Talk with the grass roots about Iowa's soil and water
A Letter from Iowan Josiah Wearin
Letters From Iowans is a part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. We encourage you, our subscribers, to share your perspective in this column. To make your voice heard, use this form to send us your essay:
I suggested in the Feb. 23 Office Lounge Zoom call that reporters should seek out their local county soil & water conservation district commissioners to begin conversations about soil health and water quality. Each county has such a group. These are elected officials.
Since many citizens think “there ought to be” additional laws to clean up our waters and protect our soils, I encourage prior investigation and conversation with such groups who are literally in the grass roots of these issues. And no, I am not referring to the county conservation boards, although that would be an interesting set to contact as well. The commissioners tend to be working farmers, or concerned landowners, or simply dedicated conservationists.
We definitely have a serious urban-rural divide and it is not improving. Perhaps reporting based on personal contact with commissioners would be productive. (Said he, ever the optimist!)
Here are some questions I would like to see addressed:
1. Is current funding for cover crops, buffer strips, terraces and grassed waterways being fully utilized? If not, what could be done to increase interest and usage?
2. Is there a role for investment tax credits from the federal level to incentivize conservation practices?
3. Do commissioners believe that giving them further enforcement/policing powers would be helpful or harmful? Why? Perhaps a look at how soil loss complaints are handled currently would be part of that discussion.
4. Is the tie-in between crop insurance and conservation practices helpful, harmful or meaningless? Should it be altered in some manner?
5. Are the local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) employees, the staff of the government offices, able to get their assigned tasks performed on a timely basis? What frustrations do staff express to commissioners?
6. How many different federal and state and private programs does the local NRCS office work with? Are there overlaps? Is the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) being utilized widely? If not, why not? Why is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) not administered out of the NRCS offices? Should it be?
7. Is there a place for contests among farmers regarding reduction of nitrogen usage, or implementation of cover crops? Has that been tried?
8. What are the goals of the statewide commissioner organization, Conservation Districts of Iowa? How are those goals determined? Do the commissioners at the local level feel they have sufficient influence at the state and federal levels?
9. Can the commissioners suggest human interest stories about the positive changes which are occurring?
And last but not least, at the risk of being redundant:
10. What can be done to increase adoption of cover crops: labor issues involved? harvest time crunch? landowner ignorance of incentives? failure of buy-in that carbon sequestration is important? concern about record-keeping?
I hope the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative can coordinate and collaborate on this investigation. You would likely discover some interesting and thoughtful commissioners who have rarely been asked for their true opinions.
You might also find that our counties look at the issue from vastly different perspectives. And ultimately, perhaps a bunch of common ground would be found with those who actually work Iowa’s land.
Keep up the good work otherwise,
Josiah C. Wearin
Hastings, Iowa
Letters From Iowans is a part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. We encourage you, our subscribers, to share your perspective in this column. To make your voice heard, use this form to send us your essay:
Iowa Writers’ Collaborative columnists:
Many good ideas, Josiah! Thanks for getting the discussion going. Agreed that farmers should be required to follow their conservation plan before receiving crop insurance subsidies or other government payments. Maybe not much enforcement, though? And that those payments should go to land conservation - NOT CAFO structures, which I believe are allowed by EQUIP. And do I recall that CDI endorsed the stream buffer concept - which went nowhere when the bill was introduced in the Iowa Legislature? CRP sign-up is through FSA office, but NRCS reviews the seeding and establishment recommendations. Have you seen a conflict or disconnect with involving 2 agencies?
Thanks, Josiah. Your questions would be an excellent starting point for pursuing one-on-one relationships with farmers who exercise decision-making votes on Iowa's soil and water. We have our work cut out for us!