March 08, 2021 by Aaron Larsen
Neal Johnson’s farm just north of Fergus Falls is now Water Quality Certified in the Minnesota Ag Water Quality Certification Program (MAWQCP).
Neal operates a corn-soybeans rotation on all cropland except for irrigated parcels where a corn-corn-soybean rotation is used. He also practices reduced tillage in fall and no-tills soybeans into standing corn stubble. Corn is strip tilled into unworked soybeans stubble. Strips are built in the spring to reduce over-winter erosion potential in the strip area. Neal has installed numerous water and sediment control basins on his property.
Neal was very active in dog-sled racing, beginning when he was 12-years old! He has traveled extensively in North America and also to Sweden and Australia! Who knew that dog-sled racing was even possible in the land down under!
Neal exhibits a genuine stewardship for the land noting that unlike machinery, cropland is not being made anymore. Common sense tells us that we need to take care of the land – making good decisions about controlling erosion by using conservation management techniques (tillage and practices) will help take care of the land.
Neal was also selected as the West Otter Tail SWCD Conservationist of the Year in 2017.
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