Three northern Iowa farmers have formed a non-profit to spread the message that cover crops and buffer strips along waterways are essential to improving Iowa’s water quality. They call themselves “The Lobe Rangers” — that’s L-O-B-E Rangers — because they all farm in the Des Moines Lobe, some of the most fertile farmland in Iowa. Zach Smith, a fifth-generation farmer from Lake Mills, says the voluntary approach to preventing soil and nutrient runoff from farmland — the “Nutrient Reduction Strategy” state officials released in 2013 — isn’t working.
Matt Borman, a fifth-generation farmer from Algona, says the voluntary approach isn’t getting the kind of results that are needed to improve water quality statewide.
The group lauched a series of videos online in March. They plant cover crops that keep soil in place during the winter, with targeted applications of fertilizer during the growing season and all three say they’re getting the same or better yields than before those practices were adopted. James Hepp, a first generation farmer from Rockwell City, says nutrients are placed a narrow band.
Smith, the farmer from Lake Mills, says farmers follow policy and because federal subsidies cover crop insurance, that’s why corn and soybeans are what’s mainly grown on Iowa farms.
The group made their comments on this weekend’s edition of “Iowa Press” on Iowa P-B-S. The three “Lobe Rangers” are scheduled to speak Monday at an event hosted by the Iowa Environmental Council and Des Moines Water Works.
