Ben Covington, chief test engineer for the Digital Ag Innovation Lab, is the recipient of the staff 2025 Service and Dedication Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University. Covington is at the forefront of technological research and has unique insights and understanding of modern agricultural equipment and technology. He is dedicated to finding successful solutions for all parties engaged with research and field testing and is motivated to teach others about agriculture and precision ag technology.
The Digital Ag Team is a group of faculty and staff comprised of engineers and research scientists that focus on developing technology solutions for advanced agricultural equipment. Most of this development work is industry funded and done in direct collaboration with the industry partners. The team specializes in developing control and automation systems for agricultural equipment. A key part of this process requires actual on-machine development, integration and testing. Most often this development and data collection needs to be done during actual production operations such as tillage, planting, spraying and harvesting.
Covington’s primary role on the Digital Ag Team is to coordinate field testing operations across all research and development programs. Digital Ag partners with the ISU Research Farms and the Committee for Agricultural Development to access land and fields to conduct equipment testing and development while productively farming the fields for them. He is the key person coordinating and strengthening these partnerships. He is focused on making sure the research can be conducted in a way that meets the needs of the various projects while also being a benefit to the research farms.
For example, last fall was the first time that the new Iowa State University Kent Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex was able to accept grain. Covington worked closely with the Feed Mill staff to coordinate grain deliveries from his research harvest operation to the Feed Mill. He also worked with them to coordinate harvesting and delivering specific moisture contents of corn that were needed to conduct grain dryer tests.
In addition to his responsibilities through the Digital Ag Innovation Lab, Covington is dedicated to the success of Iowa State and the college and freely gives his time, advice and support within the research farm environment, in the classroom and through extension. He has formed partnerships with the animal science department and their research farm staff, and worked with the Ag 450 student farm each year to help teach students about precision agriculture data and how to use that to make management decisions. Covington is a co-creator of Planter University within extension, a program that provides hands-on insights about planter technology to growers from across Iowa and surrounding states. He has helped author and produce many articles and videos that cover a wide range of agricultural equipment and precision ag topics.
“Fundamentally, Ben believes that we all win bigger by winning together,” stated a colleague. “He brings this attitude to work every day and to every interaction he has on behalf of the college. Whether that interaction is with an undergraduate student in the classroom, a graduate student working on a research project, a colleague within the CALS farm system, or a farmer he is engaging with at an extension meeting. Ben approaches every one of those engagements the same way, with a smile and an offer to help.”