Iowa Soybean Review, Spring 2015

Iowa Soybean Association, 1255 SW Prairie Trail Parkway, Ankeny, Iowa 50023

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID DES MOINES, IA PERMIT NO. 1333

INTERLOCKING CONSERVATION PRACTICES TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY

PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER: Spring 2015

SOYBEANreview

®

IOWA

Iowa Soybean Association

Spring 2015 | Vol. 27, No. 7

14 Ripple Effect The Iowa Nutrient Reduction

18 Landowners Invest in

Strategy is still in its infancy but growing up fast.

Schafbuch consider themselves pioneers when it comes to protecting the environment.

16 Water

Management

Expectations about water quality have changed. So should farm drainage systems.

a Green Return Al and Ruth

26 Putting the Pieces

Together Many of the pieces

look similar in shape and color, but they don’t all fit in the same spot.

About the Cover: ​Just as one piece doesn't create the entire puzzle, one conservation practice won't solve water quality. However, by interlocking a variety of practices, farmers will see improvement in soil health and water quality.

Iowa Soybean Association

EXECUTIVE review Kirk Leeds Chief Executive Officer Iowa Soybean Association kleeds@iasoybeans.com Twitter@kirkleeds

Unnecessary Distraction How we deal with and manage distractions is often the key to success in any organization or with any team. As a former Little League coach I learned early on that success on the field required that I develop strategies and techniques to keep 11 and 12 year old boys and girls focused on the task in front of them. Some of these distractions were on the field, but many came from bleachers on the other side of the fences.

The distractions on the field were the easiest to manage. The ones from the "cheap seats" were usually the hardest. Critical parents, grandparents and other "experts" always seemed to know how to play the game better than the coaches and players on the field.

I thought about these experiences recently as the Des Moines Waterworks board and their new executive decided to attack Iowa agriculture and Iowa's farmers by filing a lawsuit against three rural counties in northwest Iowa. Once again, folks in the cheap seats think they know better than those who are actually on the field and in the game — Iowa's farmers.

All Iowans want and deserve to have clean and safe water, and all Iowans have a role to play to ensure that we do. And to be successful we need to eliminate or at least manage distractions.

Through the recently adopted Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, farmers have embraced this voluntary, but not optional, team approach to improving water quality in Iowa.

Built upon progress over the last couple of decades, Iowa's farmers are adopting practices such as cover crops, buffer strips, reduced tillage, bioreactors and grass waterways at an increasing rate.

But to be effective, others on the team need to do their part and not simply criticize from the cheap seats. Cities need to invest in new infrastructure. The universities need to develop new approaches through science and make recommendations based on data and facts, not emotion. State and local governments need to provide additional resources to support all of these efforts.

What we don't need are lawsuits that distract us from the important work at hand and cause all of us to invest dollars to pay lawyers instead of improving water quality in Iowa. The recent actions of the Des Moines Waterworks are an unfortunate distraction, but Iowa's farmers will get up tomorrow just as they do every day working to leave a lasting legacy of strong soils, clean water and more resilient and productive agriculture.

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President Tom Oswald, Cleghorn | At Large President Elect Wayne Fredericks, Osage | D2 Treasurer Jeff Jorgenson, Sidney | D7 Secretary Rolland Schnell, Newton | D5 Executive Committee Benjamin Schmidt, Iowa City | D6

Directors Brian Kemp, Sibley | D1 Chuck White, Spencer | D1 Dean Coleman, Humboldt | D2 Scott McGregor, Nashua | D3 Dennis Lindsay, Masonville| D3 Sheila Hebenstreit, Jefferson | D4 Randy Souder, Rockwell City | D4 Morey Hill, Madrid | D5 Ed Ulch, Solon | D6 Bill Shipley, Nodaway | D7 Cliff Mulder, Pella | D8 John Heisdorffer, Keota | D9 Mark Jackson, Rose Hill | D9 Lindsay Greiner, Keota | At Large Ron Heck, Perry | At Large Stephanie Essick, Dickens | At Large

American Soybean Association Directors Ray Gaesser, Corning Dennis Bogaards, Pella Wayne Fredericks, Osage John Heisdorffer, Keota Mark Jackson, Rose Hill United Soybean Board Directors Laura Foell, Schaller Delbert Christensen, Audubon Larry Marek, Riverside Tom Oswald, Cleghorn

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Farmers adopt technology

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Staff Credits Editor | Ann Clinton Communications Director | on Aaron APR lightPutze, backgrounds Creative Manager | Ashton Jacobson Photographer | Joe Murphy standard Staff Writer | gradient Carrie Laughlin main red bottom 1815C Wilde PMSWriter 1795C | PMS Staff Matthew Staff Writer | Dorothy Tate Staff Writer | Allison Arp Staff Writer | Michelle Jones white Staff Writer | black Easton Kuboushek no gradients BLACK WHITE Sales Director | David Larson The Iowa Soybean Review is published eight times a year by: C0 M96 Y90 K2

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ISA Policy Director Carol Balvanz invites farmers to join her at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines during the 2015 Legislative session.

A Water-Worthy Investment

By Carol Balvanz, Policy Director

As farmers face the uncertainty of what might happen with the lawsuit filed by the Des Moines Waterworks against three Iowa drainage districts, we know for certain that we’re beginning another growing season that won’t wait for lawyers and motions. For that reason, ISA is moving forward with a bill in the Iowa Legislature to provide farmers some assistance in installing targeted water quality practices that have been proven to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus movement in the landscape.

ISA’s Tax Credit for Water Quality Practices, introduced in the House Ways and Means committee in late April, would offer farmers a state income tax credit of 75 percent of their out of pocket costs (up to a $10,000-per-year limit) for installation of edgeof-field practices such as bioreactors, buffers, grass waterways, shallow drainage, wetlands and drainage water management. These practices usually require land retirement and have one-time installation costs that can be cost prohibitive. But they also have been shown to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loss from 32 to 91 percent when compared to conventional field tile drainage systems. Given the focus of the media on nitrogen in river water, this tax credit has appeal for legislators and farmers.

Only landowners would be eligible for the credit,

which also adds to its appeal since many landlords might oppose land retirement and the installation of a relatively permanent (up to 15 years) practice.

As written in the bill, the credit would also be transferrable to another entity or could be carried forward up to five years if the landowner did not have a state income tax liability in the year of installation.

We’ve asked the legislature for $3 million to fund the tax credit for 2015-16. We studied similar tax credits in Pennsylvania and Virginia (where they were put in place to help remove nutrients from the Chesapeake Bay) and determined that a focused tax credit in Iowa could supplement the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy funding requested by the Iowa Department of Ag and Land Stewardship.

We understand that a significantly larger investment will need to be made to reach the stated goals of the strategy. But assisting farmers in installing long-term practices with proven nutrient reduction capacity should be a good investment for the public through this tax credit.

Please discuss this legislative possibility with your legislators this spring. It’s a piece of the nutrient reduction puzzle that could speed up our success. If you have questions about the bill, please contact me at 515-669-9174.

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ISA SPOTLIGHTS COMMITMENT TO WATER QUALITY WITH THE IOWA CUBS The crack of the bat and the smell of popcorn filled the air April 17 when the Iowa Cubs took the field for their home opener.

Iowa farmers are also starting a new season, taking to the fields this spring to plant soybeans. And as they do, improving soil and water quality will continue to be a top priority.

The Iowa Soybean Association is proud to partner with the Iowa Cubs in spotlighting this commitment to water quality.

The association will again sponsor “Target Fresh Water,” a contest held during the fifth inning of all Iowa Cubs home games. Two lucky contestants will be chosen from the crowd to pitch water balloons through the “Target Fresh Water” rain drop. All participants will receive a prize.

While the Iowa Cubs grounds crew tends to the baseball field, farmers are caring for their fields by planting cover crops and installing conservation methods like grass waterways to protect Iowa’s clean water. They’re also continuing to research how practices proven to improve soil and water quality can be tailored for use on their farms for maximum benefit downstream.

Participants of the “Target Fresh Water” game will win a water bottle and commemorative “Farmers care about water and so do I” T-shirt to remind everyone that clean water is good water.

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Q&A WITH BILL NORTHEY: THE FUTURE OF WATER QUALITY IN IOWA

By Joe Murphy Responses by Bill Northey, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture

Why do you think it is important for farmers across Iowa to not be distracted by the DMWW litigation?

“We’ve always known that this is a long-term issue and it will take long-term solutions. If we wait for the legal arguments to play out, we could lose 10 years while we could be learning and making improvements. Iowa farmers are engaged and want improved water quality. Regardless of Des Moines Water Works actions we need to keep moving forward and building on the real progress we have seen.”

Do you see momentum in implementation of the nutrient reduction strategy?

“Yes, great momentum. Iowa is truly in a leadership position nationally in the progress we have made.We have had tremendous support from the Iowa ag groups and farmers in putting the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy together. Gov. Branstad and the Iowa legislature have stepped up to provide significant funding that has allowed us to really jump-start implementation efforts. As a result, we are seeing exciting results and are in a great place to continue to make improvements.”

You've talked about farmer ingenuity in the past. What technology or environmental activities do you see on the horizon that will help with water quality issues in the state?

“There are a lot of new technologies that have the potential to be a part of the solution, and we need all of them. We need to continue to learn about how we can better use cover crops and better understand their benefits.

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There are tremendous opportunities around UAVs, where farmers can use them to better scout their crops and understand their fertility needs so that we can be even more precise in fertilizer applications. Folks are working on time-released nitrogen, additional remote sensors, even nitrogen-fixing corn. We need to encourage this creativity and innovation. I worry government regulation will stand in the way of that innovation and lock us into current technologies.”

What role is IDALS playing in building partnerships between rural and urban communities to foster changes in nutrient management in regards to Iowa's water?

“The exciting thing is that partnerships between rural areas and urban communities in the state are the norm, not the exception. In Cedar Rapids, Storm Lake, Lake Rathbun, and lots of other places we see rural and urban coming together to address this important issue. We all want clean water and encouraging those partnerships is how we will make the most progress in the timeliest manner.”

What progress would you like to see in the next five years when it comes to water quality in Iowa? Or even 10 years?

“It is an exciting time and we will continue to see a scaling up of the water quality focused efforts. So, we will see a higher level of adoption of practices focused on water quality. But, what I think is more exciting is all that we will learn about protecting water quality and the new technologies that will become available.”

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FARMER LEADERS NAMED

IOWA SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION EXPERIENCE PARTICIPANTS Nine farmers from across Iowa have been named participants in the inaugural Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) Experience.

The leaders — one from each of Iowa’s nine crop reporting districts — will engage in activities and discussions throughout the year that enhance their knowledge and understanding of the structure and activities of the ISA. They’ll also join industry leaders and ISA staff in discussing topics impacting the competitiveness of soybean farmers related to production, demand, public policy and freedom to operate.

ISA EXPERIENCE PARTICIPANTS ARE: • KELLIE BLAIR, Dayton • CHRIS GAESSER, Corning • DARCY MAULSBY, Yetter • CHAD PONTIER, Osceola • BRENT RENNER, Klemme • SUZANNE SHIRBROUN, Farmersburg • PAT SWANSON, Ottumwa • MARK VOSIKA, Pocahontas • DAVE WALTON, Wilton

“The program is an ideal way for participants to understand the mission, goal, programs and influence of the association and its structure and governance,” says ISA producer services director Heather Lilienthal.

“We anticipate that participants will come away from the experience seeking new ways to serve the soybean industry including long-term involvement in the ISA.” The pilot program kicked off recently in Ames in conjunction with ISA’s annual Research Conference.

Discussions appropriately focused on supply production and research. Ed Anderson, ISA senior director of supply and production systems, explained how ISA’s analytics, Environmental Programs and Services and On-Farm Network® teams coordinate their work to the benefit of farmers. He also provided an update on the association’s research partnerships including the Iowa Soybean Research Center at Iowa State University.

Joe Merschman, president and CEO of Merschman Seeds, also participated in the inaugural meeting and offered unique insight into opportunities and

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challenges impacting farmers and seed and trait providers.

Merschman Seeds was established in 1954 by Bill and Bernice Merschman on the farm of Bill’s grandfather near West Point. What began as 20 acres of certified seed oats now encompasses growing, conditioning and distributing soybeans, corn, wheat, alfalfa and forage seeds.

“We’re proud to take part in an activity that’s furthering the leadership skills of farmers and positioning them to have a positive impact on the industry for generations to come,” Merschman says.

The next leg of the ISA Experience will take place this spring. It will focus on policy issues and include a visit to the Iowa State Capitol.

ISA Experience sponsors are Bunge, Merschman Seeds and REG.

“

The program is an ideal way for participants to understand the mission, goal, programs and influence of the association and its structure and governance.

”

— HEATHER LILIENTHAL, ISA producer services director

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SOY TALK Strong soybean yields begin with seed selection A successful soybean harvest is the reward for making good decisions amid many conditions to produce ideal results. Growers make some of those choices, such as treatment approach for weeds or insects, during the season. Other decisions, such as seed selection, need to be made months before the crop goes into the ground.

With so many seed options available to farmers, making the smart choice requires doing some homework. Justin Dillon, Mycogen Seeds agronomist, says many considerations for soybean seed “Look at the products choice revolve around how well out there and review seed varieties perform in local literature to see conditions.

which varieties have

“A lot depends on agronomic better ratings” characteristics available based on local disease pressures and their adaptability to the soils,” Dillon says. “I encourage farmers to look at the products out there and review literature to see which varieties have better ratings for their particular pressures to address their problems head on.”

He encourages farmers to consider local data to determine which varieties have performed well in the area.

“It’s about picking out a soybean variety that’s a good match, including considering local plot information and local success stories within a given geography,” Dillon adds.

He advises farmers to make their seed selection decisions early to be sure their preferred varieties are in adequate supply.

Seed delivery is changing, too, Dillon says. More growers are ordering super boxes, which are hard-sided containers holding 50 units of seed, offering increased convenience, safety and efficiency. Many seed tenders, Dillon says, are designed to work with the larger bulk containers.

“As growers plant more acres, they’ve found that bulk seed is often a better option,” he says. “Equipment is getting larger. Some planters can hold 250 to 300 units of seed, so bulk handling is becoming a necessity.”

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IOWA SOYBEAN ASSOCIATION AWARDS $15,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) has awarded $15,000 in scholarships to recognize nine outstanding high school seniors who will pursue agriculture degrees at Iowa universities.

“It’s encouraging to see so many excellent students preparing to positively impact farming,” says Tom Oswald, ISA president and farmer from Cleghorn. “We’re pleased to provide assistance to this group of future leaders as they continue their education to the benefit of Iowa and the world.”

Individual scholarships of $1,500 were awarded to one student in each of Iowa’s nine crop reporting districts.

THIS YEAR’S RECIPIENTS INCLUDE: DISTRICT 1: OLIVA ALBRIGHT, Milford DISTRICT 2: AMANDA ANDERSON, Algona DISTRICT 3: ALANA PLATTE, Fairbank DISTRICT 4: NICOLE HUSER, Sac City DISTRICT 5: REBECCA RAE WIARDA, Ackley DISTRICT 6: AUSTIN NEIGHBOR, Center Point DISTRICT 7: JOESPH BLAKE, Shenandoah DISTRICT 8: JOSIE BURGETT, Pleasantville DISTRICT 9: MACY MAREK, Washington

An additional $1,500 overall state scholarship is presented annually to one of the nine scholarship winners. This year’s recipient is Marek.

To be considered for the scholarships students, had to be high school seniors with plans to pursue a secondary education in an agriculture related area of study at an Iowa college. They also submitted an application that included a 650-word essay on the impact they intend to make on the agriculture industry.

For more information, visit www.iasoybeans.com.

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R IPPL E EF F ECT MOMENTUM BUILDING TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY IN THE HEARTLAND.

By Matthew Wilde

T

he Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy is still in its infancy, but the initiative is growing up fast.

The strategy — a science-based effort to reduce nitrate and phosphorous loads in Iowa waterways by 45 percent from point and nonpoint sources — will turn 2 in May. Even though some critics say it’s doomed to fail because it mostly relies on voluntary efforts of farmers and landowners to adopt conservation practices to reduce nutrient runoff and soil erosion, supporters contend there’s plenty of evidence that momentum is building.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey is like a proud papa when he talks about his maturing “baby.”

“I’m very optimistic the goal will be achieved,” he says. “Over the last year farmers have engaged to a greater degree.”

Iowa’s ag leader says grain and livestock production and exports are no longer the dominant topics when he speaks to agribusiness and farm groups.

Instead, producers and input suppliers want to learn more about improving water quality and soil health and how they can get involved.

Attendance at meetings to learn about conservation practices and associated government programs has dramatically increased, farm leaders and conservationists say. Standing room-only events are the norm.

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For the most part, Northey says soybean and corn growers believe agronomic and environmental performance are no longer mutually exclusive.

Here’s proof. For the second year in a row, the Black Hawk County Corn and Soybean Association invited the county’s Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to be part of its annual meeting and awards banquet.

Instead of a keynote speaker to provide information to help producers increase yields and hopefully profits, Sean McMahon, executive director of the new Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance (IAWA), talked about water quality efforts.

“That shows me engagement

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continues to ramp up,” Northey says.

“People are asking questions at the end of meetings. We have more folks talking and wanting to share their experiences.

“It’s a ripple effect,” he continues.

“Farmers are learning from each other and the more they get involved trying cover crops, nutrient management and other practices, the more others will get involved.”

The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), Iowa Corn Growers Association and Iowa Pork Producers Association created the IAWA to increase farmer awareness of the strategy and the adoption of science-based practices proven to have environmental benefits and meet the strategy’s goal. Cover crops, grass waterways, bioreactors, nitrification inhibitors, conservation tillage, wetland restoration and saturated buffers are just a few of the dozens to choose from.

A recent ISA soybean checkofffunded survey shows awareness of the strategy is on the rise and farmers are implementing conservation practices.

Sixty-nine percent of the 353 farmers surveyed said they were familiar with the strategy, up sharply from just 39 percent in 2013. When asked what environmental practices they use, 89 percent of respondents said grassed waterways followed by conservation tillage (69 percent), no-till (61 percent) and terraces (57 percent).

Buffer strips were used by 53 percent of respondents, while 21 percent said they’ve planted cover crops.

Like Northey, McMahon is traveling the state talking about the strategy, stressing farmer and landowner engagement and the importance of water quality. He says the joint meeting in Black Hawk County is an excellent model of collaboration between farmers and conservationists.

“By working together they can fulfil mutual interests,” McMahon says.

“There’s a lot of great momentum as of late, especially with the three new state WQI (Water Quality Initiative) projects.”

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced in March the Elk Run Watershed Water Quality Initiative Project (Sac, Carroll and Calhoun counties), Headwaters North Raccoon River (Buena Vista

and Pocahontas counties) and Leading a New Collaborative Approach to Improving Water Quality in the Squaw Creek (Story, Boone and Hamilton counties) will receive $1.4 million in the next three years. Project partners like ISA, IAWA and Agriculture’s Clean Water Alliance will fork over matching funds and in-kind support.

The new demonstration projects cover nearly 275,000 acres. The goal is to implement and demonstrate the effectiveness of practices outlined in the strategy.

“It’s important to increase awareness, which is already occurring,” McMahon says. “Once farmers see a benefit by documenting economic and environmental benefits, it will really help scale up adoption.”

The new projects join 13 other targeted WQI demonstration projects throughout Iowa. The state has provided $6 million in funding that’s been leveraged with an additional $10.3 million from partners and landowners.

McMahon says it will take time, possibly decades, to achieve the strategy’s goal. But he’s confident it will happen because of collaboration in Black Hawk County and other parts of the state.

According to Dunkerton farmer Jim Fettkether, it’s good business to keep up on the latest agronomic and environmental practices. Focusing on water quality and mingling with SWCD officials just made sense.

“We’re just not here to grow corn and soybeans, we have the long-term viability of the land and water in mind,” says Fettkether, president of the Black Hawk County Corn and Soybean Association.

Shane Wulf, Black Hawk County SWCD watershed coordinator, updated farmers about cost-share opportunities available and the Miller Creek WQI project south of Waterloo.

He’s noticed more interest in water quality projects, especially from large operators, a key to success. Two bioreactors and a saturated buffer are scheduled to be installed in the area this year.

“I think when that happens, neighbors will see and that will really get the ball rolling,” Wulf says.

“

We’re just not here to grow corn and soybeans, we have the longterm viability of the land and water in mind.

”

— JIM FETTKETHER, Dunkerton

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WATER MANAGEMENT IOWANS USING NEW DRAINAGE TECHNIQUES, TECHNOLOGY AND EQUIPMENT TO IMPROVE WATER QUALITY.

By Matthew Wilde

E

xpectations about water quality have changed. So should farm drainage systems.

More than a century ago, Iowans used shovels, steam power and clay tile to drain millions of acres. Making swampy, mosquito-infested yet organically-rich land tillable, productive and inhabitable was their only concern.

The original installers of drainage infrastructure didn’t have the technology and knowledge about hydrology and nutrient processes available today.

“They didn’t know they would be creating the ideal nutrient loss mechanism,” says Chris Jones, Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) environmental scientist. “We created a system tailor made to transport nitrates.”

Today, the state’s 3,000 drainage districts consisting of 9 million acres — a little less than one-third of Iowa’s

farmland — are under a microscope.

The Des Moines Water Works in March sued boards of supervisors in Sac, Calhoun and Buena Vista counties for allegedly allowing nitrates coming from 10 drainage districts they control to pollute the Raccoon River, a primary source water for 500,000 customers.

The utility wants to recoup costs for removing nitrates and a judgement requiring the districts to cease all discharges of nitrates not authorized by a federal pollutant discharge permit.

Additional regulation on agriculture is also an intended consequence of the suit, according to water works officials.

The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy was implemented nearly two years ago to reduce nitrate and phosphorous loads entering Iowa’s waterways from point (mostly factories and wastewater plants) and nonpoint

(mostly farmland) sources by 45 percent. Farmers are learning about and implementing conservation practices to help meet that goal.

Drainage tile enhances crop productivity and profit potential so farmers aren’t going to quit tiling or rip it out. But existing systems can be modified and new ones designed with drainage water management in mind to curb nutrient runoff.

Installing drainage control structures and edge-of-field practices like saturated buffers and bioreactors in concert with drainage systems can mitigate nutrient loss.

Jones says the public wants farmers to deal with the negative consequences of today’s production systems, and ISA member Nick Meier of LaPorte City is doing just that.

Meier is installing a saturated

Nick Meier of LaPorte City stands in a grass buffer strip that will be turned into a saturated buffer this spring.

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buffer and a bioreactor on his land this spring. Both filter nitrates from water flowing out of tile lines before it enters a waterway using either a grass buffer or underground bed of woodchips.

“I’m trying to avoid future regulation.

I’m doing this so we can learn and not go that route,” Meier says. Iowa State University (ISU) researchers will monitor the effectiveness of the saturated buffer.

According to the strategy, a bioreactor and saturated buffer reduces nitrate loads, on average, by 43 percent and 50 percent, respectively.

Proactive solutions

The ISA Environmental Programs and Services (EPS) team is devoted to helping members and all farmers improve environmental performance and productivity in a sustainable way.

EPS operates a certified water testing lab run by Jones and develops tools, programs and services for conserving and protecting natural resources.

Theo Gunther, EPS resource management specialist, says it’s well documented that optimizing corn and soybean production presents risk of nutrient loss.

“With that knowledge, we should be looking to put infrastructure in place,” Gunther says. “If we’re going to address the losses, it needs to be considered at the time the work is being done.”

That’s what Nathan Utt, an agriculture engineer with Ecosystems Services Exchange (ESE) in Adair, specializes in. He designs managed drainage and subsurface irrigation systems.

Utt says mechanization and technology — GPS, topographical mapping, laser levels and computers, to name a few — changed the way drainage systems are designed and installed for the better. A few laterals running up the slope with long, straight main lines at the bottom and direct outlets to the creek have given way to contoured and pattern tiling with structures and practices to hold back water and filter it.

“Systems are more finely tuned to match the goals of the producer,” Utt says.

Farmers can install controlled drainage structures, Utt adds. Agri Drain of Adair, an ESE sister company, is a popular manufacturer.

Though an added expense — structures range from a few hundred

dollars to more than a thousand — compared to conventional drainage, farmers can control how much water leaves the field.

“From a water quality perspective, holding water back that won’t damage the crop keeps nitrates and nutrients in the field,” Utt says. “You’re slowing down the process enough so Mother Nature can take care of the nitrate. Plus, there’s the potential for yield increases because more water will be available to plants when they need it.”

Jones says there’s evidence controlled drainage and installing tile lines shallower than normal will reduce nitrate loss because there’s less distance for water to percolate through the soil profile and dissolve nitrogen.

Proven potential

A study on modified drainage management systems was conducted at the ISU Southeast Research Farm near Crawfordsville from 2007-14. Results show controlled drainage and shallow drainage reduced annual nitrate losses, on average, by 49 percent and 42 percent, respectively, when compared to the conventional drainage.

“Moving forward there is a need for implementation of a broad range of practices to reach the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy goals, says Matt Helmers, ISU agricultural engineer and drainage expert.

“Drainage water management through controlled drainage and shallow drainage has been shown to reduce nitrate-nitrogen export,” he continues.

“There is growing interest in these practices across the Corn Belt and in the future there may also be greater interest in capturing the water from the drainage system for potential supplemental irrigation use.”

Jones says farmers need to ACT (avoid, control and trap). Sometimes efficient nutrient management and controlling nutrient movement using cover crops, controlled drainage and extended rotations isn’t enough.

Trapping nutrients before they reach streams by using wetlands, bioreactors and saturated buffers is the third line of defense.

“Every farm will need all three,” Jones says. “It makes the most sense to incorporate systems that meet our water quality objectives while optimizing crop production.”

“

I believe that Iowa farmers are doing a better job of conserving and improving our natural resources every year. They know that their healthy soils and clean abundant water are essential to their success.

They realize that sustainability is not good enough so the farmers I know are striving for continuous improvement in every aspect of their operation.

With advancements in agricultural equipment, information capture and analysis, coupled with integrated management tools, producers are taking the guesswork out of farming. It’s much more science than art today.

”

­­ CHARLIE SCHAFER, President, — Agri Drain Corporation, Adair, Iowa 17

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Landowners INVEST IN A GREEN RETURN

By Matthew Wilde and Joe Murphy

A

l and Ruth Schafbuch consider themselves pioneers when it comes to protecting the environment.

The Dysart couple, sick of soil erosion, expense and time associated with conventional tillage, abandoned the plow decades ago in favor of a “new concept” called no-till and striptill. It worked.

Wasted hours and money spent cleaning out waterways and making multiple tillage passes were put to better use building a sustainable, successful farming operation. Now mostly retired, the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) members are again at the forefront of an effort to improve Iowa’s water quality and soil health.

A growing number of landowners who don’t farm are getting more involved in conservation and some, like the Schafbuchs, are providing financial incentives to tenants to implement proven practices like cover crops. While that may reduce income

initially, the couple says it will pay off in the long run.

“We need to work together to protect our water and save the soil,” Ruth Schafbuch says. “It’s a small price to pay for the long term protection and viability of our land and to help the environment.”

Success of the nearly two-year-old Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy — a science and technology-based initiative to reduce nitrogen and phosphorous loads entering Iowa’s waters and the Gulf of Mexico by 45 percent — depends on landowner participation, according to Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey. Especially those that don’t farm, he says.

The 2012 Iowa Farmland Ownership Survey shows 55 percent, or more than 17 million acres, of Iowa farmland is leased. Only 37 percent or nearly 11.3 million acres are owner-operated.

Northey says progress is being made.

“Some landowners are already starting to put some (environmental)

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provisions or incentives in rental contracts,” he says.

The Schafbuchs slowly started to retire 10 years go. Today, they cash rent 500 acres to a neighboring family and hire another 300 acres to be custom farmed.

Even though Al no longer plants the crop and Ruth isn’t driving the combine, the couple is more active than ever preserving and improving their land. They routinely attend conservation-related meetings and recently started to plant cover crops on their land to trap nutrients, prevent erosion and build organic matter.

Conservation tillage, grass waterways and buffer strips have been a big part of the operation for decades.

To ensure conservation practices continue and remain intact, the Schafbuchs don’t charge rent on waterways and buffer strips, which discourages narrowing, and they give their tenants a discount on rent to help pay for cover crop seed and

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“

I consider myself somewhat of an early innovator.

— AL SCHAFBUCH, farmer from Dysart That’s why I do this.

”

application. Some day that might change to paying for application or seed.

"I consider myself somewhat of an early innovator. That’s why I do this,” Al says. He noted he wouldn’t rent to anyone who didn’t believe in conservation tillage.

Communication is the key

Sean McMahon, executive director of the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance, says the proactive approach taken by the Schafbuchs and other landowners gives him confidence the strategy’s goal will be met.

Offering environmental performance incentives to tenants will accelerate the pace and scale of quantifiable water quality improvement practices outlined in the strategy, McMahon contends.

These include bioreactors, cover crops, nitrification inhibitors, conservation tillage and wetland restoration, just to name a few.

If an economic incentive isn’t in the cards, he suggests landowners let tenants know conservation needs to be a priority to keep them happy.

“I think landowners should start the conversations this year about conservation practices that we know are scientifically demonstrated to improve soil health and water quality,

McMahon says. “Things like cover crops, no-till and strip-till … practices that can improve productivity, profitability and environmental performance.

"I foresee a time in the near future where we have a widely accepted soil health metric that will make it easier to have those conversations because a landowner can talk to an operator about getting the soil health metric increased," he adds.

Farm managers are an important part of the environmental equation since many serve as the proxy for absentee landowners, McMahon says.

Two-way communication is critical between out-of-state owners and farm managers, Northey stresses. Landowners need to express how much they value the quality of the land and environment and managers need to relay how land utilization affects the environment, current issues and how conservation could help property values.

“I have more clients discussing it,” says John Yeomans, a farm manager based in Iowa City with Farmers National Company. “They own a farm because they like it.

Most are wondering how they can improve the farm, build organic matter and improve yields.”

[Continued on page 20.]

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“

Cedar Rapids has

the opportunity and responsibility to lead by example when it comes to conservation efforts on our farm ground.

”

— RON CORBETT, Cedar Rapids Mayor

But most clients, he says, still want the highest rent possible to supplement their income. None have indicated a willingness to give a discount to cash rent tenants to implement a certain conservation practice yet. However, Yeomans says if cash rents decline due to lower commodity prices, landlords may require tenants take steps to improve land values and environmental performance in exchange for less rent.

Lead by example

One of Yeomans’ clients, the city of Cedar Rapids, stepped up in a big way to help the environment.

Iowa’s second largest city is one of the largest farmland owners in Linn County totaling about 2,000 acres, which it mostly cash rents to five local farmers. The land surrounds the cityowned Eastern Iowa Airport, and was purchased to ensure there was adequate room for expansion.

The Airport Commission, with the city council’s blessing, tasked Yeomans with finding ways to reduce runoff from the property located in the Cedar River and Iowa River watersheds and

maintain income. Mayor Ron Corbett says if the city wants farmers upstream to implement more conservation practices to curb nitrate pollution and for flood control as outlined in the Middle Cedar Partnership Project — a cooperative effort between Cedar Rapids, ISA and 14 other government, business and agriculture entities — then the city needs to take steps to do that as well on its own farmland.

“Cedar Rapids has the opportunity and responsibility to lead by example when it comes to conservation efforts on our farm ground,” Corbett says.

Even though the airport relies on rent — currently $380 per acre, or $750,000 — from the land for operating expenses, the mayor says taking a small portion out of production to help the environment is worth it.

The airport announced in February it enrolled in Iowa State University’s STRIPS —Science-based Trials of Row crops Integrated with Prairie Strips — program. A 100-acre section of land will be divided into a test field to study runoff reduction. Previous trials found that a 10 percent conversion to

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prairie reduced sediment by 95 percent, phosphorous runoff by 90 percent and nitrogen runoff by nearly 85 percent.

A second project partners with the University of Iowa. About 64 acres of marginal ground will be used to grow miscanthus grass instead of soybeans and corn. It will be burned as biofuel and creates a permanent cover. The airport will receive $250 per acre for rent instead of the going rate for this project.

If the multi-year projects show significant reductions in nutrient runoff, Yeomans says it’s likely the practices will be implemented on more acres.

“As we continue to learn more about conservation and work with others, I assume we’ll continue to stay on the path to do more in the future,” Corbett says.

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C OV E R I N G T H E S O L U T I O N

By Allison Arp

Complex issues often have more than one solution, and with an issue as complicated as water quality, a combination of solutions. One part of that combination may be cover crops.

Cover crops as a conservation practice is growing in popularity with Iowa farmers. Even with their increased familiarity, there is still a lot of confusion about when and what to plant. In order for the practice to be most effective, it’s critical to understand what benefits cover crops provide.

There are many varieties of cover crops, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. The deciding factor in what to plant should be what the farmer would like the cover crops to achieve. There are an assortment of goals associated with cover crops and each goal could mean a different plant. Some cover crop intentions and the associated options are listed below.

Reduce wind and water erosion of soil — Cereal rye,

winter annuals Cereal rye typically over winters and has early and quick growth in spring when soil is often most susceptible to erosion and nitrate leaching.

Increase soil organic matter — All Cover crops, when used consistently over time, will increase organic matter levels in the soil. Crops with extensive root systems, such as rye, will have the biggest impact.

Increase nutrient cycling/ decrease leaching — Cereal rye, winter wheat, triticale Crops like cereal rye, winter wheat and triticale, with a deep root system, can reach down and pull up nutrients from lower parts of soil and potentially minimize nutrient leaching.

Weed suppression — Cereal

rye, winter wheat, triticale The best options for weed suppression are over-wintering cover crops that will provide enough growth in the spring to shade out the seed and prevent germination of weeds. In Iowa that will be cereal rye, winter wheat or triticale. While this is a documented benefit of cover crops in the southern U.S. there are mixed results about whether cover crops in Iowa actually impact weed growth.

Providing livestock forage — Turnips, radishes, annual grasses While turnips and radishes are the most common for grazing, any cover that can be planted to maximize fall growth works well.

Many of these goals can be directly or indirectly related to improving water quality. Reducing wind and water erosion, increasing nutrient cycling and decreased

leaching mean less nutrients are leaving the farm and going downstream. Increasing organic matter and weed suppression means farmers could reduce inputs throughout the year.

The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) research programs, the OnFarm Network® and Environmental Programs and Services (EPS), have been working with farmers to do replicated strip trials. This gives farmers firsthand experience testing different cover crops or different seeding options.

"More and more Iowa farmers are interested in cover crops and how they can improve both soil health and water quality,” said Nathan Paul, ISA On-Farm Network operations manager of cropping systems. “With replicated strip trials, we are able to research cover crop benefits in their current practices and analyze the data yearover-year.”

Paul went on to say that the On-Farm Network looks forward to providing similar opportunities to farmers this coming fall.

Along with the conservation benefits, farmers are also able to test if cover crops give them an increase in yield. While the yield results are split, there is no denying the benefits to soil and water.

Even though water quality is influenced by many factors, cover crops may be part of the solution.

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TALE OF MULTIPLE CITIES A

By Easton Kuboushek

Charles Dickens’ famous tale depicting the dilemmas, drama and social parallels of pre-French Revolution France and England may bring back less-than fond memories of high school literature courses and seem far from holding any modern context.

But recent water quality conversations have placed Iowans in a similar tale of multiple cities. Across the state, various plots are unfolding with vastly different approaches to improve the quality of Iowa’s water — some with the belief in collaboration, others in litigation.

On March 10, Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) trustees voted unanimously to file a lawsuit against three northwest Iowa counties for high nitrate levels in the Raccoon River, a primary source water for about 500,000 customers. The DMWW lawsuit is one city’s attempt to improve the quality of Iowa water.

On the other hand, many cities are collaborating to form innovative partnerships with rural neighbors and public and private entities. These partnerships seek to fund and implement practices to improve water quality around our state through a collaborative, bootson-the-ground approach.

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CEDAR RAPIDS Project: Middle Cedar Partnership Project (MCPP) Watershed : Targeted areas of the Middle Cedar Watershed Size: 135,000 acres Iowa counties: Benton, Tama and Black Hawk

The Middle Cedar Partnership Project (MCPP) is a cooperative effort with the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) and 14 other government, business and agriculture entities.

The goal is to improve water quality, soil health and mitigate flooding in the Cedar River Watershed.

Cedar Rapids is the lead partner. Mayor Ron Corbett said the best way to reduce nitrates and phosphorous loads in the Cedar is to work with counties to the north.

“There are many people in this state who often talk about an urban and rural divide. This projects shows that urban and rural communities can work together for a common goal,” Corbett says. “We all have a stake in seeing this succeed.”

Approximately $4.3 million in funds will be used for conservation planning, assessment, education, water monitoring and to provide cost-share assistance to landowners and farmers to install best management practices such as cover crops, bioreactors and saturated buffers, among others.

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CHARLES CITY Project: Water Quality Trading Watershed : Upper Cedar Watershed Size: 1,078,400 acres Iowa counties: Floyd, Chickasaw, Bremer, Black Hawk,

Butler, Worth and Mitchell Officials in Charles City are exploring a unique approach to improving water quality in the Upper Cedar Watershed — water quality trading. This innovative approach would allow smaller Iowa cities to quantify the value of conservation practices upstream to offset costs required to update water treatment plants.

Since 1996, Mayor Jim Erb has been at the forefront of water quality initiatives in Charles City.

“Cities like Charles City have waste water treatment plants that are going to have to spend an extraordinary amount of money to obtain some fairly minimal results,” Erb says. “Water quality trading would allow us to use that money as sort of a trading chip to implement more sustainable projects upstream with our agriculture and economic development partners."

Currently, water quality trading is being promoted within the Iowa legislature by the Iowa League of Cities.

In addition to water quality trading, Charles City has also partnered with The Nature Conservancy, ISA and a number of vested parties to develop a plan that optimizes the benefits of implementing various kinds of conservation initiatives. The goal is to improve water quality, flood mitigation, soil health, economic and recreational development through collaboration of city, economic, residential and ag communities.

“We need to figure out how to get rural and urban united,” Erb says. “It’s going to take a partnership to get this all under control.”

DUBUQUE Project: State Revolving Fund (SRF) Watershed: Catfish Creek Watershed Area: 36,480 acres Iowa county: Dubuque

Dubuque has taken an all-encompassing approach to improving water quality in the Catfish Creek Watershed — starting with the soil. The goal is to reconnect natural flood plains and restore stream banks to improve water quality and flood control, utilizing the State Revolving Fund (SRF).

City officials recognize soil health and water quality are tightly linked and improvements to soil health must be part of the solution. Eric Schmechel, watershed coordinator, City of Dubuque, plays a major role in the soil improvement initiatives.

“Soil health is the start of water quality problems and must be a part of the solution,” Schmechel says.

The SRF Sponsored Project program provides a loan to cities making major water treatment upgrades, then distributes the interest to fund conservation initiatives to improve water quality. Through SRF sponsorship, Dubuque established an ag and urban cost share program to positively impact soil health, stream banks and wetland restoration.

The city created the Soil Quality Restoration (SQR) program to improve residential and economic soil health.

The program utilizes city food waste to create compost and return organic matter to the soil. An increase in organic matter content increases nutrients, water retention and reduces fertilizer input.

STORM LAKE Project: Storm Lake Restoration Project Watershed: Storm Lake Area: 17,835 acres Iowa county: Buena Vista

The Storm Lake community has had a long history of collaboration between community leaders, residents, agriculture producers and businesses when it comes to improving water quality.

“Clean water in Iowa is going to take an effort from both the agricultural and urban centers to work together in partnership," says Jim Patrick, city manager, Storm Lake. “It's not going to happen overnight and it's going to require that partnership.” Patrick has over 22 years of experience in city management.

Iowa’s fourth-largest natural lake and its contributing watershed has experienced challenges due to high phosphorous and suspended solids, primarily caused by wind stirring up sediment and top soil entering the lake from the watershed. The Storm Lake Restoration Project was established in 2000 through efforts by Iowa Department of Natural Resources, City of Storm Lake, Buena Vista County, City of Lakeside and the Lake Improvement Commission.

“The community is really geared on protecting the environment, protecting the lake and looking at water as a resource and not a nuisance,” says Mayor Jon Kruse.

“That’s our passion.”

In addition to clearing up the lake, the City of Storm Lake is responsible for two drainage districts to the north and east. City officials worked with the ag community and Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to install bioretention basins, biowales, and bioreactors to further improvements in the lake water.

Storm Lake is also a pilot community for nutrient trading, a program similar to that in Dubuque that focuses on installing conservation practices upstream in addition to making costly upgrades to water treatment facilities.

“We could reduce nutrients out of the plant to the regulated levels but it makes more sense to go after the low hanging fruit that will make a long term impact,” Kruse says.

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DES MOINES WATER EXPLAINED

By Chris Jones

U

nless you just awoke from a long sleep, you know the Des Moines Water Works (DMWW) has been in the news. A lot. Some basic facts of the DMWW operation are very beneficial in trying to understand the issues at hand. Having worked there for eight years and here at ISA for the last four, my perspective might be helpful to some.

Source Water

DMWW is somewhat unique because it has several diverse sources of water. The most important is the Infiltration Gallery. The gallery is nothing more than a giant concrete tile line that runs for three miles parallel to the Raccoon River through Water Works Park on the southwest side of Des Moines. The park was created to protect the gallery. Gaps were left between concrete sections to allow water from the Raccoon to seep through the sands and gravels of the valley into the gallery, where the water travels by gravity to the Fleur Plant.

Construction on the gallery began in 1884 following a design created

by Chicago engineers, and continued episodically through the 1930s as

population and water demand grew.

Initial plans had the gallery extending as far as Valley Junction (now West Des Moines), but that area was quickly populated, preventing further expansion.

The gallery provided all the water for the city until 1947. No water treatment other than chlorination was used.

By 1947, water demand had grown to a point where the gallery could not provide enough to meet the city’s needs.

An intake structure was constructed on the Raccoon River near Fleur Drive, along with the main body of the present-day treatment works—settling, softening, and filtration. River water was mixed with gallery water to meet peak demand. Addition of fluoride began in the 1950s.

The 1977 drought left the Raccoon River dry. To meet the city’s water needs, the Des Moines River was dammed at Scott Street to back water up into the Raccoon. Once it got near the Fleur Plant, water was pumped above the low-head dam on the Raccoon using diesel pumps and fire hoses so it would run into the intake structure.

Shortly after, DMWW constructed an intake facility on the Des Moines

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River on the north side of the city.

DMWW began using Des Moines River water in 1980.

Following the 1993 flood which inundated the Fleur plant and caused the city to lose its entire supply, plans began on a second treatment plant near Maffitt Reservoir, south of West Des Moines. This plant began producing water in 2000. The water source there is shallow wells under the influence of the Raccoon River, a similar but smaller-scale design of the Fleur infiltration gallery. The reservoir provides low-nitrate dilution water when the wells contain nitrate above the drinking water standard.

Growth in northern Polk County created need for more capacity there.

DMWW began pumping water from a new treatment facility just downstream from Saylorville Dam in 2011. The water source here is again shallow wells, these under the influence of the Des Moines River.

Many people ask why DMWW does not drill deep wells instead of using river water. The deep aquifer in Polk County is the Jordan aquifer. Unlike northeast Iowa, its water quality in this

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part of the state is poor and hard to treat—salty with natural but potentially harmful levels of radium. The water contains a lot of sulfate, which is a natural laxative. It is also 2000 feet below the earth’s surface, creating a large energy cost associated with pumping lots of water for a big city.

Nitrate

The Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 set the Nitrate limit for treated water at 10 ppm. By 1979, nitrate levels in the Raccoon River were approaching 20 ppm at times. The utility violated the standard several times in the 1980s, which resulted in the construction of nitrate removal capability in 1991.

Because DMWW has many sources of water, a convergence of several circumstances must happen before nitrate removal is necessary. The gallery almost always has lower nitrate levels than the Raccoon, and it can provide all the needs of the Fleur plant during some times of the year. Thus the river can have very high nitrate, but if the gallery nitrate is lower and yield of water from it is sufficient, no nitrate removal is necessary.

Because of Saylorville Reservoir, high nitrate levels on the Des Moines River usually begin 2-4 weeks later than the Raccoon. So if river water is needed and Raccoon nitrate is high, the Des Moines River may be tapped, instead of using nitrate removal. The catch here is the Des Moines River intake is some miles away, and extra pumping and treatment costs associated with this water make this choice not as easy as it might appear.

So the necessity of nitrate removal basically comes down to an algebra equation—can enough low nitrate water from the gallery dilute the required volumes of river water to stay below the drinking water standard.

High water use in early summer increases the likelihood that nitrate removal will be necessary.

Brine Waste

Nitrate removal at Fleur is an ion exchange process. It is what it sounds like—nitrate ions are “exchanged” for harmless chloride ions. The process

creates a brine waste containing the removed nitrate that is discharged back to the Raccoon River. The ecological consequences of the returned nitrate are nil. The nitrate would have been in the river anyway and thus removal in the plant changes the amounts in the downstream river not at all. The nitrate merely takes a detour from the river, through the plant, and back to the river.

The brine (sodium chloride and sodium sulfate salts), however, can have consequences for aquatic life if flow of the river is low. For that reason the discharge is governed by an NPDES permit, and it is monitored regularly for salts and pH. Although theoretically possible, treating the brine to remove or recover the nitrate is not a practical matter in any sense of the word. At peak removal capacity, perhaps 1500 pounds of nitrate-nitrogen is returned to the river per day, quite small compared to the million pounds that can be transported by the river in a day when nitrate is high.

The Future

Many rural Iowans have left the countryside and small towns for Des Moines and other Iowa cities over the past 40 years. DMWW serves far more people, and a much larger geographical area, than just a few decades ago. This affects water treatment requirements nearly as much as water quality. There can be no doubt this trend will continue.

In this age of electronic communication, sometimes we forget how to communicate the old fashioned way. The current water quality issues and controversies illustrate just how really interconnected we still are. City residents need jobs and money— manufacturing, science, sales, food processing—that are tremendously dependent upon agriculture and rural Iowa. Farmers want the opportunity to make money from their capital investments. They both want clean water. Our objectives are not so different.

Can we all have our cake and eat it too?

Maybe. The sooner we acknowledge our environmental problems, the sooner we will realize they are a reflection of us all, and the sooner we can go about getting them conquered.

“

The sooner we acknowledge our environmental problems, the sooner we will realize they are a reflection of us all

”

— CHRIS JONES, ISA

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PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER

By Michelle Jones

I

mproving water quality is much like putting together a difficult jigsaw puzzle. Many of the pieces look similar in shape and color, but they don’t all fit in the same spot.

However, with a little strategy the puzzle comes together piece by piece until the picture is complete.

Interlocking practices

Just as one piece doesn’t create the entire puzzle, one practice won’t solve water quality. The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy set a goal for agriculture to reduce nitrogen loss by 41 percent and phosphorus loads by 29 percent. For the most part, the nitrogen practices outlined in the strategy have very little impact on phosphorus and vice versa — meaning a combination of practices will be needed.

“One practice can’t do it all,” Steve

McGrew who farms with his brothers and nephew in Emerson says. “In the Nutrient Reduction Strategy cover crops might be the largest [in-field nitrogen reduction practice], but that may be about 30 percent. We need to get up to the 41 percent and it takes more than one practice.”

Just as most begin puzzles by putting the edge pieces together, for many farmers, the first piece to improving water quality is erosion control.

McGrew as well as David Ausberger of Jefferson, Chris Gaesser of Corning and Todd Nielsen of Woolstock began their conservation efforts by transitioning from conventional tillage to no-till.

Since then, these producers have worked with the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) Environmental Programs and Services and have

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adopted a variety of conservation practices on their operations including cover crops, riparian buffers, nutrient management, bioreactors and wetlands.

In 1981, Ausberger’s father began with no-till to reduce blowing soil and dirty snowbanks in the ditches as well as improve water condition. Building on his dad’s commitment, Ausberger added cover crops to the operation about six years ago.

“I believe the microbial, bacteria and fungi action below the soil is enhanced by doing things like no-till and cover crops,” Ausberger says. “It’s part of a system that takes several years to really get up and running, but once it does I have comparable yields to my neighbors who do tillage. Plus, I have a fraction of the erosion and I keep my nutrients where my crop can use them.”

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Similarly, Nielsen says no-till and cover crops go hand in hand, because the cover crops utilize nitrogen during the winter, plus both help keep the soil in position and add more material to break down, which leads to more organic matter.

McGrew, who is 100 percent no-till and utilizes cover crops, also applies nutrient management practices to reduce nitrogen loss. He follows the 4R principle of applying nitrogen at the right time, right rate, right form and right place. He starts with the Iowa State University Corn Nitrogen Rate Calculator to determine the appropriate rate of nitrogen to apply to corn.

Matching the pieces

By interlocking a variety of practices, producers not only see improvements in erosion control and soil health but also across their operation.

“One practice helps, but you’re going to see more benefits and cover your bases if you do a little bit of everything,” Gaesser says.

“Not every practice helps everything conservation wise. It’s about adding layers of protection because there’s really no silver bullet as far as conservation goes.”

On Gaesser’s farm, beyond improvements in soil structure from no-till and cover crops, they’ve seen more stable yields, better weed control and more resiliency to extreme weather events. He says there are a lot of long-term benefits that you may not see right away.

By adding conservation practices, Ausberger, McGrew and Nielsen say one of the biggest benefits and surprises they’ve encountered is saving time and money.

“From where I started and where I am now, conservation farming has really helped me from a business sense,” Ausberger says.

“I don’t spend a lot of time, a lot of fuel and a lot of labor tilling the soil. My banker sees that and is impressed with the returns I get from conservation farming.”

Picture taking form

While conservation practices provide many benefits on the farm, they also are connected to positive impacts on water quality.

According to the Nutrient Reduction Strategy list of practices, no-till can reduce phosphorus loads up to 90 percent when compared to chisel plowing. Cover crops are unique because they can reduce both nitrogen and phosphorus loss by 31 percent and 29 percent respectively.

Additionally, nitrogen reductions from nutrient management practices — proper rate, timing, placement and source — range from 4 to 10 percent.

“We can have an impact on water quality, so it’s important to do these things not only for ourselves, but for everyone else as well,” Gaesser says.

Ausberger, Gaesser, McGrew and Nielsen encourage producers to adopt conservation practices. They recommend farmers start small, visit with neighbors who have used these practices and utilize available resources through ISA, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and Iowa State Extension.

“We are stewards of the land,” Ausberger says. “Our name is on the bank loan, but we’re really renting from future generations. I hope my grandkids can say grandpa was good for his time, but we are doing so much better now.”

“

We can have an impact on water quality, so it’s important to do these things not only for ourselves, but for everyone else as well.

”

— CHRIS GAESSER, Corning

27

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