For Immediate Release: Thursday, July 5, 2018
Farmers who have identified conservation
needs following recent flooding should contact local Soil and Water
Conservation District office
DES MOINES – Following the recent storms and flooding, Iowa Secretary
of Agriculture Mike Naig highlighted the $7.8 million that is available through
the state conservation cost share program to help farmers and landowners
install conservation practices. Farmers can contact their local Soil and Water
Conservation District (SWCD) offices to apply for assistance of up to 50
percent of the cost of the project.
“The frequent, heavy rainfall we have been seeing can
help identify areas where additional soil conservation practices are needed. We
encourage farmers or landowners to contact their local Soil and Water
Conservation District office for more information about cost share assistance
that is available,” Naig said. “Now is an ideal time for famers to plan ahead
so they are ready to move ahead with construction of the practices as soon as
the crops are out of the field this fall.”
The Iowa conservation cost share program has been in
place for more than 40 years and is a partnership between the state and local
landowners, with both parties cover the cost of a building or installing a
conservation practice.
Conservation practices eligible for assistance through
this program include terraces, waterways, ponds, buffers, cover crops, and
several other conservation practices.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
also has funds available for practices targeted towards improving water
quality. Practices eligible for this funding are cover crops, no-till or strip
till, or using a nitrification inhibitor when applying fertilizer.
“There are funds available and we encourage farmers to
contact their local Soil and Water Conservation District to learn more about
the programs and to sign up to participate. These funds are a great investment
by the state and historically farmers contribute $1.50 for each dollar invested
by the state,” Naig said.
Iowa
has 100 SWCD offices across the state, one in each county and two in Pottawattamie,
that set priorities and use the funds to support farmers who are implementing conservation
practices on their land. The offices are co-located with the USDA Service
Center in each county.
A full directory for each of the SWCD offices can be
found at https://idals.iowa.gov/FARMS/index.php/districtMap.
In addition, 5 percent of the appropriation for soil conservation
cost share goes towards protecting the water quality of publicly owned lakes in
Iowa. Cost share in these areas is available for up to 75 percent of the cost
of the project. Eligible lakes are:
·
Lake Binder, Adams SWCD
·
Lake Icaria, Adams SWCD
·
Clarke County Reservoir, Clarke SWCD
·
West Lake, Clarke SWCD
·
Lake Geode, Des Moines and Henry SWCDs
·
Volga Lake, Fayette SWCD
·
Lake Miami, Monroe SWCD
·
Hickory Grove Lake, Story SWCD
·
Three Mile Lake, Union and Adair SWCDs
·
Twelve Mile Lake, Union and Adair SWCDs
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For more information, contact Dustin Vande Hoef, (515) 281-3375 or (515) 326-1616 (cell) or Dustin.VandeHoef@IowaAgriculture.gov
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