Iowa Ag Program Director for The Nature Conservancy, Greg Wandrey, speaks about conservation and water quality at the Agribusiness Showcase Tuesday February 14, 2017. Photo Credit: Ben Nuelle
Certified Crop Advisors offer important agronomic advice to farmers. With water quality now a major issue, some think they should push conservation practices too.
Greg Wandrey is the Iowa Ag Program Director for The Nature Conservancy. Wandrey heads the 4R Plus program.
?The 4R Plus program is an agreement with The Nature Conservancy and CF Industries to really think about what are the opportunities where CCA?s can provide more information about conservation practices to farmers.? He says it focuses on two aspects.
?[They are] the 4R?s of nutrient management which is right rate, right type, right place and right time. That also includes the conservation practices that go into in field practices like no till or cover crops, edge of field [practices] like field buffers or oxbows, and even some downstream work on flood plain restoration.?
Wandrey adds CCA?s have an important role with farmers.
?They are trusted advisers for farmers. Whether for fertilizer, seed, for crop protection products, they have that relationship with farmers on offering agronomic advice. How do we work with them to not only be nutrient providers but nutrient loss experts??
Wandrey shared his views at the Agribusiness Showcase and Conference in Des Moines Tuesday.
