Landowner Coaching Program

Engaged land ownership is a critical element of implementing lasting change on our land. Many non-operating landowners understand the importance of farm productivity, soil heath and water quality, but may need advice on how to make changes on their farm.

Landowner participants will meet with a professional farm manager over a one-hour Zoom meeting to discuss farm details and ask specific questions about their farm. The professional farm manager will use the information to create a desktop farm review report with achievable next steps.

The desktop review will include a written report with maps and a farm analysis. This easy-to-read report may be used as a roadmap for future action and as a conversation-starter with farm operators, family members or neighbors.

After the initial consultation, landowner participants may opt for additional consulting services, such as lease reviews, income analysis, review of potential farm improvements, tenant reporting and water testing. These one-on-one services will be offered at straightforward, flat-fee costs to simplify the consulting process.

Click here to sign up


Qualifications

  • You must own at least 80 acres or more.
  • Your farm must be in Iowa.
  • Your farm must be engaged in crop production.
  • You must be comfortable with or willing to use virtual platforms.

Questions?

Email Martha McFarland at martha.mcfarland@practicalfarmers.org.


Iowa’s largest drinking water utility – Des Moines Water Works – is impacted by fields that drain into the Raccoon River and Des Moines River watersheds. The Landowner Coaching program is a cooperative partnership that benefits all stakeholders in the watershed by encouraging investments in conservation that, over time, will benefit farmers, landowners and community members by keeping one of our most precious natural resources – the soil – on the landscape while improving water quality for all Iowans.