APRIL 2018 STEWARDSHIP ADVOCATE UPDATE

MONTHLY UPDATE FROM BEN GLEASON, IOWA CORN SUSTAINABLE PROGRAMS MANAGER

Spring is finally here, although a month later than we would have liked! Farmers are finally getting busy with long-anticipated fieldwork.

While the weather was less than ideal for much of April, Congress managed to get some work done. The House Agriculture Committee passed its version of the farm bill. While this is an important first step, it’s uncertain if there are enough votes in the full House of Representatives for passage. The nutrition title (food assistance), which makes up 80 percent of the bill, is a major area of disagreement. 

For the conservation title of the farm bill, a few changes were made. The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) will expand its national acreage cap from 24 million acres to 29 million acres. To pay for the increase in acres, rental rates would be reduced to 80 percent of county averages and reenrollments after contracts expire would see lower rental rates.

Additionally, the House ag committee proposed merging the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) into the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Click here for more information.

Environmental awareness
The arrival of spring also brings environmental awareness holidays. Last week was Earth Week (I’m not sure when Earth Day became a week). Soil and Water Conservation Week runs from April 29 to May 6 and Source Water Protection Week begins May 6. Iowa Corn is a member of the Iowa Source Water Agricultural Collaborative, which provides support to small communities working with farmers and landowners to protect their community drinking water wells from nitrates. Click here for more information about source water protection.

Testing for nitrates
Iowa Corn has provided nitrate test kits to more than 800 farmers and landowners in the past couple of years. To receive a kit, contact me, Ben Gleason, at Iowa Corn at 515-225-9242 or click here to send me an email. Get a group together for a meeting or let us know about an existing event and we can talk about the kits with you. For more information about the kits, click here.

FARMER TO FARMER:

IMPROVING THE SOIL

Iowa farmers Wes Zylstra and Phil Pitzenberger, along with Soil Health Partnership Field Manager Elyssa McFarland, discuss improving the soil through reduced tillage practices.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• APRIL 26: FORESTRY FIELD DAY, VOLGA

• MAY 8: UPPER WAPSI WATERSHED MEETING, INDEPENDENCE

• MAY 10: SCOUTING WORKSHOP, BOONE

• MAY 16: SOIL MANAGEMENT AND LAND VALUATION CONFERENCE, AMES

• MAY 17: ENGLISH RIVER WATERSHED MEETING, NORTH ENGLISH

• MAY 22: BEE CONSERVATION, WEBINAR

• MAY 31: GRAZING WORKSHOP, CHARITON

• JUNE 7: UPPER IOWA WATERSHED MEETING, DECORAH

• JUNE 8: OTTER CREEK TOUR, WEST UNION

• JUNE 11-12: 4R SUMMIT, DES MOINES

• JUNE 13: NUTRIENT WORKSHOP, IOWA FALLS

• JUNE 20: NISHNABOTNA WATERSHED MEETING, OAKLAND

• JUNE 22: NORTH RACCOON WATERSHED MEETING, LAKE CITY

• JUNE 27: BOONE RIVER WATERSHED FIELD DAY, WEBSTER CITY

LATEST INFORMATION:

• NAIG REMINDS FARMERS, APIARISTS TO UPDATE INFORMATION ON IOWA SENSITIVE CROP DIRECTORY

• CORN ASSOCIATIONS COLLABORATING ON WATER QUALITY EFFORTS

• CARROT VS. STICK:  HOW SHOULD MINNESOTA GET TO CLEANER WATER?

• TROUT THRIVE AGAIN IN TWO NORTHEAST IOWA STREAMS THANKS TO IMPROVEMENTS 

• GLYPHOSATE UNDER EPA REGISTRATION REVIEW

• HOW ENHANCED-EFFICIENCY NITROGEN FERTILIZER CAN WORK FOR YOU

• TIPS FOR REAPING THE BENEFITS OF NO-TILL

• FEELING ANTSY ABOUT FIELDWORK? STAY OFF WET FIELDS

• SATURATED BUFFERS REDUCE NUTRIENT LOADING

• TYSON FOODS SETS TWO MILLION ACRE LAND STEWARDSHIP TARGET

• SOIL HEALTH PARTNERSHIP DATA PROGRAM BEGINS TO SHOW RESULTS