Strong support for water quality efforts was seen by all candidates for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture.
Five of six Iowa Secretary of Agriculture candidates participated in a roundtable forum Tuesday evening. Candidates touched base on many topics – ranging from livestock production to water quality.
The Fayette County Corn Growers and Iowa Corn Growers Association hosted Iowa Secretary of Agriculture candidates Ray Gaesser, Tim Gannon, Chad Ingels, Dan Zumbach and Craig Lang at a roundtable forum in Arlington Tuesday evening. Candidates answered questions from audience members and forum moderator Chip Flory.
Flory started last night?s discussion by stating: ?Iowa has the ball rolling to improve water quality.? He then proceeded by asking the candidates how they plan to build the momentum and keep the effort voluntary.
Dan Zumbach, of Delaware County, believes state water quality efforts should start with Senate File 512, which Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law in January. The bill provides more than $280 million of dedicated, long-term water quality funding to Iowa.
?Senate File 512 is a great piece of work,? Zumbach said. ?Remember, this took three years. It took Iowa State University, the Department of Agriculture and DNR to develop this plan. This was not thought up over night. It took those departments working together. We?re going to get a great results. It?s educate, educate, educate. Teach the neighbors what?s going on, learn yourself what?s going on, follow what?s going on and you will get a result. This is the beginning point. 512 is the beginning point, and we need to build on it from there.?
Craig Lang, of Poweshiek County, makes note of another method used to address water quality in Iowa: the Nutrient Reduction Strategy. Lang believes Iowa needs to increase its approach by looking at soil health from a more diversified agriculture and implementing more cover crops.
?I?m shooting for five-million acres of cover crops in the first five years,? Lang said. ?I get a lot of eye rolls, but I know farmers that have been practicing cover crops know that one pass of cover crops reduces nitrates by 30% in one year, holds the soil in place. I believe this is the next step. We have to work with farmers, but it has to be county-by-county, progressive farmers showing others the value of keeping the soil in place and starting that microbiology.?
Chad Ingels, of Fayette County, says cover crops will play a major role in cleaning Iowa?s waters a practice he believes is one component of a broad effort.
?We need to work on edge-of-field reductions, and that provides no economic benefit to the farmer. We need to educate our public that if they want us to do the work to improve water quality, then they need to participate and invest in those structures. That?s going to be key, educating the public while also educating the farmers. And that?s going to take a targeted watershed approach,? Ingels said.
Ray Gaesser, of Adams County, shares a similar viewpoint: neighbors, cities and others need to assist in improving Iowa?s water quality. Until then, Gaesser encourages farmers to be innovative in adopting voluntary practices.
?These innovations will not only help us in water quality, but help keep us competitive around the world too. This program needs to be voluntary, but not optional. Rules and regulations don?t fit us. One size does not fit all in agriculture,? Gaesser said. ?What we?ve learned – with the Iowa Soybean Association, in our On-Farm Network and environmental programs – is that every watershed is different and every farmer has a different opportunity to be successful in implement(ing) water quality (practices) and meeting the Nutrient Reduction Strategy.?
Tim Gannon, of Polk County, says in order to keep conservation practices voluntary, Iowa farmers need to show improved water quality results.
?I think part of the problem is the Des Moines Water Works lawsuit. A lot of folks felt that there was not anything being done. As stressed here, it will take time and education. My concern is that the bill the governor signed this year doesn?t go far enough, fast enough,? Gannon said. ?I?ve been in a lot of meetings where the Nutrient Reduction Strategy has been talked about, and the different conservation practices that need to be put in place to reach those goals. At the end of the conversation it?s, ?We?re nowhere near those goals.??
