Cattle and conservation program expands through Des Moines watershed

Farmers sometimes have areas of land that aren’t suited to grow crops, either because they are too sloped, or dry, or the soil is too rough. The cattle and conservation program helps farmers convert these acres to pasture and to add features like fencing and water so the area can be grazed.  

As pasture, versus planted with row crops, the area will do a better job at holding on to soil and nutrients, according to IDALS. Ranchers who have participated in the program have said it allowed them to tackle projects they would not otherwise have had the funds to accomplish.  

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Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig made the announcement at the Iowa State Fair and said he hopes the program’s success in Iowa can be a “model” for reforming the federal conservation reserve program, or CRP, which pays farmers to maintain vegetative cover on erodible land. 

“The Cattle and Conservation Working Lands Program is truly a win-win, balancing productivity while improving Iowa’s water quality and soil health,” Naig said. “By converting underperforming cropland into grazing land for cattle and other livestock, we can put every acre to its best use and keep working lands working.” 

The program was established in Adams, Carroll, Cherokee, Guthrie, Ida, Page, Woodbury and Taylor counties, but is now available to producers in Audubon, Boone, Buena Vista, Calhoun, Clay, Dallas, Dickinson, Emmet, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Humboldt, Kossuth, Palo Alto, Pocahontas, Polk, Sac, Webster, Winnebago and Wright counties. 

The newly added counties are part of the “Greater Des Moines watershed,” which is a target of expanded conservation efforts in the newly enacted farm to faucet program that aims to improve water quality through conservation incentives and water treatment upgrades. 

According to a news release from IDALS, the expansion also includes the addition of two program coordinators to help with “outreach and engagement” to local cattle producers. 

Naig was joined by Bryan Whaley, CEO of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, for the announcement. Whaley said the program allows Iowa producers to “enhance current practices and implement new efforts even quicker.” 

“Cattlemen have been stewards of the land for generations, and we take that responsibility seriously,” Whaley said. “The health of our soil and water, and improving them, has always been part of that responsibility.” 

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