–A Kossuth County farm family is one of 39 that were honored this week with a Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award. The awards were handed out Wednesday at the Iowa State Fair by Governor Kim Reynolds, Lt. Governor Adam Gregg, Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig and Department of Natural Resources Director Kayla Lyon.
The award acknowledges farmers who take voluntary actions to improve and protect the state’s natural resources while serving as leaders in their communities. These farm families use proven in-field and edge-of-field practices such as cover crops, no-till, wetlands, bioreactors, and saturated buffers. These methods support the goals of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy by holding soil in place and improving water quality.
From Kossuth County, Todd and Angie Thilges are being honored for the efforts implemented on their farm.
Also honored from around the area is the Jon Sampson Farm in Humboldt County, Zack Smith in Winnebago County, as well as Troy and Jeanne Elbert in Pocahontas County.
A total of 777 farm families have been honored since the award was created back in 2012.
