Caring for the Land: Neibling Farms

Brett Neibling didn’t take the traditional path to agriculture. 

After graduating from Kansas State University, Brett planned to attend graduate school and become a college professor. But he soon realized grad school wasn’t for him. He worked in Kansas City and St. Joseph and soon realized office life wasn’t for him, either.

“One day I was sitting in my office and it was 100 degrees outside, and I’m wearing a suit and tie and I realized this was not for me,” he said. “I really missed the farm, so I picked up my phone, called my dad and he said, ‘Come out today if you can.’”

Brett has been on the family farm in Highland ever since, working alongside his dad and uncle as the sixth generation to care for his family’s farm and soil. His three young daughters have become the seventh generation to live on the family farm. 

Brett’s appreciation for agriculture and farming is evident in his passion for soil conservation, proper use of agricultural chemical products, sustainability and continual learning. 

Soil conservation is important to the Neiblings and they use several practices to ensure healthy soil for their crops.

“Our farm is 100% no-till. We hardly work the ground,” Brett said. “We want to keep those nutrients in the soil, so we have the best use of them.”

They also use terraces and grass waterways to act as filtration strips and keep topsoil from running off their fields during heavy rains. 

The use of pesticides and herbicides are a hot topic on social media and in the grocery aisles. The decision to apply these chemicals to crops is not one that’s made lightly. Farmers carefully evaluate crop conditions before deciding if a field needs assistance from chemicals.

“Last year was probably the first year in all my years on the farm that we’ve actually had significant problems with pests,” Brett said. “We had a very bad case of Japanese Beetles overtaking the farm.”

When Japanese Beetles infest soybeans, they feed on plant leaves. This inhibits the soybean plant from completing photosynthesis, leading to death of the plant and causing financial distress to farmers. 

“We had to take proper action with the use of pesticides to prevent this from happening.” Brett said. 

Ensuring these products are not overused is also critical to farmers. 

“Proper use is always important, whether using pesticides, chemicals, herbicides ­— whatever you’re talking about,” he said. “Farmers are going to use them the proper way because we want these pesticides and chemicals to be effective; we don’t want to overuse them to where [insects] become resistant.” 

Brett feels that farmers have a responsibility to take care of the land.

“Farmers are stewards of the soil, stewards of the land, we want to take proper care of our farm and our food source,” he said. “I’ve got three little girls and I want to make sure that they’ve got the healthy food that they need.”

People hear the word ‘sustainability’ a lot when it comes to agriculture and farming. Brett has his own definition of the word, which differs from what Google may say. 

“For me personally, sustainability is what farmers need to do to make sure that their farms are operating in the best management practices so that we can continue to operate for the next 50-plus years,” Brett said. “Farmers want to take care of the soil, so it will take care of us. That’s what sustainability means to me.”

New challenges crop up in farming all the time, which is why Brett says farming is an education every day. During challenging times on the farm, his motto is: “You can’t sweat the things you can’t control. You just got to do what you can do.”

Brett wishes non-farmers knew how hard farmers work to produce healthy, plentiful food for the world.

“I also want everyone to know that, even though it seems like we’re from different worlds, we’re just people as well,” he said. “I want to make sure my kids are eating safe food and I’m not going to do anything different for them than anyone else.”