This month’s Leader of the Land™ feature is Doug Rebout, a corn farmer from Janesville, Wisconsin, who practices sustainable farming practices.
Introduce yourself and tell us about your farm.
My name is Doug Rebout from Roger Rebout & Sons Farm in Janesville. Our farm started in 1963 with my parents. Today I farm with my brothers and nephews. We grow corn, winter wheat, soybeans and alfalfa. On our farm we also breed Holstein heifers and steers.
What does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability means doing the right thing for our farm, land and community. We know that our farm must be profitable in order to be successful and pass it on to the next generation. Taking care of our land is our top priority. We want our land to survive for the next generations and generations to come. We operate strip tillage and no-till to leave the land as natural as possible.
How to keep water pristine?
We perform strip tillage for corn and no-tillage for soybeans. These sustainable farming practices leave the soil undisturbed and facilitate prevent runoff. We are also starting to operate cover plants. Cover crops act like a sponge, retaining water and nutrients so that plants can grow.
How does technology facilitate make the farm more sustainable?
Technology helps us be more precise in our seed and chemical choices. We are able to prevent excessive wear and contamination. Additionally, all our tractors are equipped with GPS technology. This helps us operate our resources more efficiently by placing seeds and fertilizers precisely.
Who do you work with to promote sustainability on your farm?
We are members Farmers on the rock breakthrough group. We are a group of local farmers who work together to share ideas and try fresh environmental practices. Being in this group is great because we can all learn from each other and try fresh things on our own farm.
We also took part in scientific research, including: University of Warsaw Discovery Farms to measure the impact of our environmental efforts. The data collected from this research helps us learn how we reduce our impact and also helps other farmers learn more.
Why is sustainability significant on your farm?
We want future generations to be able to maintain the family farm, and if we are not sustainable, this may not be possible.
