David and Amy Petersen own and operate Majestic Manor Dairy near Blue Grass, Iowa, which includes a 110-cow dairy herd and a genetic seed stock and replacement heifer business. They also raise corn, no-till soybeans and forage crops of alfalfa, oats and rye on 310 acres with little purchased fertilizer. Instead, they maintain consistently high yields using crop rotation and injectable manure from their dairy operation as fertilizer.
"In a production agriculture system, the high road to efficiency usually rewards those who choose to get bigger," said Petersen, who began farming in 1980 as a new Iowa State University graduate. "We've taken the 'road less traveled' by using a systems approach to add value and achieve efficiency by integrating enterprises, not simply getting bigger."
Over the past two decades, Petersen has increased the organic matter of his farm's soil from an average of 2.14 percent to 3.38 percent, which he attributes to the manure and forage crops. He estimates that he uses 90 percent of the livestock manure as injectable fertilizer for crops, and has invested $50,000 to improve field drainage and waterways.
The family also operates a genetic seedstock business, selling to buyers in France, Germany and Australia. They provided the first embryo transfer Holstein calves born in Turkey.
