Leopold Center - Dick and Sharon Thompson

Other people will tell you much more about the impact that Dick and Sharon Thompson have had on Iowa’s sustainable agriculture community than what you’ll hear from this quiet Scandinavian couple.

But in nearly 50 years of farming, they have helped Iowa take tremendous strides toward what they prefer to call “an alternative agriculture.” Leading by example, they have

“The Thompsons have astounded many agriculturists with their high yields, rich soils and healthy livestock,” says Robert Karp, who directs Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI), the organization that the Thompsons helped create in 1985.

“With volumes of data to back up their results, Dick and Sharon have improved their soil as well as their per acre profits,” Karp said. “Some of their practices such as five-year rotations and manure applications are generally familiar. Others, such as ridge-tillage, recycling biosolids and raising natural pork are innovations spearheaded by the Thompsons.”

Rick Exner, who coordinates PFI’s on-farm research program through ISU Extension, said Dick Thompson has had a leading role in the development of on-farm research methods used in more than 650 replicated experiments. He credits the Thompsons’ patience and encouragement that has led to more than 100 PFI farmer cooperators hosting field days viewed by more than 22,000 people over the history of the program.

Karp and Exner nominated the Thompsons for the 2004 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture. The award recognizes farmers, researchers and educators who have made a significant contribution toward the stability of mainstream family farms in Iowa and is one of the state’s largest awards in sustainable agriculture. The Leopold Center administers the annual award that began in 2001.

How it all began

“The subtext of Dick Thompson’s message at farm meetings and field days is simply the empowerment of people,” Exner said. “I see their influence almost daily.”

The Thompsons farmed conventionally for 10 years. In 1968, they began to explore alternative methods to reduce synthetic inputs such as pesticides and chemical fertilizer, livestock hormones and antibiotics.

Dick, who has bachelor and master’s degrees in animal husbandry from Iowa State University, also uses a low-input rotational grazing system, selling to Coleman’s Natural Foods. The hog enterprise, managed by their youngest son Rex, markets “natural” pork to Niman Ranch.

By their calculations, they have averaged a net income of $113 per acre since 1988, compared to a conventional corn-soybean system that showed a loss of $42.24 per acre (not including government support payments). The calculations do not include profits or losses for livestock operations. A major portion of the profit is from increased crop and residue income.

“It’s pretty dramatic,” Dick admits, “and many people at first don’t believe me.”

The Thompsons began to collaborate with the Rodale Institute in 1984, and received additional support from the Henry A. Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture. They have participated in other crop and livestock research projects conducted by the Leopold Center, Agriculture Research Service, Iowa State University, National Soil Tilth Lab and the Michael Fields Ag Institute.

Turning their records into reports

They maintain meticulous records, most originating on hand-written notes in a small spiral notebook that Dick keeps in the front zipper pocket of his Liberty bib overalls. Each year they publish a 200-page report, Alternatives in Agriculture, with findings from their own experiments and observations.

“When we started to modify our farming practices, we found ourselves on the outside of the establishment with no handle on the outside of the door,” they write in their 2004 report. “We were given the impression that our observations were not valid since they had not been scientifically and statistically examined.

“By conducting research right on our own farm, we found that the door to the establishment has been reopened. This type of research is especially valuable to a farmer who wishes to test an idea that does not interest the academic community.”

In any given year, the Thompsons might be testing various rates of manure application, timing cultivation for weed control, or trying to find the most humane way to brand cattle. Currently, they have eliminated end rows, where weed problems occur due to increased tillage.

They like to use the term alternative agriculture because it’s less threatening than sustainable agriculture. The inevitable question from other farmers is, “Do you mean I’m not sustainable?” “I tell them that no, it’s just another way to farm,” Dick says.

Since they began using alternative methods, they have doubled soil organic matter and cut soil loss by more than half. One of the biggest lessons, however, has been the role of animals in agriculture.

Importance of the cow in Iowa agriculture

“Our most important community activity is demonstrating the importance of animals on every farm, especially the cow,” Dick explains. “Sixty years ago every farm had some cows, there was a need for oats and hay for feed, there were chores to keep all members of the family busy. Including the cow in the farm operation keeps the farm and communities in balance.” [Read an opinion piece on this topic by Dick Thompson with Robert Karp.]

Their annual report is peppered with personal philosophy, including an oft-repeated phrase, “get along but don’t go along.”

“I really don’t try to push anything on anybody, especially my neighbors,” Dick says. “We tell farmers to adapt pieces that fit their farm and not to adopt somebody else’s whole program.”

In addition to their PFI field days and other educational programs, the Thompsons have shared information about their successful system with nearly 30,000 people throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, Italy and Australia.

“We try to stay positive, and show people the facts rather than opinions,” Sharon says. “We’ve probably had more impact across the oceans than across the road.”

John Sellers, a southern Iowa farmer and member of the Spencer selection committee, doesn’t see it that way.

“Dick and Sharon have done this on some of the most productive land in the world, where the skeptics are stronger and louder,” Sellers said. “They have showed us that sustainable agriculture methods can work.”

The Thompsons have four children and 11 grandchildren. Their youngest son Rex manages their hog enterprise and Roger also farms nearby. Renae (Van Zee) lives in Ankeny and Ryan lives near Ogden.