ARTi Visits Practical Farmers of Iowa
Practical Farmers of Iowa was founded in 1985 to support information sharing between farmers working on moving their agricultural operations toward sustainability. ARTi shares their priorities.
It is always a great experience to get the chance to visit other organizations in Iowa where we are headquartered which are also working towards agricultural practices that make a positive impact. Practical Farmers of Iowa is one such association. Practical Farmers is located in Ames, IA, the town that also hosts Iowa State University, the Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory and the USDA’s National Animal Disease Center. Their mission statement is βequipping farmers to build resilient farms and communitiesβ. The organization was founded in 1985 to support information sharing between farmers working on moving their agricultural operations toward sustainability. We share their priorities.
ARTi CEO Berardo del Campo shows part of the company’sΒ products to a Practical Farmer attendee
ARTiβs work in refining biochar production systems takes into account the requirements of the users of the resulting biochar. Biochar is a natural, non-chemical and non-GMO way of increasing soil quality and fertility. It aids in nutrient cycling and soil microbial activity. And the big one is that it is capable of carbon sequestration. All of which are very much reasons enough to share ARTiβs work with the Practical Farmers. Visiting their location was a good time as well. Their network of farmers cultivates various horticulture crops, such as fruits, vegetables, cut flowers, herbs, hay, corn, soybeans, large and small livestock, and more. Both conventional and organic systems are used by its members. They manage farms of all sizes. The backgrounds of the Practical Farmers are diverse. But the reason why these farmers get together is that they share the idea of agriculture as being modeled after nature.Β
Practical Farmers of Iowa held an event in August of 2022 and ARTi was there. It was a great meeting, and it was good to get the food too!Β
ARTi also appreciates the idea of modeling techniques after nature. Although biochar is an ancient approach to farming there are also instances of it occurring naturally or as a collaboration between nature and humans. See our article on Mollisols for more on this topic.
Visit Practical Farmers of Iowa website here.
The sky’s the limit over Iowa farmlands.
Enjoying a late lunch and the event speakers.
