Aug 31, 2021 to Sep 02, 2021
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and several public and private conservation partners recently announced a new water quality blitz project. The project will add 40 saturated buffers and 11 bioreactors to farm fields in Polk and Dallas counties, Iowa, to protect water quality and support recreational opportunities in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers. The first phase of the project should be completed by mid-2022.
Public-private partnerships are an important component to many conservation projects across the state, but this one is unique because of the number of federal, state, county and local governments collaborating. The groups are using a streamlined approach to work with landowners and contractors to get a large number of edge-of-field practices on the ground faster than using the traditional approach. Instead of working on one site at a time, the Polk County Board of Supervisors has hired one contractor to build dozens of bioreactors and
Central Iowa Blitz Project Will Add 51 Water Quality Practices within Des Moines and Raccoon River Watersheds
Public and private partners announce new conservation project during today’s Clean Water in Iowa Starts Here tour stop
DES MOINES, Iowa (April 28, 2021) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and several public and private conservation partners announced a new water quality blitz project today. The project will add 40 saturated buffers and 11 bioreactors to farm fields in Polk and Dallas Counties to protect water quality and support recreational opportunities in the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers. The first phase of the project should be complete by mid-2022.
Jason Johnson
HELP IS AVAILABLE: NRCS provided more than $8 million to Iowa farmers in 2020 for conservation practices on grazing lands, like this brush management project in Warren County helping improve pasture conditions so livestock can easily access better forage quantity and quality. NRCS obligates nearly $60 million to Iowa farmers in conservation assistance.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service contracted with Iowa farmers and landowners to treat natural resources on more than 316,000 acres, obligating $59.8 million in financial assistance during fiscal year 2020 that ended Sept. 30.
NRCS also wrote 12,624 conservation plans that cover 889,071 acres during FY 2020. The conservation plans will help Iowa farmers reduce soil erosion, improve soil health and water quality, increase wildlife habitat, and treat other environmental issues.