(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Agriculture announced last month it would provide farmers and landowners in 22 counties more incentives to plant cover crops and add streamside buffers to improve water quality. Ag Secretary Mike Naig says all the counties are in the Greater Des Moines Watershed and it’s hoped the program will hold soil and nutrients in fields and out of waterways.
“We know we need more cover crops. We need to double cover crop acreage in those 22 counties, and there’s been some counties in that area that have lower rates of adoption. So this is an area that needs some focus, some special attention, if you will, and an enhanced incentive,” Naig says.
The Des Moines Waterworks instituted a ban on lawn watering for a time this spring as it said nitrates in the water were high and the treatment plant couldn’t keep up. The plant serves Des Moines and the surrounding metro areas. Naig says other aspects of the program will be announced in the coming months. “We want to keep working lands working. So, we’re talking about how can we incorporate cattle into the landscape and what does that look like,” he says.
The buffers must be maintained for at least ten years to qualify for the funding. More details about precision nutrient management incentives are expected this fall. Funding comes from the “Farm to Faucet” package signed into law in June. It includes low-interest loans to communities upgrading drinking water and wastewater treatment plants.
Here are the counties involved: Audubon, Boone, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Carroll, Clay, Dallas, Dickinson, Emmet, Greene, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hancock, Humboldt, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Polk, Sac, Webster, Winnebago and Wright.
