Soil, water conservation set for increased support in 2015

by | Feb 2, 2015 | Audio, News

DES MOINES, Iowa – The topic of water and soil conservation in Iowa are only becoming more important, according to the Conservation Districts of Iowa.

In 2016, CDI estimates legislative funding for soil and water conservation will need to increase 43 percent from the $51 million appropriated to it in 2015. The total price tag next years will be around $73 million.

At the 2015 Conservation Partnership Day at the statehouse Thursday, CDI had an opportunity to show legislators the ongoing efforts in the state’s nine conservation districts, and to educate lawmakers on different practices. Farmers are encouraged to voluntarily adopt those practices under the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy, in an effort to improve water quality before regulation becomes necessary.

“I have yet to talk with someone that’s interested in regulating or looking at a regulatory approach,” said Republican state representative John Wills, who represents House District 1. “I really believe that overall the legislatures that I’ve talked to are very firm, and very positive in the idea that, ‘we need to look at voluntary conservation.'”

A critical element of attempts to address statewide water quality from a voluntary approach is the Iowa Department of Agriculture’s Water Quality Initiative. In December, IDALS requested $7.5 million to be budgeted for the initiative, which Governor Terry Branstad supported in his budget earlier in January.

Last year Branstad vetoed more than $11 million in one-time funding for the initiative, citing a budget shortfall caused by the delayed farm bill’s effect on tax filing season.

Iowa Ag Secretary Bill Northey says this year, the legislature is likely to once again, support the intiative.

“The legislature the last few years has actually taken the governor’s recommendation and has come and invested even more dollars into the conservation efforts” Northey explained, “and I think there’s no reason not to expect certainly similar support, whatever that ends up looking like in dollars at the end of the day.”

To hear more about the prospects for soil and water conservation in the legislature this year, click the audio player above this story.