It seems like “dollars spent” has become the new metric for reporting improvements in soil and water conservation. I totally agree, we should know how much money is being spent on protecting our natural resources, but I think “dollars spent” is a misleading way to report progress. Taxpayers are entitled to information that contains more specificity, such as tons of soil or pounds of nitrogen kept from entering water bodies. Better yet, progress reporting should include efficiency information such as the cost of saving a ton of soil (cost/ton …
Better than average?
“In the field of social psychology, illusory superiority is a cognitive bias whereby a person overestimates their own qualities and abilities, in relation to the same qualities and abilities of other persons.” The Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll is always fascinating. But one question was especially illuminating in this year’s survey. Farmers were asked, “Compared to other farm operations in your area, how well do you think your farm operation is performing in controlling soil erosion?” Seventeen percent (17%) rated themselves far above …
New packaging for soil erosion
“With respect to public awareness...there has been a steady decline in interest in soil conservation. There is a pervasive belief amongst all of these stakeholders that…we need to move on. A sense of fatigue has set in.” Dr. David Lobb In the 1980’s, there was a deliberate decision by conservation agencies to change the narrative from soil erosion to water quality. Working for one of these conservation agencies, I remember voicing my frustration to management. We are not even close to solving the problem of soil erosion, I argued. So why …
What a guy…
The Theodore Roosevelt National Park is not a place you just accidently stumble upon. Located in west central North Dakota, the park is a place you have to “go find.” Compared to the 4,000,000 annual visitors to Yosemite National Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park receives about 600,000 visitors each year. This fall, Peggy and I decided to visit this region because of our interest in the park’s namesake. Theodore Roosevelt first visited the Dakota Territory in 1883 and fell in love with the austere landscape. At one time, he even …
A Farm Kid’s Perspective
There is not a farm scene more beautiful than fields of uniformly tall, tasseled corn, butting up to waist high, weed-free soybeans waving in the breeze, set against carpets of well-manicured road ditches and close-clipped waterways. From the perspective of this Iowa farm kid, southern Tazewell County, Illinois is simply beautiful to behold; a vision straight out of a children’s storybook. Tazewell County is neither flat, nor steep. The area is dominated by row crop in an almost level landscape with gently sloping rises. There are no visible …
Who should pay?
Last month, I had one of those aha moments. A reporter was asking me about my thoughts on Iowa’s water quality and whether I thought shifting rainfall patterns (climate change) could be affecting nitrogen and phosphorus runoff. I responded that the research on this topic was crystal clear -- that over the last 20 years, the intensity of rainstorms has significantly increased, resulting in more runoff. The seriousness of this phenomenon should not be dismissed or ignored. Across most of the United States, the heaviest rainfall events have …