ISA Helps With Conservation Best Practices Manual
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onservation Learning Group (CLG), a think tank based at Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and dedicated to addressing conservation and environmental challenges, has published the “Whole Farm Conservation Best Practices Manual” to aid farmers in selecting conservation measures appropriate for their farms. The manual was developed in cooperation with the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance and Practical Farmers of Iowa, and with the support and input from multiple local, state and federal organizations. Designed primarily for farmers just starting out through three years of adopting conservation practices, the manual provides a broad range of information that could be beneficial to any producer. The manual is available for free download or in hard copy from the ISU Extension Store. “With all the different options for conservation practices, it can be challenging for farmers and their advisers to know where to start in selecting practices that will best fit their operations,” says Chris Hay, PhD, senior manager of production systems innovation with the ISA Research Center For Farming Innovation. “This manual assembles considerations for
the most commonly used practices into a series of easy-to-use visual decision aids to help in selecting practices they can use on their farm.” Covering in-field topics, including tillage management, cover crops and diverse rotations, and edge-of-field practices, such as wetlands, bioreactors, saturated buffers, controlled drainage and prairie strips, the manual provides detailed information regarding implementation and expected outcomes. In addition, it includes comprehensive graphical decision tools to aid farmers in determining the best approaches for each area on their farm. The manual was developed based on numerous meetings and working groups among stakeholders, researchers, agency representatives and communications specialists, who worked together to provide a comprehensive resource for farmers. The content was also presented to farmers at multiple events, prior to public release, to gather feedback on usability and the graphical decision tools included.
“This manual will be an excellent tool for our conservation planners to utilize as they work with farmers to adopt these management practices,” says Kevin Kuhn, resource conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service. “It’s our hope with this advice that they will be successful early in the adoption of these practices both agronomically and from a conservation standpoint.” CLG will continue to evaluate responses to the manual and update it with emerging information and data from research projects. This manual is a joint publication of Iowa State University and USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, supported by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under number 6000004181.
To learn more about Conservation Learning Group visit www. ConservationLearningGroup.org.
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