Conservation Practices
Find out how conservation practices may benefit your community and your farm.
Click “Learn More” for further details on any conservation practice listed below. Have questions or looking for more information? Please give our office a call (712-737-2253 x3)!
Animal Waste Systems
Protect water by storing manure until conditions are right for application.
Cover Crops
Cover crops improve soil health and fertility by reducing erosion, suppressing weeds, and increasing nutrient availability.
Edge-of-Field
Adopting edge-of-field practices can significantly improve water quality by managing the loss of nitrogen from cropland.
Filter Strips
A strip of vegetation that filters runoff and removes contaminants before they reach water bodies or water sources.
Grass Waterways
A shaped constructed channel that is seeded to vegetation to convey water to a stable outlet at a non-erosive velocity.
No-till
No-tillage and strip-tillage systems protect the soil from erosion by minimizing soil surface disturbance.
Nutrient Management
Managing nutrients and soil amendments, reducing the potential for nutrients to go unused or infiltrate into water.
Prescribed Grazing
Managing the harvest of vegetation with grazing and/or browsing animals, which can help improve the quantity and quality of grazing forage.
Terraces
A terrace is an earthen embankment constructed across a field slope that breaks long slopes into shorter ones – usually following the contour.
Windbreaks
A windbreak reduces wind erosion, conserves energy, reduces heating bills, and beautifies a farmstead.
Pasture & Hay Planting
Planting grass and legumes to reduce soil erosion and improve production.