HELPING PEOPLE HELP THE LAND

Farming is not a straight forward profession. The day-to-day chores ensure some level of monotony, and farmers might have some idea how their crops will turn out come harvest, but it is truly a job full of unpredictable factors. Challenges are plentiful, and sooner or later they might have to turn to someone else for help.

Which may explain why the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) lives by a straight forward motto: Helping people help the land.

When NRCS sees a problem, they work with landowners to fix it. Help can be as simple as providing general advice or as complex as working with NRCS’s engineering staff to survey a site and then design a structure that can fix the problem. Financial programs can also be utilized when appropriate.

In Jasper County, NRCS shares office space with representatives from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) and the local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). So if there is a program or service that is a better fit to a specific farmer’s needs, they’re close by to respond.

Aaron Sande, a district conservationist for NRCS, said in addition to finding solutions to soil erosion — which is the main issue his department encounters on a regular basis — the agency also works with farmers on improving water quality and increasing wildlife habitat through conservation efforts.

Financial assistance toward land conservation projects is another service NRCS can provide farmers. Some programs provide funding for total acres.

Other farmers have issues that go beyond a dollar-amount-per-acre solution. For instance, Sande said if a farmer has a horrible gully cutting through their field, then NRCS may work with that individual to reshape the eroded area, make a smooth grass waterway, seed it down and install some sort of structure.

“So (in that example) when it exits the field it’s not then becoming a problem for the neighbor. We offer cost share for those, but generally they’re about 50 percent of the cost — so we pay half, they pay half,” Sande said. “Some of them pay a little bit more, but at least they’re generally that 50 percent margin.”

Jasper County SWCD and NRCS have similar environmental goals. NRCS works alongside the district by administering some of their programs, and Sande attends every meeting and works as a point man with the district to spread awareness of their programs and increase participation in programs.

Working with Iowa farmers, Sande said, is important in conserving natural habitat and wildlife. Farmers need quality top soil for quality crops. By implementing conservation efforts to preserve their land, they can effectively reduce the negative impacts on the environment.

“Extensive cultivation and rain events and wind events — that top soil just keeps on shrinking,” Sande said. “We need to do our best to hold on to what we have so that 100 years down the road we can still keep growing crops … Some areas of the Middle East were incredibly fertile. Now, they’re dominated by desert.”

Stripping land of its nutrients proved devastating to that region’s fertility. Iowa certainly does not want to move in that direction.

More than three-quarters of the state was once covered in prairie. Nowadays, nearly all of the natural prairie has disappeared due to developments and agriculture. As a result, a lot of the natural wildlife habitat is no longer here. Sande said conservation efforts from farmers actually help bring that back.

Pheasants have made a historic return in the state in recent years. Concerted efforts from all sorts of groups have made that possible.

Of course, conserving wildlife is not the only thing NRCS wants to help farmers with. Improving water quality is another goal the agency works toward regularly. While many people get their drinking water from underground wells, some get their water from rivers and watersheds.

High levels of nitrate in rivers pose a big challenge and make the water unsafe to drink, and it can also be harmful to the environment.

Which is why farmer’s voluntary conservation efforts are crucial. Sande said it comes down to reducing soil erosion, improving water quality and enhancing wildlife habitat. A lot of what the local SWCD does is holding outreach events and increasing participation from farmers.

“We do that through field days, workshops, educational days — stuff like that,” Sande said, noting a field day in August 2024 alone discussed the benefits of no-till farming and planting cover crops, and better ways to get more consistent and positive results from cover crops. About 25 producers attended the field day.

SWCD also had an individual share how they apply cover crops using drones. The district is all about educating farmers and producers, and, in turn, changing their thought processes. Sande said it is not easy for farmers to make these changes overnight. It takes time to yield the desired results.

Farmers know this all too well.

“A lot of times we might just plant that little seed in their head, and maybe a couple of years later they come back and it’s maybe grown a little bit,” Sande said. “Then maybe they’ll try something on a few acres and see how that does. Then maybe they expand it to a whole field.”