OMAHA (DTN) -- Tributes, along with messages of shock and dismay, poured in Saturday as Iowans, farmers and conservation advocates from around the country heard about Ray Gaesser's death after an accident on his southwest Iowa farm.

Gaesser spent nearly five decades building an Iowa farm while becoming a national agricultural leader known for conservation, renewable energy and a willingness to tackle difficult issues with a pragmatic, always positive message that farmers accomplish more by working together.

A corn and soybean farmer near Corning, Iowa, Gaesser was former president of the American Soybean Association and a leader in several other groups such as Solutions from the Land and the North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance. He died on Saturday following an accident on his farm involving a grain leg. Gaesser would have turned 74 on Sept. 14.

Gaesser's family posted on his Facebook page, "I needed to let all friends know that Ray was hurt in a farm accident this morning and has passed away."

For Ernie Shea, the news meant losing a close friend and someone he had worked alongside for more than two decades on agricultural, conservation and sustainability issues. Shea, president of Solutions from the Land, said his work with Gaesser dated back at least to the early years of the 25x'25 renewable-energy initiative and possibly earlier, when Gaesser was rising through the ranks of the American Soybean Association.

"It's just hard to believe that he's gone," Shea said on Saturday.

Through those years, Shea said, Gaesser's approach rarely changed. He listened to people, looked for practical solutions and tried to find common ground.

"No matter how bad it was, he always saw the silver lining, and so pragmatic," Shea said.

Shea especially remembered a line Gaesser frequently used: "'When we work together, we all benefit.'"

"It's so true, and it'll stick with me forever because that was his message," Shea said.

Iowa leaders also posted their condolences and tributes to Gaesser on social media.

"Shocked and heartbroken by the loss of my friend Ray Gaesser," said Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig. "A proud farmer, tireless advocate, respected leader and champion for sustainability."

Neil Hamilton, a retired professor at Drake Law School, grew up not far from Gaesser's farm and posted on Facebook that Gaesser and his wife, Elaine, helped Hamilton's parents and farmed their land, eventually selling the ground to Gaesser.

"Iowa has lost one of its finest farmers -- no truer lover of the land and all it provides. A wonderful family has lost the man they love and all of us who knew Ray and respected his commitment to agriculture have lost a valued friend. ... We knew there was no one who would care for it more or steward it better," Hamilton wrote.

BUILDING AN IOWA FARM

Gaesser was born Sept. 14, 1952, and raised on a small farm in southern Indiana, where he learned to care for livestock and crops and maintain farm equipment. He essentially took over managing the operation at age 15 when his father died.

He married his wife, Elaine, in 1977 and began Gaesser Farms at Corning that same year. Starting with a few hundred acres, the family eventually expanded the operation to roughly 6,000 acres of owned, rented and custom-farmed ground.

Conservation became a defining part of the operation. Gaesser Farms went 100% no-till in 1991 and began planting cover crops in 2010 while continuing to test new technology and conservation practices.

As DTN reported in 2022, Gaesser and his son, Chris, started harvesting part of their cereal rye cover crops in 2022 to sell to an Iowa distillery to make whiskey and bourbon.

Throughout his career, Gaesser's involvement in agriculture extended well beyond his own farm to advocate for production agriculture not just in Iowa, but globally.

He rose through the Iowa Soybean Association and American Soybean Association, serving as ASA president throughout 2014. He also held leadership positions with the Iowa Soybean Promotion Board, Iowa Economic Development Agriculture Advisory Board, North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance and International Soybean Growers Alliance.

Gaesser also served on USDA's Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee and traveled on soybean trade and education missions around the world aimed at expanding international relationships and markets for U.S. agriculture.

With Shea and a handful of others, Gaesser also would attend annual United Nations climate meetings to talk about the importance of agriculture and food as part of the agenda to adapt to climate challenges and extreme weather.

"He was an icon," Shea said. "There aren't many like that who cared so much about everybody else and about the future of agriculture. It was like his needs were secondary to everything else in his life."

A PRAGMATIC VOICE

Gaesser's willingness to work across differences increasingly became part of his agricultural leadership as well.

Shea pointed to climate change as an example of Gaesser's willingness to enter a politically charged debate while resisting the political labels surrounding it.

"He had courage beyond what I see in most people, and climate change is a good example," Shea said. "He wasn't afraid to talk about it, and he wanted to keep the politics out of it. He wanted to talk about how do we deal with reality."

Gaesser's focus, Shea said, was what farmers could practically do about changing conditions.

"He was not a denier, and he wasn't an alarmist either. He was a pragmatist," Shea said. "So how are we going to adjust? How are we going to adapt?"

That same approach showed up in Gaesser's views about carbon markets. While supporting agriculture's potential role in addressing climate issues, Gaesser questioned whether emerging carbon programs adequately rewarded farmers who had already spent years improving soil health and sequestering carbon.

"The whole system isn't right for agriculture and needs to be revamped," Gaesser said in an earlier interview with DTN. "The carbon credits are set up more for the companies than the farmers."

Gaesser argued that carbon markets would need to evolve if they were going to work for agriculture.

"There's going to have to be a more equitable way to measure what you are doing," he said.

Gaesser recently brought that perspective to a broader audience through a documentary, "The(Conserv)atives," released earlier this year, examining conservatives and climate change. Gaesser was the agricultural voice among several people profiled in the film. Gaesser co-wrote an op-ed earlier this year in the Des Moines Register with the leader of the Evangelical Environmental Network about how faith helps them focus on climate solutions.

"Out in the fields of southwest Iowa, farming is a 'pertineer' business. We live and die by tight margins and the shifting extremes of the weather. We can't afford to play semantic games about climate when drought and floods are testing our livelihoods. Instead, we adapt, guided by that same scriptural teaching to steward the land," Gaesser and the Rev. Jessica Moerman wrote.

The documentary premiered at an environmental film festival in Washington, D.C., in March. Gaesser traveled to screenings where the film was followed by discussions with audiences. Shea said Gaesser had recently returned from the Telluride Film Festival and was planning another screening in Des Moines this fall.

Gaesser didn't push his views on others, Shea added. Instead, he asked people to consider problems and think about ways to solve them.

"That's what Ray was -- a connector and a problem solver," Shea said.

ALWAYS LOOKING AT A SILVER LINING

Gaesser's optimism was tested this summer.

A major storm struck Gaesser Farms in June, causing extensive damage. A grain bin was destroyed, windows in the house were blown out and debris was scattered across fields. Gaesser posted photos on Facebook of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds coming to his farm to survey the damage.

Then, just recently, hail struck the farm. Shea recalled talking with Gaesser about the latest setback. Shea was struck by Gaesser's response after enduring one damaging storm only to be hit again.

"Every time I was with him in a difficult moment, he was the quiet voice of calm and reason," Shea said.

Before retiring, Elaine served as Gaesser Farms' accountant and was also president of Iowa Women in Agriculture. Their son, Chris, became the farm's agronomist, while daughter, Jennifer, became a vocal music teacher at Atlantic High School.

Ray and Elaine were also active members of St. Patrick Catholic Church.

DTN will provide an update with services and memorials.

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

Follow him on social platform X @ChrisClaytonDTN

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