Posted on July 21, 2020 at 9:28 AM by Iowa Corn
Summer is flying by! July 1 marked a new fiscal year for the State of Iowa which means new cost share funding is available for conservation practices. The state’s Water Quality Initiative is accepting cost share applications for cover crops, no till, strip till, and nitrification inhibitors. Click here for more information. Other state and federal programs are also available for these and additional conservation practices.
The Conservation Reserve Program may be a good option to retire those difficult wet spots or other less productive areas of the field. Two sign ups are currently open:
Soil Health and Income Protection Program is accepting applications for the prairie pothole region until August 21.
CRP’s continuous sign up program is accepting applications for certain practices such as buffer strips, waterways, and wetlands. Sign up is continuous with no deadlines.
To apply for these programs, call your local soil and water conservation district office to make an appointment. Offices are slowly opening back up to normal business but please call ahead.
Finally, the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy’s annual report was released showing increases in conservation practice adoption resulting in significant reductions in phosphorus loss. However, we still have much work to do on the nitrogen side. Click here for more information.
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July 22 Cover Crop Boot Camp, Webinar
July 23 Cover Crop Mixes, Webinar
July 23 Middle Cedar Watershed Meeting, Cedar Falls
July 24 North Raccoon Watershed Meeting, Storm Lake
July 28 Soil Sessions, Webinar
July 28 Oxbow Restorations, Webinar
July 28-30 Missouri River Meetings, Webinars
July 29 Prairie Strips, Webinar
July 30-31 Soil Health Institute Annual Meeting, Webinar
July 31 Prairie Strips on Rented Ground, Webinar
August 5 Oxbow Wetlands, Webinar
August 6 Agribusiness Summer Workshop, Boone
August 6 Wetland Opportunities, Webinar
August 6-8 National Strip Tillage Conference, Omaha
August 13 4R Stewardship Field Day, Nevada
August 18 Risks to Bees, Webinar
August 20 Soil Health Field Day, Traer
August 20 English River Watershed Meeting, North English
Farmer to Farmer: Let’s Talk About Change
Lance Lillibridge of Benton County talks about making changes to the farm to include conservation practices like strip till to save time, improve the soil, and make his land worth more. “It’s like putting money in the bank.”