Farm to River Partnership to ramp up conservation efforts

July 25, 2024 | Kriss Nelson

The Farm to River Partnership, a state-funded Water Quality Initiative (WQI) focused on increasing adoption of in-field water soil quality practices, is starting on a new project expanding the partnership further into Sac and Greene Counties.

The expanded project will focus on increasing the adoption of in-field water and soil quality practices such as cover crops, reduced tillage and nitrogen stabilizers as well as edge-of-field practices like saturated buffers, bioreactors, oxbows and wetlands. These efforts are part of Batch and Build project in Sac County, which aims to achieve cost-effective installations of conservation practices by grouping sites geographically.

Joe Wuebker, Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) conservation agronomist and Farm to River Partnership coordinator, says there has been tremendous growth in cover crop implementation in the nearly decade of efforts. Still, he would like to see an increase in edge-of-field implementation.

Wuebker is partnering with the Sac County Board of Supervisors to identify and secure locations starting in the southeast part of the county with plans to continue to work north and west as the project progresses.

Using Agricultural Conservation Planning framework technology, more than 180 sites have been identified for the potential installation of edge-of-field practices, such as saturated buffers and bioreactors in Sac County. After identifying the locations, Wuebker then works with farmers in the identified areas to commit areas and practices through the Batch and Build program.

“We are hoping to have 20 to 30 locations confirmed in this first round of our Batch and Build,” he says. “We want to identify and approve as many locations as possible and install practices and groupings based on geography.”

As the efforts expand north and west, more than 3,200 sites have been identified as opportunities.

The Farm to River Partnership is also expanding further into Greene County with a focus on supporting growers in increasing cover crop adoption.

“Over the next three years, we will have a heavy presence in Sac County focusing on edge-of-field practices and in Green County focusing on cover crops, but we will still continue to work in the parts of Carroll and Calhoun Counties.”

About the Farm to River Partnership

The Farm to River Partnership, a nearly $3 million WQI, began in 2018 to increase conservation farming practices on the land for improved water quality in the North Raccoon River watershed. Since 2018, more than 30,000 acres of cover crops have been established in the project area covering Sac, Calhoun, Carroll and Greene Counties. Between 2015-2018 there were seven edge-of-field practices installed. Since then, an additional six practices have been added. The Batch and Build model will help increase the adoption of edge-of-field practices.

ISA has played an integral part in the project by supporting Wuebker as project manager with the Agriculture’s Clean Water Alliance (ACWA) and Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS).

“We will have a driven, concerted effort which is backed by local retailers and IDALS staff to focus in on these areas which have huge potential, but just haven’t had a lot of designated support in the past,” says Wuebker. “Through providing technical and financial assistance, we hope to see rapid adoption of these practices which are being used widely and successfully throughout the state and in their backyards.”

For more information on the Farm to River Partnership, contact Wuebker at jwuebker@iasoybeans.com or 712-790-1415.

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