Q&A with David Isermann – A Multi-Generational Illinois Farmer – on Conservation, Innovation and Legacy

David Isermann farms in southeast LaSalle County, Illinois, with his youngest son, Jim, an independent agronomist specializing in conservation. Their family has farmed the land since 1851 and is approaching the seventh generation. They grow corn and soybeans and run a commercial cow/calf operation. We talked with David about their conservation journey and the challenges and rewards of adopting conservation practices.

Q: Can you tell us about your farm?

A: We’re located in southeast LaSalle County, about 90 miles southwest of Chicago. Our family’s been here since 1851, and we’re coming up on the seventh generation operating the farm. We primarily grow corn and soybeans and have a commercial cow/calf operation. We use no-till on beans and strip-till on corn. We try to minimize fertilizer application in the fall. We put some of our nitrogen, phosphorus and potash 6” deep in the strips in the fall. We add additional nitrogen and phosphorus to the strips in early spring when we refresh them. We side-dress our final nitrogen in early summer after doing a pre-side-dress nitrogen test.

Q: How did your conservation practices develop over time?

A: Growing up, especially in high school in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, I spent a lot of time on a tractor with a plow because, back then, you had to turn the soil over. But when the first chisel plows became available, we bought one because my dad didn’t like the extra fuel cost that came with fall tillage.

We had a knowledge gap starting with no-till, but it worked well when we tried no-till beans into corn, so we kept it going. When my son Jim graduated and joined the farm, we really jumped in on no-till. The fuel and equipment savings are huge — we now use less than a third of the fuel we used before. In fact, our local fuel guy once told me he was worried about losing our business because we were using so much less fuel. We went from spending thousands on fuel for tillage to a fraction of that after switching to no-till and strip-till. It’s one of the big reasons we stuck with it — the savings were hard to ignore.

Some parts of our land really needed no-till, while on other ground we struggled with water management. We’re not on highly erodible land, but we’ve had some big rains recently that caused erosion. We went no-till on corn and beans but weren’t happy with corn yields, so we shifted to strip-till, which worked well, especially putting fertilizer in a band.

We hired someone with better strip-till equipment than we had, and that made a big difference.

Q: What about your grazing practices and pasture management?

A: We have a commercial cow/calf operation, and started with just two big pastures of about 60 acres each and one central watering area. The problem was, cows are like kids — they eat the candy first. They’d graze the best forage near the water and then hang around there instead of using the rest of the pasture — there was so much mud. So, we split those into 10 smaller pastures, but they were still walking a lot to reach the central water. Eventually, we took it a step further.

We buried over a mile of water line — 6,200 feet — and added seven automatic waterers spread throughout the pastures. Now, the cows have water nearby in each section, and it’s made a huge difference. They make better use of the forage, they’re not wasting energy walking and the smaller paddocks help minimize herd movement. If one cow gets up to drink, the others don’t all follow — they just stay put because they can still see each other. We think the system will support up to 120 cows, which is our goal as we continue to expand.

Q: What role did conservation programs like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) play in that process?

A: The automatic waterers and paddock fencing were part of an EQIP project. I like to say CSP is about trying something new, and EQIP is for solving a problem, and we definitely had one. The cows weren’t using the whole pasture, and we needed a better system. EQIP helped us make a long-term change.

At first, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) pushed us toward 500-gallon tanks, but we wanted automatic waterers. Eventually, the state engineer agreed to let us try, but she wanted data. So we called the company that makes them and got a water-use calculation — including the cow’s “slurp rate.” That sealed the deal.

We were probably the first in our area to get automatic waterers approved through EQIP. A lot of what we’ve done has been through trial and error. My son, Jim, who’s worked all over the state with soil health programs, brought back ideas from places like the Dudley Smith Farm at the University of Illinois [Urbana-Champaign], where they’ve had great success with this setup. Back when we started, there weren’t many people to learn from. But with more farmers adopting these practices and more ways to connect — magazines, online groups — it’s getting easier to share lessons and avoid early mistakes.

Q: Sustainability means different things to different people. How do you define sustainability on your farm, and what challenges have you faced in getting others to understand or adopt conservation practices?

A: That’s a question I’ve been asked a few times. My first reply is that there really isn’t a clear definition of sustainability. Nobody has one. To me, sustainability means I’m still in business next year. If I’m not in business next year, then I’m not sustainable. So that’s number one.

Return on investment is really important, too. Sometimes, that return doesn’t come right away — it might not happen that first year, which is tough for some people to get past. They expect, “If I put this on, I’ll get this many more bushels.” Especially with no-till and strip-till, there’s a learning curve, and it takes a while for the soil to change and respond.

Part of the problem is inertia — people just say, “I’ve always done it this way.” They don’t want to learn something new. Peer pressure plays a role, too. It takes a change in mentality and sometimes a change in equipment, too. Newer planters can handle no-till and strip-till with hardly any changes, but some folks have these huge 600-horsepower tractors and $80,000 chisel plows, and they want to keep turning the soil just like they’ve done their whole lives.

We started no-till to save money, first and foremost. But also, it just didn’t sit right seeing the ditches filled with dirt in the spring or the wind blowing away that topsoil — the best part of the farm. Watching it wash off just never felt right.

My son grew up with this way of thinking, so he’s probably even more bought in than I am. I think the change is going to come slowly as a new generation of farmers grows up hearing about these practices, even if their dads and grandpas haven’t done them. They’re going to meetings, hearing about it and maybe trying it on a few acres. Hopefully, as some of us old guys age out, the momentum will build.

Q: Thinking about the future, what kind of legacy do you hope to leave on this farm and for your family?

A: You know, I want my grandson to see the farm and the work we’ve done and understand why we’ve made these choices. I want him to know we cared about keeping the soil healthy and the water clean — that it’s not just about today but about the next generation, too.

Sustainability, as I said, doesn’t really have a set definition, but for me, it’s about keeping the farm viable for the future. It’s a long-term thing, and I hope the changes we’ve made, like no-till, strip-till and rotational grazing, will help keep this place productive and healthy for years to come.

David’s story is a testament to the evolving nature of farming, blending deep family roots with forward-thinking conservation practices. His approach shows how persistence, adaptation and a commitment to the land can help ensure a viable farm for future generations. While challenges remain, especially around changing mindsets and equipment, his experience highlights that sustainability is ultimately about staying in business and preserving the land so the next generation can carry on the legacy.

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