any dry NPK (fertilizer) to our soils in six years,” Nelson says. “The transformation of our land from dirt to soil in those few years has been simply amazing.
Beyond healthy soil
The gently rolling terrain of Nelson’s farm doesn’t require the use of contours or terraces, yet implementing no-till has resulted in a significant reduction in commercial fertility rates, altering soil structure and allowing it to aggregate and increase water holding capacity.
“By keeping residue covering the soil, we have also reduced erosion from runoff,” Nelson explains. “It is our belief that a diverse, healthy soil supports and influences the plant’s health and in turn provides a more nutrient dense food system.”
The veteran farmer doesn’t want to do away with fertilizers, but he does believe he’s beginning to understand how his management practices interact.
“When we begin to find that balance, we will produce the same or more with less inputs and be better off for it,” he says.
Nelson’s goal is to work toward having cover crops on 100% of his acreage. He says the covers along with the continued use of a diverse biological product in the spring help the soil biome get off to a great start while fall application helps breakdown and recycle nutrients left by the previous crop.
For example, Nelson has planted 30-inch strips of winter wheat after soybean harvest. In the spring, he plants corn in between the wheat strips and terminates the wheat before it reaches boot stage.
“This has worked well and as the wheat dies off and lays down, it provides nice ground cover that helps with weeds and keeps the soil cooler in the summer heat,” Nelson says. “I also like planting soybeans into a thin winter wheat stand. Keeping a growing root in the ground and cycling the nutrients and creating more soil carbon is going to have a positive effect on future crops.”
By means of stewardship
From no-till farming to reduced use of commercial fertilizers to planting cover crops, the Nelson Farm has built a conservation legacy by caring for the land in a way that ensures it will thrive for generations to come.
“We are committed to building healthy soils, conserving water and building biodiversity in our soils while maintaining a profitable and resilient business,” Nelson explains.
But the buck doesn’t stop there with the veteran farmer.
The ringneck pheasant is king in South Dakota, and Nelson is diligent in providing cover for the wildlife. The family works to delay haying and preserves grass areas to promote habitat from year to year.
Nelson works in other areas to promote farm aesthetics and conserve energy. He also values the farm’s role in supporting family, church and community while providing safe working conditions and passing on knowledge and opportunity to future generations all while contributing to create strong, local food systems.
“By embracing diversity and regenerative practices, we are building a farm that can adapt to change, remain productive and continue to serve both people and the environment well into the future,” Nelson says.
Rooted in a small community for more than 60 years has cultivated countless relationships with neighbors and landlords over time. The Nelsons continue to foster the network, often serving as a gathering hub anytime the need arises.
For Jon and Cathy Nelson, a conservation legacy means simply caring for the land in a way that ensures it will thrive for generations to come.
“It’s an incredible honor and very humbling to be this year’s regional winner,” Nelson says. “There are so many deserving farmers working to make their soils better and conserving resources. Thank you to ASA.”
