Decorah's Nimrod family is the winner of a Practical Farmers of Iowa award

Dale and Sunny Nimrod

Decorah residents Dale and Sunny Nimrod, along with Faith Sherman and Vance Nimrod, are the 2015 winners of the Practical Farmers Farmland Owner Award.

They received the award for selling their farmland to a local farm family at a below-market-value price.

The Farmland Owner Award is given to non-operator landlords who use their land to advance stewardship and help get the next generation started on the land. With this award, Practical Farmers is calling attention to the huge role non-operator farmland owners are playing in the future success of sustainable agriculture.

31 percent of U.S. agricultural land is owned by non-operator landlords.  At the same time, there has been a surge in those wanting to farm.  Practical Farmers has 1,600 of these beginning farmers in its network alone.

The Nimrods' sale price and terms were generous and based on the production value, rather than market rate for the land.

"We were no different from many aging landowners facing this very common situation: We aspired to find a nice, young family who would appreciate the land, the community and the church, and would invest themselves in caring for all three," Dale says. "But far too often I have seen owners who fervently hope for such an outcome put their place up for auction with little more than their fingers crossed regarding their community."

New Hampton farmers Tom and Irene Frantzen, who are members of the Practical Farmers Farm Transfer Committee, will present the award to the Nimrod Family at the Practical Farmers of Iowa annual conference on January 22nd in Ames.