Jason Johnson
HELP IS AVAILABLE: NRCS provided more than $8 million to Iowa farmers in 2020 for conservation practices on grazing lands, like this brush management project in Warren County helping improve pasture conditions so livestock can easily access better forage quantity and quality. NRCS obligates nearly $60 million to Iowa farmers in conservation assistance.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service contracted with Iowa farmers and landowners to treat natural resources on more than 316,000 acres, obligating $59.8 million in financial assistance during fiscal year 2020 that ended Sept. 30.
NRCS also wrote 12,624 conservation plans that cover 889,071 acres during FY 2020. The conservation plans will help Iowa farmers reduce soil erosion, improve soil health and water quality, increase wildlife habitat, and treat other environmental issues.
and provide large areas of prime habitat for ground nesting birds and other wildlife.
Ohio’s Northern Bobwhite in Grasslands project is part of a national Working Lands for Wildlife (WLFW) partnership, a collaborative approach to conserving habitat for declining species on farms and working forests. NRCS works with partners and private landowners to focus voluntary conservation efforts on working landscapes.
The Northern Bobwhite in Grasslands project is designed to help bring back the quail that were once an integral part of Ohio’s farming way of life. Leading researchers have documented the wildlife benefits of managed grazing on native summer forages, concluding that this approach enhances the habitat for the ground nesting birds while improving livestock weight gains.