THE LOBE RANGERS
JOIN THE
MOVEMENT
What We Believe
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Conservation and profitability are not opposites.
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Voluntary “carrot-only” approaches have not delivered the scale of change required.
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Broad-acre disincentives for harmful practices must be part of the conversation.
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The public deserves transparency about what is happening on Iowa’s landscape.
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Candidates running for office should be able to answer one simple question:
Do you understand the level of change required to produce the results voters are asking for?
IOWA DESERVES
CLEAN WATER
We Are Three Farmers From the Des Moines Lobe.
We’ve been farming this land for over a decade using strip-till, cover crops, and in-season nitrogen application. Not as an experiment. Not as a PR strategy. As a business model that works.
We know firsthand that you can raise abundant, profitable crops while protecting soil and water. We are doing it.
But we are also fed up.
We’re tired of watching ag lobbying groups talk conservation at the podium while meaningful legislation dies in the statehouse. We’re tired of voluntary programs being praised as progress when, after 13 years, they haven’t moved the needle.
We’ve read the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. It clearly states that 60–80% of Iowa’s landscape must adopt both in-field and edge-of-field practices to see meaningful nitrate reduction. That level of change has not happened.
And pretending otherwise doesn’t serve farmers or the public.
Like many Iowans, we have too many family members and friends dealing with cancer. We live in a state with the fastest-growing cancer rate in the country. That concerns us — not as activists, but as dads, neighbors, and community members.
It’s time Iowans heard from farmers who are thriving by adopting the changes required for cleaner water and a stronger future.
Our Story
The Lobe Rangers are a collective of farmers, conservationists, and rural neighbors who believe that the stewardship of Iowa’s land is a shared responsibility. We view clean water not as a byproduct of farming, but as its most vital output. Founded on the principle that the health of our soil is mirrored in the quality of our streams, we are building a movement that values both the harvest and the habitat.
Our movement began at kitchen tables and in machine sheds where we decided to stop choosing between profitability and protection. We care about farming for clean water because the vitality of our communities depends on the health of our watersheds. By proving that conservation can work alongside commercial success, we ensure that the legacy we leave for the next generation is as clear and fertile as the land itself.