More Iowa counties aim to replicate the 50-fold increase in Polk County saturated buffers and bioreactors to improve water quality. By Kurt Lawton Remove the burdens for farm landowners to install voluntary water quality projects, and they sign up quickly. In fact, word-of-mouth project success has almost created a waiting list as 2023 project signups[…]
Farmers have until Friday, March 11, 2022 to enroll for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for 2022 under the General CRP signup. Grassland CRP signup runs from April 4 to May 13. Enrolling land in CRP is one way farmers and landowners can contribute to improving water quality. The amount of nitrogen and phosphorus leaving[…]
Farmers who plant cover crops can get a $5 per acre savings on their crop insurance premiums for the second year in a row as part of the Pandemic Cover Crop Program. Farmers must report their cover crop acreage by March 15, 2022 to get payments. The USDA Pandemic Cover Crop Program was created in 2021 to make sure farmers could[…]
Central Iowa field day revealed owner-tenant partnership success on nitrate reduction, cover crops and prairie strips benefits, and drone seeding. By Kurt Lawton Lee Tesdell isn’t shy about his passion for conservation innovation as the sustainability caretaker and non-farming landowner of Tesdell Century Farm near Slater, Iowa. Attendees at one of his dozen or[…]
By Kurt Lawton The goal is to connect Iowa farmers and service providers to boost cover crop success while improving soil health and water quality. Neighbors helping neighbors succeed with cover crops is the motto driving Stanley, Iowa, farmer Dan Bahe as he built Bahe Cover Crops into a local side business. “Once we learned[…]
By Kurt Lawton PFI seeks more farmers to receive $10 to $40 per acre incentive to plant cover crops through one of eight programs across eight states. Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) offers a variety of private cover crop cost share programs that are still available if you sign up soon! Farmers can receive from[…]
By Kurt Lawton Taking a more holistic view of farming — from the health of microbes in the soil to the health of crop profits — has farmers paying attention to a young soil health consultant in eastern Iowa. Mitchell Hora’s data-driven approach to soil biology, combined with his passion for on-farm research and education[…]
Article and photos by Kurt Lawton In the rolling hills of east-central Iowa in Cedar County, family farmers Ken Fawcett and his nephew Kent Stuart have long used conservation practices that keep the soil at home and healthy. However, it was their desire to improve water quality that led them to the recent installation of a[…]
Water quality is an important issue in Iowa. At the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance (IAWA), our goal is to increase farmer-led conservation efforts. Together with landowners, partner organizations, and the private sector, we are doing just that. Learn more about five water quality initiatives that are playing a major role in improved water quality across[…]
By: Sarah Feehan, IAWA Communications Intern The workplace of the North Raccoon watershed implementation coordinator, Lee Gravel, is designed to accommodate ergonomics for computer work. As a result, Gravel’s standing desk occupies much of his actual “desk” area and handwriting letters can prove difficult. With his ballpoint pen in hand, Gravel leaves his normal work[…]