Iowa ag initiative that pays farmers for conservation practices wins USDA climate-smart grant

BOONE — A nearly $170 million Iowa-based initiative that pays farmers for their environmental efforts will be among the first to win a grant from a new $1 billion climate- smart agriculture program, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Tuesday.

The Iowa Soybean Association's Soil and Water Outcomes Fund “is going to have a profound impact on soil health and water health" in Iowa and elsewhere, the former Iowa governor said while visiting the Farm Progress Show near Boone.

"I think you're going to see a lot more of that across the country," said Vilsack. "You're going to see more productive soil and cleaner water as a result of embracing climate-smart agriculture."

Alternating annually between Iowa and Illinois, the three-day Farm Progress show attracts thousands of farmers from across the nation and around the world with displays of agriculture equipment and technology and educational events.

This year's show also attracted Gov. Kim Reynolds, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra of northwest Iowa, state Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig among other politicians.

At the show, Reynolds touted the passage of a biofuels law that will require more Iowa gas stations to offer fuel with 15% ethanol. She also pointed to tax cuts for Iowans, seniors and farmers, and state and federal efforts to expand rural high-speed Internet services.

MORE: Polk County has an aggressive plan to clean up its water. Could it work for the rest of Iowa?

Iowa Soybean Association seeks to enlist farmers in 12 states

Vilsack said the U.S. Department of Agriculture's climate-smart farming program has received nearly 1,100 requests from groups seeking $20 billion in funding, far outstripping expectations.

The USDA  announced the federal initiative in February. It is designed to help farmers get paid for adopting conservation practices that sequester carbon in the soil. It's funded through the Commodity Credit Corp., an entity formed in the 1930s at the height of the Great Depression.

Better known for distributing millions of pounds of surplus cheese during the 1980s and 1990s, the agency has broad authority to support farm prices and income. The Trump administration used the corporation to help compensate farmers for losses during its 2018-19 trade standoff with China. 

More:Northeast Iowa grain, feed operation shut down as bankruptcy receiver takes control

Adam Kiel, managing director of the Iowa Soybean Association's Soil And Water Outcomes Fund, said the USDA notified the group Tuesday it had won funding to expand the regional initiative. The Iowa program now pays growers in 10 states for farming practices that improve the soil health and water quality.

The methods also help hold carbon dioxide in the soil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change.

"The soybean association's project is massive in scope," Vilsack said.

Kiel said the outcomes fund has raised $66 million from private groups and corporations to expand.

The outcomes fund now works with farmers on about 200,000 acres in Iowa, the nation's second-largest soybean producer, and other states. It will expand to work with farmers on an estimated 4.1 million acres across 12 states.

This year, farmers in the program earned about $31 an acre for practices such as growing cover crops and not tilling their fields, Kiel said.

Iowa ag secretary touts water quality progress; opponent says state isn't doing enough

Naig, the state ag secretary, said at the show Tuesday that Iowa farmers are working to improve water quality. For example, he said, farmers now grow cover crops on about three million acres, a dramatic increase from about 10,000 acres in 2013.

That's when the state adopted the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy that outlines the efforts needed to reduce runoff containing nitrogen and phosphorus from urban lawns and farm fields that pollutes Iowa rivers, lakes and streams.

Six years ago, the state began looking at barriers that farmers face to ramp up adoption of conservation practices. The strategy calls for as many as 17 million acres of cover crops to reach the state's goals. 

“You need more seed. You need more capacity to plant in the fall. Those things aren’t easy,” Naig said.

More:Iowa farmers caught in grain firm's bankruptcy can seek to recoup nearly $1.3 million in losses

The state is working with multiple partners, he said, including county governments, environmental groups, water utilities and others, to speed up adoption of practices that can include not just cover crops but bioreactors and saturated buffers.

A saturated buffer not only cleans surface water, as a typical grass buffer would, but filters runoff that flows underground. With a bioreactor, runoff in a drainage tile is diverted through a wood chip-filled trench, where microorganisms feast on nitrates.

John Norwood, a Democrat who is running against Naig, a Republican, was also at the farm show. Norwood said the state isn't doing enough to ensure improved water quality. 

"If we want to be serious about water quality, flooding and soil loss — and we need to be — ... we need to tie public funding, like crop insurance, to conservation practices and soil health metrics," said Norwood.

Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com or 515-284-8457.