Do you remember the old westerns of the good guy and the bad guys? Invariably the fight would start with a few good guys doing battle with a lot of bad guys. After the few good guys put up a valiant fight, the cavalry would be sent to rescue the valiant foot soldiers. I am waiting for the same thing to happen in conservation. If the foot soldiers are the conservation planning agencies and the bad guy is soil erosion, then who is the cavalry? I believe the cavalry is agri-business. If agri-business can figure out how to “make conservation …
Precision Conservation: Why we must engage the private sector
Fifty years! Yes, that’s right. At the current rate it will take 50 years to design and install all the grassed waterways needed in Iowa. And this timetable is being generous. The 50 years doesn’t even account for maintenance, repair, and replacement of these grassed waterways after their normal 10-15 year lifespan.This is not acceptable, especially when you consider all conservation practices like ponds, wetlands, water & sediment control basins, terraces, no-till, and cover crops are on this same timetable. Please note, this is not a …