Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, March 14, 2013

  Jim and Ann WERNER of Diagonal were named Iowa Master Farmers by Wallaces Farmer Magazine, one of only four families to receive the honor in Iowa this year.

"It's a tremendous honor," said Ann. "It has a lot to do with conservation and the family. We have made a strong effort to protect the land. We're very humbled by the honor."

According to a press release from the magazine, the WERNERS have raised cattle for 40 years. In that time, they have worked diligently to improve feed efficiency and land sustainability.

Four years ago they began testing yearling bulls and heifers at a feed intake monitoring barn. EID-equipped bunks, readers and scales under the bunks and electronic chips in ear tags are used to collect individual data.

Of their 2,000 grazing acres, they have dedicated 29 acres to filter strips along streams. They also fence off most ponds to reduce erosion and prevent mortalities.

Since the 1970s, the WERNERS have restored ditches by placing round hay bales in them and letting cattle trample them in to hold the soil.

To re-establish an older hayfield, the land is cropped for three years. Planting is done on the contour. Planters are driven across wide, grassed waterways, and crop rows channel run off directly into the waterways and prevent ditches outside the grass.

Farming at the WERNER operation is a family affair. Their daughter, Bonnie LARSON, and husband Will live nearby and handle most of the paperwork. The LARSONS, along with daughter Becky HAYS and her husband, Craig, operate Critical Insights, a carcass ultra-sound company. Becky also owns Ultra Insights Processing Lab near Maryville, MO.

WERNER'S son, Clint, works on the farm and manages crops. In addition, Clint, his brother Joe and his wife Heather, operate WERNER Feed Efficiency Testing Center, where cattle from throughout theMidwest are tested and receive official feed efficiency data.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, March of 2013