06/01/2026
Join us at the Lied Irwin Public Library as we welcome farmer and author Ron Rosmann! He will be talking about his work in sustainable and organic farming, and will give us a "blueprint" for sustainable farming in our own area.
About the Book:
Part historical memoir and part "blueprint" for sustainable farming and the future of agricultural communities, this works follows the life of a born and raised farmer, and the changes to his trade witnessed over a lifetime.
A Practical Farmer's Journey revolves around three promises. The first was fulfilled for many immigrants who came and settled in western Iowa, allowing them to purchase land, start farms, and build new lives and communities. The second promise, however, was broken during Ron L. Rosmann's fifty-year farming career, when the corporatization and industrialization of agriculture led to farm consolidation, monocropping and vertical integration, ecological destruction, and the steady decline of rural communities. The third promise focuses on restoring what was broken, detailing how agricultural communities can adopt thoughtful and sustainable farming practices. Through the narrative of the farmer and author, using these promises as its framework, this book explores how to combat climate change in agriculture and create healthier farms and food systems, aiming to restore the unfulfilled potential of rural America.
About the Author:
Ron and Maria Rosmann, along with two of their sons, David and Daniel and families, own and operate Rosmann Family Farms near Harlan in western Iowa. Their third son, Mark, works for the Foreign Agricultural Service of USDA as a Foreign Service officer in Bogota, Colombia. Ron is now semi-retired. He and Maria turned over the farming business to their sons David and Daniel in 2025. Ron started farming in 1973 upon graduation from Iowa State University with a B.S. degree in Biology. He stopped the use of pesticides in 1983 on their farm. They have been certified organic since 1994.
They now have a 700-acre diversified organic crop and livestock farm raising over 15 crops annually. Some of these crops include corn, soy, oats, wheat, barley, hybrid rye, field peas, popcorn, hay, pasture, and numerous cover crops They have a cow-calf operation, a farrow to finish hog operation and egg layer operation. Maria has a store on the farm named “Farm Sweet Farm” which began in 2012. Daniel and his wife, Ellen, own and operate a local foods restaurant in Harlan that is called “Milk and Honey”.
Ron helped to start the “Practical Farmers of Iowa” (PFI) in 1986 and was the second board president. This organization now numbers over 10,000 members. The organization is dedicated to doing on-farm research trials to both improve individual profitability and environmental sustainability but also to share with other farmers and their rural communities. The goal is to create viable farms and vibrant rural communities. He and his two sons have completed over 50 randomized and replicated on-farm research trials with PFI and Iowa State University. He was on the board of the Organic Farming Research Foundation in Santa Cruz, California from 1998-2004, serving as board president for three years. He was on the board of National Catholic Rural Life in Saint Paul, Minnesota from 2012-2018. He has been very active over the years in his local parish of St. Boniface, Westphalia, Iowa.
