Farmer Champion Highlight: Dan Rieckmann

Dan Rieckmann, Rat River Farmer Champion

On March 25^th, 2022 Shelia and Emily from Winnebago County Land and Water Conservation Department met with farmer Dan Rieckmann to get to know him and his farm as he starts his journey as one of our new Farmer Champions. Dan is one of three farmers participating in our “Increase Adoption of Soil Health Conservation Systems in the Rat River Watershed” project. He will be implementing cover crops and no-till practices on his farm for the next three years.

Rieckmann Farms – A generational, family farm

This interview started out with a question about the name he would like the farm to be under for the interview as well as data for the next few years, which is “Rieckmann Farms”. The next couple questions were asked about what the history of the farm looked like, whether it was generational and family owned and operated as well as the size of the farm when it started. Dan stated, “It is a generational farm, it has been running for four generations, and my son will be the fifth generation of the farm running”. He also told us that when the farm originally was founded it had 160 head of cattle.

After a very brief history of the farm, Emily and Sheila asked about what the farm currently looks like, along with the practices that are being used now. They learned that Dan’s farm has grown to 260 head of beef cattle. They recently sold their dairy cows. Dan said they sold the dairy cows, “Two years ago, so the fall of 2019, due to having hip surgery and the milk prices in the years of 2014 to 2015.” Dan’s farm is currently 1,200 acres.

What type of tillage has been practiced in the past?

On Dan’s farm, they used a chisel plow in the fall in the heavier ground and one pass with the field cultivator in the spring. Since the farm’s involvement with the Winnebago County Land and Water Conservation Department, Dan has started practicing no-till. Dan would like to get up to 300 acres of no-till, however right now they are at 50 acres.

Dan wants to increase that number, but he is having issues with putting in tile for drainage. He is experimenting with biologicals to loosen soils, which he is interested in seeing the final results.

What about cover crops?

Emily asked Dan about cover crops and whether he had any certain plants in mind. As of now Dan is planning to use winter rye because it seems to be what most other people in the area use.

Finally, Emily asked about what changes Dan is expecting to see when switching to no-till and cover crops, which Dan replied with, “Water drainage or just soil enhancements, increase yield”. This ended the interview with Dan, which gave a brief history of the farm along with its practices and what Dan is expecting to see with the changes he is putting into play.

Learn about the other two Farmer Champions in the Rat River Watershed on the project webpage.

Article content and photo submitted by Emily Dufeck, Watershed Specialist at Winnebago County LWCD
This project is funded by a Great Lakes Commission GLSNRP grant