Fifth generation · Scott & Clinton Counties, Iowa

Striving to be a highly respected farming operation, built on best practices.

Our mission is to be a highly respected farming operation that uses the best practices to achieve financial stability and environmental sustainability.

Sycamore Creek Farms field equipment
About

A family farm in Eastern Iowa

Sycamore Creek Farms Inc. is an Eastern Iowa based, fifth generation family farm that operates in Scott and Clinton Counties. Sycamore Creek had feed lot cattle until 2012 when they transitioned into a strictly corn and bean operation.

Sycamore Creek is a trusted operation backed by its loyal long term employees. We have a strong financial background and strive to operate with integrity. Sycamore Creek is supported by professionally trained mechanics for well maintained, safe equipment.

5th
Generation family farm
2
Counties farmed, Scott and Clinton
Corn & beans
Strictly row crop since 2012
Mission & business plan

To be a highly respected farming operation that uses the best practices to achieve financial stability and environmental sustainability.

Kenworth with grain trailer

We will

  1. 01

    Respect our partners and stakeholders

  2. 02

    Operate with the highest integrity

  3. 03

    Farm using detail oriented practices

  4. 04

    Put safety first

  5. 05

    Maintain financial strength

  6. 06

    Use risk management

  7. 07

    Protect our environment

  8. 08

    Value our employees

  9. 09

    Give back to our community

How we farm

Leaving every field better than we found it

We pride ourselves on operating safely, being environmental stewards, maintaining visually pleasing farms, and improving the productivity of soils for our next generations.

Planting on Sycamore Creek ground

Background

On most of our ground we use a three year rotation: corn, corn, soybean. In this rotation we use minimum and no-till practices to conserve soil. Grid samples of the soil are taken in 2.5 acre sections to maximize fertilizer use and minimize the environmental impact.

To aid in this process we utilize satellite guidance to apply variable rate fertilizer, lime and seed. Sycamore Creek manages details on every acre planted to provide the optimum growth environment for the plant.

Sycamore Creek Farms makes a conscious effort to control soil erosion and minimize compaction. Our tractors, combine and grain cart all have tracks that minimize the yield decrease from operating heavy equipment on the fields.

The crop year

Our crop year starts in the fall, right after harvest.

Fall – Prep

Fertilizer, lime and tillage

Our crop year starts in the fall after harvest where we will apply fertilizer and lime on a variable rate prescription basis. On the corn on corn acres we will then follow this fertilizer with a deep till disk combination tool to remove compaction and size residue. We also use a deep tillage minimum till tool on other areas where compaction could be an issue. In the fall or the spring we will follow with an application of nitrogen in either a liquid or anhydrous ammonia form.

Spring – Prep

Seed bed

In the spring we will use a variety of tillage tools ranging from a field finisher to a field cultivator to a minimum till coulter cart. We choose a tool that maximizes the soil seed bed and provides appropriate residue cover to minimize soil erosion.

Spring – Planting

No-till and precision planting

On approximately half of our acreage we will use a method of planting called no-till where we do no tillage after the crop is harvested and plant directly into the crop residue. We use a corn planter with variable rate drives, air clutches, starter fertilizer, Precision meters, air bag down pressure, air operated row cleaners and insecticide all controlled by RTK satellite guidance. This makes for a complicated planter but allows us to be very precise with placing our seed and providing it with nutrients to get a good start. In addition, we have a 15" row soybean planter. We use a 90 foot self propelled sprayer to apply herbicide, insecticide, and fungicide. These applications are only used when needed with the advice of several agronomists at our disposal.

Fall – Harvest

Harvest

We will typically start harvesting in September. Harvest is a demanding time where we will use seasonal labor to man our trucks and equipment. We usually run one combine, two grain carts, three semis and a tillage tool simultaneously in the fall. Our crops are stored in several locations; we have facilities to dry and store most of our crop on the farm. This allows us to control the quality of the grain and deliver the grain post harvest.

Business plan timeline

Two years of work behind every crop, by rotation.

Equipment

Field and construction equipment

We strive to leave our fields in a better condition than when we first rolled our machines onto the field. To help reach this goal we have invested in dirt working equipment to shape berms, fix drainage pipes and clean up our fence lines.

Field equipment Grain drying set-up Tillage Tractor with blade attachment Excavator Dump truck
Our people

Management group

In addition to the management group, we have one full time farm manager plus four to six seasonal employees.

Contact

Inquiries

Our farm is located in Le Claire, IA. Please send us an e-mail or give us a call to inquire about business opportunities. We want all potential landlords to understand our business inside and out.