Gains in conservation

December 11, 2024 | Jeff Hutton

Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) Director of Conservation Roger Wolf has seen firsthand the evolution of conservation in Iowa.

“It was back around the 1985 Farm Bill and what was unique then was this introduction of conservation compliance,” he says. “If a farmer was going to participate in a farm bill program and get benefits, they had to develop a soil conservation plan on land classified as highly erodible. This was new and unique.”

Wolf’s witnessed farmers’ efforts in conservation as an environmental specialist for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) and during his nearly 25 years of work with ISA.

He recalls attending a conference in Ames where he was introduced to ISA and nearly 1,000 farmers discussing issues ranging from practices like no-till and the equipment to make it work.

“What was apparent to me was that there were farmers out there who were interested in solving these problems,” Wolf says. “Early on it was this convergence of protecting highly erodible land, conservation compliance, biotech came on around same time and more.”

Then came the 1990s, where focus on water resources was starting to take shape.

“There has been this trajectory from erodible land, new equipment, new technology, farmers’ adoption efforts and best practices, then watersheds and water quality practices,” says Wolf.

Combine that with research that was going on at Iowa State University on reducing nutrient loss and work on the Raccoon River Watershed and things have only flourished since the 1990s.

Fast forward to early 2000, when Wolf joined ISA and started to help build out the association’s conservation program.

Through his time of working in soil and water conservation, Wolf says farmers have been keen in making sure the farm fields and water sources of Iowa are improved.

And there have been plenty of new advancements with the growth of ISA’s Research Center for Farming Innovation (RCFI), establishment of organizations like the Agriculture’s Clean Water Alliance (ACWA), the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance (IAWA) and the introduction of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy in 2013. Practices including the addition of cover crops, installation of bioreactors, edge-of-field practices, oxbow restoration and more have moved Iowa and its farmers to environmental heights.

“On this journey, we started with the foundation of good soil conservation and thinking about soil health,” says Wolf. “But it’s broader than just soil loss. It’s also microbes, carbon, compaction, infiltration, and others.”

But was it difficult to get farmers and others on board?

“When we started at ISA, we asked farmers here to list their best management practices,” Wolf says. “But a lot of the messaging didn’t resonate because many farmers already thought they were doing it. Farmers lacked ability to prove what they’re doing, nor could they prove that what they were doing had impacts.”

Wolf says it was different than it is today, where farmers can showcase their conservation efforts through testing, studies, verification and incentives.

One farmer’s story

Hans Riensche farms with his family across several counties in eastern Iowa. From cover crops, innovative practices, bioreactors and saturated buffers, Riensche believes conservation is one key to being successful on the farm.

“We’re definitely in the camp of conservation adoption,” he says. “Over the last few years with cover crops, we’ve been very intentional, while also moving ground from less productive fields to CRP and looking more into water quality.”

Working with ISA Conservation Agronomist Evan Brehm, Riensche says his family looks for ways to be more productive while protecting environmental interests.

“We’ve been looking at carbon sequestration as a way to create more value with nutrient reduction efforts and save money on inputs,” he says. “We’re playing with everything, and while we’re not veterans at it, we’re giving it our best shot.”

And while conservation adoption may be good for Riensche’s fields, it’s a boon to the community around him.

“What I’m most passionate about is our farm having a better impact on our community,” he says. “If there is something I can do that makes a difference for the community around us, improving water quality and making sure the soil doesn’t blow across the roadway, I will.”

Riensche says conservation is a real driver in many of the decisions he makes on the farm, including exploring the marketplace for incentives that make financial sense, continuing with more cover crops, buffer strips and bioreactors.

“We believe conservation is a win-win-win for the farmer, the environment and the consumer,” he says.

More to be done

“Farmers are invested in trying to understand how things work and being part of that engine that will move us forward,” says Wolf, who is set to retire in early 2025. “And at ISA, we’re working in partnership with a lot of people — certified crop advisors, engineers, Ph.Ds., data analysts, watershed planners. We have this myriad of expertise and we’re here to serve the farmer.”

Wolf says much has been accomplished in the world of conservation, but …

“We need to transition from grants and philanthropy,” he says. “We need a stable system that we can count on.”

While drinking water and wastewater issues in urban areas are supported, for example, finding money in rural areas is a different proposition.

“In rural Iowa, we support food production, field production, energy and all the jobs associated with that,” Wolf says. “But we really don’t have the financial capacity in the rural landscape to implement all the practices and infrastructure need to meet some of the audacious big goals we have downstream like for the Gulf of Mexico. Little towns and counties are strapped for resources.”

And while there have been great strides made over the past few decades, the work continues.

“You know the term ‘best management practice’ is kind of a misnomer because we’re on the same continuous pursuit of better management,” Wolf says “And in conservation, we’re never really done.” 

---

Back