Matt raises corn and soybeans on primarily irrigated acres–both pivot and gravity flow–with his dad and brother. While the family has some farmland outside of the Platte Valley, a fair percentage of their acres are where the water table is high, soils are light and sandy, and nutrient management is key.
Matt believes being a good steward of the land should be a high priority to anyone involved in production agriculture, however the real motivation for his family’s initial turn to sustainable practices came down to two hard facts: time and money. In the early 2000s, they turned to no-till given $4/gallon diesel and a limited workforce. With no-till, they could cover more acres with fewer passes. Matt has also taken acres out of production and planted them into buffer strips. With the help of incentives, he is able to forgo the production income and eliminate maintenance on marginal acres. He serves on the Lower Platte North NRD.