Iowa’s Conservation Farmer of the Year, Chad Ide (fourth from the left), a Union County Farm Bureau member from Shannon City, received the keys to his John Deere 6E Series utility tractor September 10 at the Conservation Districts of Iowa annual meeting in Des Moines. Chad and his family gets free use of the tractor for up to 12 months or 200 hours for his strong belief in going the extra mile to care for soil and water. Learn more about his conservation work in this story. Chad was nominated by the Union County Farm Bureau and the Union County Soil & Water Conservation District. The soil conservation award has been sponsored by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship since 1952.  The tractor prize is sponsored statewide annually by Van Wall Equipment of Perry and John Deere. Drew Thompson, Farm Solutions Specialist and Customer Account Manager of AgriVision of Creston – his local dealer - hands the keys to Chad. Also pictured (from left) is Chad’s parents, Diane and Monty; Chad’s wife Francine; and Mark See, Corporate Equipment Manager, Van Wall Group. Photo by Rick Robinson.