Joe Sperfslage operates a family farm in Linn County near Coggon, growing 1,800 acres of corn, 800 acres of soybeans and 150 acres of wheat. Sperfslage is the Linn County Farm Bureau vice president and a board member of River Valley Cooperative in eastern Iowa and Western Illinois. “About half of our acres end up in cover crops each year,” Sperfslage said, depending on market opportunity. About 90% of the farm is no-till. He gets help from his father, Joe, and hires seasonal help as needed. He is also a founding member and president of his local FFA alumni chapter.

It was a good week for book work. It was so dry we’re not going to get anywhere anyway that gets us in the field. We also had hail and tornadoes going around us. Manchester, northeast of here, got bombed with rain. Farmers are itching to get out, but we’ve had lots of big storms the past few weeks.