Heavy rains can put Iowa’s water quality challenges under a microscope. When water starts moving across farm fields, erosion and nutrient loss can become much easier to see. But those same conditions can also highlight the progress being made on farms where conservation practices are already in place.
There is still work to do on water quality across Iowa, but that does not mean the work already being done should be overlooked. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says the state’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy includes several science-based practices designed to keep soil and nutrients on the farm and out of Iowa waterways.
Cover crops can hold nutrients through the winter before making them available for the following crop. Naig says the benefits can also go beyond nutrient retention, particularly when Iowa experiences periods of heavy rainfall.
Those improvements can include better water infiltration and healthier soils, along with benefits involving compaction and weed control. Cover crops can also provide another feed source for livestock producers.
Heavy rainfall can give farmers an opportunity to see how water is moving across their fields, where soil may be vulnerable and where additional conservation practices could make a difference.
Buffers provide another option, particularly along waterways where keeping soil on the farm also means keeping it out of nearby streams.
In other cases, conservation may mean taking another look at how some of the most sensitive acres on a farm are being used. Naig says Iowa’s Working Lands Conservation program provides an opportunity to convert some highly erodible row crop acres into pasture while keeping that ground in agricultural production.
The Working Lands Conservation program is currently available in 28 Iowa counties, and Naig says he plans to ask lawmakers to allow another expansion next year.
Periods of heavy rain can make Iowa’s remaining water quality challenges much more visible, and there is still work ahead. But those same conditions can also demonstrate the value of conservation work farmers have already completed.
Whether through cover crops, buffers, or finding a better use for sensitive acres, those practices can help protect Iowa’s water while providing benefits back to the farm. Continuing to expand that work is important, but so is recognizing the progress farmers have already made.
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