Russell Brandes
Farmer, Hancock

Address: 37333 Mahogany Road
Glenwood, IA 51536
Daytime phone: (712) 741-5566
Email: rbrandes@fmctc.com

Brief biography: Appointed in February 2005, he represents the State Soil Conservation Committee on the Advisory Board. He farms 800 acres in Pottawattamie County, some of which is a Century Farm settled by his great-grandfather in 1874. About 500 acres are devoted to row crops, plus small fields of oats and hay, and pasture for a 60-head cow-calf herd. Since 1999 he has managed a contract hog feeding operation in three 1,100-head buildings.

He has been a district soil and water commissioner the past 20 years, and served eight years on the State Soil Conservation Committee. He has added terraces, grassed waterways, contour cropping, filter strips along streams and he uses no-till methods.

Brandes studied agronomy and agricultural education at Iowa State University for three years before going back to his family’s farm in 1972. He is a member of the  Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity Cooperative, an ISU Extension-led program that tracks carcass data. He also was a farmer member of the Leopold Center's Animal Management Issue Team from 2001 to 2002.