Richard Sloan

Richard Sloan joined his Father’s farming operation in 1978, on land East of Brandon which his grandfather had purchased in 1938. As the Sloans migrated from corn, oats, alfalfa, cattle and hogs to corn, soybeans and hogs, they added minimum tillage, no-till, terraces, and contours to their conservation plan. In 2006, Richard grew more interested in addressing agricultural impacts on surface water quality through his work as President of Lime Creek Watershed Improvement Association. As 2008 soon would show, being willing to face and work with the scientific issues of farming methods’ impact on water quality would also mean being willing to face issues of farming methods’ impact on landscape hydrology. Richard graduated from ISU in Biology before returning to farm and has worked with Practical Farmers of Iowa, Iowa Learning Farms, and the Cedar River Watershed Coalition to promote cover crops, soil health, and sustainable farming systems. He is a member of Iowa Corn Growers, Iowa Soybean Association, Iowa Pork Producers and many other community associations.