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Riparian Buffer

Saturated Buffers

September 17, 2019 //  by Tom Buman

For the past few years, Dr. Dan Jaynes, USDA-Agriculture Research Service, and Dr. Tom Isenhart, Iowa State University, have been researching ways to remove nitrogen from tile water. Their research culminated in the development of saturated buffers, a new water protection practice. Saturated buffers rely on denitrifying bacteria to convert nitrates within the tile water to nitrogen gas, before the water is discharged into a water body. Jaynes and Isenhart have developed a method to intercept tile water that would otherwise flow directly into a …

Category: Precision Conservation

NRCSKS Pond

Irrigating the Upper Midwest

April 5, 2019 //  by Tom Buman

For any country that wants to grow an adequate and stable food supply, some level of irrigation is necessary.  Even in the Upper Midwestern U.S., where there is ample rain-fed cropland, we count on irrigated acres to provide stable crop production, especially in drought years.  As recently as 1988 and 2012, corn and soybean yields in Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana tanked, because of droughts.  The U.S. food supply would have been on unstable ground in those years, without the irrigated areas in the Great Plains. The Ogallala Aquifer, underlying …

Category: Precision Conservation

Tom and Peggy standing in front of the George Washington Carver Museum

Honoring the Past

January 15, 2019 //  by Tom Buman

Late last year, Peggy and I were vacationing in Alabama.  Driving along Interstate 85, I noticed signs for Tuskegee, Alabama.  It took me a few miles to put things together, but I started to recall my history lesson about George Washington Carver and his passion for soil health.  In one of those unplanned side trips, Peggy and I exited I85 and toured the George Washington Carver Museum on the campus of Tuskegee University. The son of a slave woman, Carver was born into slavery, and spent his childhood in Missouri.  In 1888, Carver moved …

Category: Precision Conservation

Precision Conservation Book

January 2, 2019 //  by Tom Buman

Do you remember The Jerk, a 1979 movie comedy?  In the movie, Navin R. Johnson (played by Steve Martin) is thrilled to find that his name is listed in the local phone book. Since the release of the book “Precision Conservation: Geospacial Techniques for Agricultural and Natural Resources Conservation” I find myself relating to this movie.  It is not that I am mentioned in the book, but my name is mentioned along with so many precision conservation superstars. The book consists of 17 chapters, each chapter written by leading researchers who …

Category: Precision Conservation

2 men using a dozer to correct the grade on a field

Cost Containment

December 17, 2018 //  by Tom Buman

As a conservation community, we spend very little effort on controlling the cost of soil and water conservation. Let’s face it, most of our efforts are spent on marketing conservation, working to increase funding, or fighting for or against regulations.  When was the last time you heard anyone discuss effective ways to reduce the cost of conservation? Any company knows that reducing cost, while maintaining the same quality, leads to more sales.  Conservation is no different.  If we expect farmers to install more conservation practices, we …

Category: Precision Conservation

Dr. Jennifer Filloon giving a flu shot

Is There A Flu Shot for Partially Drained Depressional Areas?

November 29, 2018 //  by Tom Buman

Each year, my pharmacist, Dr. Jennifer Filloon, demands that I get a flu shot; no excuses.  Flu shots are truly a part of precision medicine.  Flu shots are designed to do one thing - prevent the flu. And the benefits are clear: The flu shot targets seasonal flu strains predicted by researchers. The flu shot has no appreciable side effects. Getting an annual flu shot boosts immunity to the flu and can prevent, or minimize, the flu. Getting the flu shot is simple and inexpensive. In a recent webinar, Dr. Steven Hall (Assistant …

Category: Precision Conservation

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Tom Buman
National thought leader for soil & water conservation

About Tom Buman

My deep commitment to agriculture and concern for the environment stems from my early years, working alongside my father and four brothers on the family farm in southwest Iowa. Today I build on that commitment by working to create innovative solutions for pressing problems that affect both farmers and the environment.

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