Southwest Iowa farmer joins advisory board

Russell Brandes of Hancock is the newest member of the Leopold Center Advisor Board but he's not a newcomer to the work of the Leopold Center.

Brandes served as a farmer member of the Leopold Center’s successful Animal Management Issue Team headed by ISU animal science professor Jim Russell. He was appointed in February to replace John Sellers, Jr. as the State Soil Conservation Committee representative on the advisory board.

”I think the Animal Management Issue Team has done some great work, especially in the area of phosphorus runoff in pastures, extended grazing systems and stockpiling forage,” Brandes said. “It is a good model as far as research goes.”

The Center assembled the innovative team in 1990 with scientists from several disciplines, along with farmers, educators and agency personnel who helped design the projects with the goal of making cow-calf operations more sustainable and profitable for farmers. The Center funded most of the team’s research through 2002 that included key studies on rotational grazing, winter grazing and optimal use of forage. Brandes has been involved with the team since 2001.

”Many of the team’s findings reinforce what we only thought was going on, like with the phosphorus runoff in pastures,” he said. “But I do see the recommendations being implemented. I hope to use stockpiling in my own operation.”

Brandes farms 800 acres in Pottawattamie County, some of which is a Century Farm that his great-grandfather settled when he emigrated from Russia in 1874. Of that, about 500 acres are devoted to row crops, plus small fields of oats and hay, and pasture for a 60-head cow-calf herd. In addition, he is a contract feeder, finishing hogs in three 1,100-head buildings. He began the hog enterprise in 1999, which he says is the main reason he’s been able to meet expenses without getting an off-farm job.

He said he’s always been interested in soil conservation, serving as a district commissioner the past 20 years. He also served 8 years on the State Soil Conservation Committee, including a stint as chair in 2002. Since he started farming in 1972, he has added terraces, grassed waterways, contour cropping, filter strips along streams and he uses no-till methods. He said he’s trying organic corn this year, and may consider planting organic soybeans.

Brandes said he had wanted to be on the Center’s advisory board for some time. “I knew the Leopold Center was something pretty special and unique when it was formed,” he said. “My interest is in how we’re treating the land.”

Brandes studied agronomy and agricultural education at Iowa State University for three years before going back to his family’s farm. He’s been part of the Tri-County Steer Carcass Futurity Cooperative, an ISU Extension-led program that tracks carcass data. The program is designed to compile information that will help recruit producers and cattle to be fed in southwestern Iowa.

Brandes lives on the southwest Iowa farm with his wife, Phyllis.