Helping Farmers Increase Efficiency and Share Their Sustainability Story
Carrying on the legacy of his father and grandfather is important to Jeff Steger, a third-generation farmer from Wahpeton, North Dakota. After 17 years of working full time off the farm and farming when he could, Jeff was able to realize his lifelong dream of farming full-time and now produces corn and soybeans on his 2,230-acre operation 50 miles South of Fargo.
“Farming is not just a job, it is my life, my heritage,” shares Jeff. “The land needs to be happy, healthy, and productive, and to do that, I need to make sure I don’t lose top soil, while keeping both the ecosystem and soil balanced and thriving.”
Jeff believes in paying attention to details and working hard. He is focused on optimizing his operation by reducing inputs and improving efficiencies through his participation in the Cargill Corn Milling- Wahpeton Fieldprint® Project, where he measures the sustainability performance of his farming practices by using the Fieldprint® Platform.
“The Fieldprint Platform gives me comparisons in areas I did not track before,” Jeff shared. “It heightens the awareness of efficiencies I can work on and helps me benchmark so I know when I am improving.”
Jeff finds value in comparing his Fieldprint® analysis from year-to-year. This allows him to track his improvements and identify areas of focus for the upcoming crop year. He also uses the analysis to build trust and relationships with the owners of the rented land in his operation. These results tell the story of Jeff’s stewardship journey—improvement to the land, efficiency and productivity.
Jeff Steger
3rd Generation Farmer
Wahpeton, ND
Throughout this journey, Jeff sought to incorporate sustainability into all aspects of his operation, from management decisions and equipment upgrades to the seed varieties selected. One example of how this sustainability focus benefits his operation is the update of the corn drying system with a heat reclaim vacuum cooling tower dryer. This change accounts for 30-50% fuel savings on average each year.
In addition to improved drying efficiency, Jeff runs more than 100 side-by-side trials annually to test variations in management. These trials include variations of tillage types and depth, seed varieties, protectants and nutrients. He also follows the 4Rs of nutrient stewardship (the right time, right place, right amount, and right type), paying particular attention to soil and tissue testing, scouting and split application of nutrients.
Adapting to the North Dakota climate and soil conditions, Jeff uses conventional tillage techniques while still protecting his soil resources. Most of the land that Jeff farms is wet, light-colored sand, which creates cool soil temperatures. Jeff is able to balance the management of soil residue and surface ditches to minimize soil erosion. He uses techniques such as not using drags on equipment or field cultivators during fall tillage and use of coil packers to pack and create texture to the soil prior to planting reducing wind erosion and conserving water.
“If consumers want to know for a fact that the food they eat is grown responsibly and sustainably, the metrics of the Fieldprint Platform and Field to Market’s program is an excellent source for this information,” commented Jeff.
Jeff encouraged farmers to take advantage of opportunities to document and demonstrate the sustainability performance of their operations and practices. He finds the combination of science-based metrics and benchmarking offered in a Fieldprint analysis to be a great way to educate and build trust with consumers and the supply chain.
“Science and facts are on our side, we just need to get it out to the public,” Jeff pleads. “People want to eat food that is safe and responsibly grown, and we have never had a safer and environmentally conscious produced food supply than we do today in the United States.”
“If consumers want to know for a fact that the food they eat is grown responsibly and sustainably, the metrics of the Fieldprint Platform and Field to Market’s program is an excellent source for this information."
Jeff Steger
3rd Generation Farmer
Wahpeton, ND
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