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Your county's Soil and Water Conservation District office is the place to get answers and assistance for conservation concerns that will help maintain the value of your land. Both professional staff and volunteer commissioners who are passionate about preserving natural resources are ready to help you with your plans.
Water Quality
The quality of our water supply both above and below ground directly effects everyone in the county. The economic impacts of having to cleanup water is becoming a larger issue. Our SWCD is committed to helping producers manage their crop inputs and practices to reduce losses that impact our water. |
Forestry Programs
There are several state and federal programs that can assist landowners in either establishing or managing forest stands. Our office can help you with some of these and also put you in touch with the District Foresters for our area. |
Donate to the Cerro Gordo Soil and Water Conservation District
Your support will help us to continue our conservation education efforts and support staff that will promote practices in the district
Cerro Gordo SWCD
1415 South Monroe Ave. Ste. B
Mason City, Iowa 50401
641-424-4452
1415 South Monroe Ave. Ste. B
Mason City, Iowa 50401
641-424-4452
Earthworm Middens in a corn field with no tillage for 35 years
Articles in the Globe Gazette
The Globe Gazette has been generous enough to print one article a month in their Sunday business section dealing with conservation issues. The articles are written by Dennis Carney, one of our local commissioners, often with the help of the office staff. A wide variety of subjects have been covered over the past 2 years and many more articles are planned. Check them out.
Article for November 2019
Once again, area farmers are experiencing a challenging harvest season. While the rush to finish the harvest is the most important goal, we urge landowners and operators to take notice of problem areas that could be improved with appropriate conservation practices. Too often such problem areas are not visible during the growing season. Then, fall or spring tillage is used to fill the gully or washout. Yet the cause of the erosion remains. To address erosion issues, consider initiating a long-term Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contract, visiting with Cerro Gordo Soil and Water Conservation District personnel about erosion-reducing strategies, and planting cover crops.
There is a good chance that a general CRP signup will be available in December. If you have serious flooding or erosion problems, a long-term CRP contract might give your land a chance to heal and give you the opportunity to be more profitable in the long term. Also, our climate is changing; heavy rain events and overall higher precipitation issues addressed now may reduce problems later. If you have land that suffers under these conditions, visit personnel at the Soil and Water Conservation office to see if a CRP bid would be a good option.
If you notice other specific erosion or productivity concerns, come to the office and visit with Troy about getting the needed survey work done this fall so you could be prepared for land work in the spring. Getting a start now will help your contractor complete the work prior to spring planting next year. There are funds available for a wide variety of erosion-reducing structures and practices that will help protect the value of your land investment.
The number of acres planted to cover crops each fall in our area continues to increase as more producers realize the economic and environmental advantages of keeping a growing crop on the land for as much of the year as possible. While earlier planting of the cover crop usually results in the greatest impact, the cost share deadline for planting winter hardy varieties this fall in Cerro Gordo County is November 4th. As you drive through the county this fall and winter, take note of those producers who have protected their soil and our surface water by planting cover crops.
Each winter is a chance to evaluate the past growing season and determine what things worked, what needs improvement, and what failed. With so many changes in technology, seed science, and crop protection products every year, successful producers need to be willing to change how they do things each year. Evaluate how production practices affect the long term health and value of your soil. If tillage is continuing to degrade your soil and its organic matter content, which in turn reduces the water infiltration rate and increases erosion, research how to eliminate some of your tillage passes, especially those in the fall. The science of soil health has changed greatly in just the past few years, and there is no economic cost in adopting practices that will improve the long-term productivity of your farm.
Please stop in the office with questions on available programs or check out the district’s website at www.cerrogordoswcd.org.
January 2020 - CRP
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is the nation’s largest and most successful voluntary conservation program. Begun in 1986, CRP was an effort to help farmers prevent or control the severe soil erosion that was occurring on the country’s cropland. There were concerns that if nothing was done, soil erosion would reduce the nation’s long-term capability to produce food and fiber. Today the program helps to protect the nation’s soil, water, and wildlife resources. Iowa has 1.7 million acres enrolled in a variety of practices within CRP, has the most CRP contracts of any state, and has an average annual rental rate paid to landowners of $222 per acre.
The CRP program has two major parts: Continuous CRP and General CRP. Continuous CRP focuses on land that is environmentally sensitive. Contracts can be written at any time and usually have an October 1 start date. There are many different CRP practices that can be installed to address specific conservation concerns. Continuous CRP practices are sometimes limited to a maximum amount of acres but are eligible for some incentive payments for establishment.
General CRP contracts are awarded through a competitive process where a landowner submits an offer, the United States Department of Agriculture determines eligibility, the offer is scored and ranked using an Environmental Benefits Index, and accepted offers are awarded a contract. These contracts are usually 10 years in duration and begin on October 1. The current general signup period is now open until February 28, 2020. The rental rate paid annually on new CRP contracts is set based on county soil types and whether the contract is a continuous or general signup. Fifty percent cost share is available for establishment of both types of CRP practices.
The 2018 Farm Bill, passed in 2019, set the national CRP acre cap at 27 million acres. In 2020, the cap is 24.5 million acres nationally; and there are currently 22 million acres enrolled. In Iowa, there are over 300,000 acres of CRP whose contracts expire in 2020, which motivates those who work in conservation to try to get those acres re-enrolled or to attract new acres to replace them.
For 2020, Troy Faust in the Cerro Gordo NRCS office is excited about two new practice rules that should help entice more acres into CRP. CP-42 pollinator plots can now be up to 10 acres each per tract of land; this should allow a landowner to address a problem area with this very beneficial practice. Also, a new practice is CP-43 Prairie Strips. Native grass and flower species can be planted in strips 30-120 feet wide to assist in slowing runoff water to control erosion. These strips can go about anywhere along waterways, terraces, filter strips, field borders, or headlands. Normal farming practices may be used in conjunction with the strips and equipment can turn around on them.
If you have concerns about erosion or water quality issues on your land, visit your local SWCD office and learn what practices are available to help. Please don’t use tillage to hide the problem, use CRP to fix it. Your land investment will be protected and your community will be enhanced. In Cerro Gordo County, the local SWCD office is located at 1415 South Monroe Ave., Mason City or call 641-424-4452.
Once again, area farmers are experiencing a challenging harvest season. While the rush to finish the harvest is the most important goal, we urge landowners and operators to take notice of problem areas that could be improved with appropriate conservation practices. Too often such problem areas are not visible during the growing season. Then, fall or spring tillage is used to fill the gully or washout. Yet the cause of the erosion remains. To address erosion issues, consider initiating a long-term Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contract, visiting with Cerro Gordo Soil and Water Conservation District personnel about erosion-reducing strategies, and planting cover crops.
There is a good chance that a general CRP signup will be available in December. If you have serious flooding or erosion problems, a long-term CRP contract might give your land a chance to heal and give you the opportunity to be more profitable in the long term. Also, our climate is changing; heavy rain events and overall higher precipitation issues addressed now may reduce problems later. If you have land that suffers under these conditions, visit personnel at the Soil and Water Conservation office to see if a CRP bid would be a good option.
If you notice other specific erosion or productivity concerns, come to the office and visit with Troy about getting the needed survey work done this fall so you could be prepared for land work in the spring. Getting a start now will help your contractor complete the work prior to spring planting next year. There are funds available for a wide variety of erosion-reducing structures and practices that will help protect the value of your land investment.
The number of acres planted to cover crops each fall in our area continues to increase as more producers realize the economic and environmental advantages of keeping a growing crop on the land for as much of the year as possible. While earlier planting of the cover crop usually results in the greatest impact, the cost share deadline for planting winter hardy varieties this fall in Cerro Gordo County is November 4th. As you drive through the county this fall and winter, take note of those producers who have protected their soil and our surface water by planting cover crops.
Each winter is a chance to evaluate the past growing season and determine what things worked, what needs improvement, and what failed. With so many changes in technology, seed science, and crop protection products every year, successful producers need to be willing to change how they do things each year. Evaluate how production practices affect the long term health and value of your soil. If tillage is continuing to degrade your soil and its organic matter content, which in turn reduces the water infiltration rate and increases erosion, research how to eliminate some of your tillage passes, especially those in the fall. The science of soil health has changed greatly in just the past few years, and there is no economic cost in adopting practices that will improve the long-term productivity of your farm.
Please stop in the office with questions on available programs or check out the district’s website at www.cerrogordoswcd.org.
January 2020 - CRP
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is the nation’s largest and most successful voluntary conservation program. Begun in 1986, CRP was an effort to help farmers prevent or control the severe soil erosion that was occurring on the country’s cropland. There were concerns that if nothing was done, soil erosion would reduce the nation’s long-term capability to produce food and fiber. Today the program helps to protect the nation’s soil, water, and wildlife resources. Iowa has 1.7 million acres enrolled in a variety of practices within CRP, has the most CRP contracts of any state, and has an average annual rental rate paid to landowners of $222 per acre.
The CRP program has two major parts: Continuous CRP and General CRP. Continuous CRP focuses on land that is environmentally sensitive. Contracts can be written at any time and usually have an October 1 start date. There are many different CRP practices that can be installed to address specific conservation concerns. Continuous CRP practices are sometimes limited to a maximum amount of acres but are eligible for some incentive payments for establishment.
General CRP contracts are awarded through a competitive process where a landowner submits an offer, the United States Department of Agriculture determines eligibility, the offer is scored and ranked using an Environmental Benefits Index, and accepted offers are awarded a contract. These contracts are usually 10 years in duration and begin on October 1. The current general signup period is now open until February 28, 2020. The rental rate paid annually on new CRP contracts is set based on county soil types and whether the contract is a continuous or general signup. Fifty percent cost share is available for establishment of both types of CRP practices.
The 2018 Farm Bill, passed in 2019, set the national CRP acre cap at 27 million acres. In 2020, the cap is 24.5 million acres nationally; and there are currently 22 million acres enrolled. In Iowa, there are over 300,000 acres of CRP whose contracts expire in 2020, which motivates those who work in conservation to try to get those acres re-enrolled or to attract new acres to replace them.
For 2020, Troy Faust in the Cerro Gordo NRCS office is excited about two new practice rules that should help entice more acres into CRP. CP-42 pollinator plots can now be up to 10 acres each per tract of land; this should allow a landowner to address a problem area with this very beneficial practice. Also, a new practice is CP-43 Prairie Strips. Native grass and flower species can be planted in strips 30-120 feet wide to assist in slowing runoff water to control erosion. These strips can go about anywhere along waterways, terraces, filter strips, field borders, or headlands. Normal farming practices may be used in conjunction with the strips and equipment can turn around on them.
If you have concerns about erosion or water quality issues on your land, visit your local SWCD office and learn what practices are available to help. Please don’t use tillage to hide the problem, use CRP to fix it. Your land investment will be protected and your community will be enhanced. In Cerro Gordo County, the local SWCD office is located at 1415 South Monroe Ave., Mason City or call 641-424-4452.