Secretary Naig to Present the Eickman Family with the Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award

Mar 25, 2026

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig will present the Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award to the Eickman family of Carroll County on Friday, March 27 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Warren Timmerman Shelter House in Manning. The award presentation is part of the statewide recognition of Iowa Agriculture Week, which will be celebrated March 23–30. The award recognizes Iowa farm families who demonstrate exceptional stewardship of the land, responsible livestock care, and leadership in their communities.

“Iowa farmers take great pride in caring for their livestock, protecting our natural resources, and giving back to their communities,” said Secretary Naig. “The Eickman family demonstrates what it means to be good stewards of the land and responsible livestock producers, while also investing their time to support their community, mentor the next generation, and help young people build practical workforce skills. I am pleased to recognize the Eickman family and present them with the Wergin Good Farm Neighbor Award.”

Eickman Family Farms is operated by Glen and Donna Eickman and their sons, Tony and Scott, with Maury Eickman, the family’s patriarch, remaining involved as a landowner. The family also works alongside several part-time employees who assist with the operation. Together they raise corn and soybeans and operate a farrow-to-finish hog operation near Manning. Tony and Scott represent the fourth generation of the family to farm the land. Tony lives on the original acreage and in the same home purchased by the family when their great-grandfather began farming. Sarah Lorenzon, Tony and Scott’s sister, is also part of the extended farm family, and her son Layton helps on the farm.

The Eickman family prioritizes conservation and responsible land stewardship on their farm. They utilize a variety of conservation practices including minimum tillage, filter strips, terraces, cover crops, and a manure management plan that responsibly utilizes livestock manure as fertilizer. The family has been planting cover crops for about eight years.

Their livestock operation also emphasizes strong animal care practices. The farm utilizes a fully automated barn system, and the family maintains detailed health and feed records for their herd. The operation follows Pork Quality Assurance (PQA) and Transport Quality Assurance (TQA) standards. Members of the Eickman family are also active leaders in their community and in agriculture organizations. The family is involved with the Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, and the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

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Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.