In Iowa, farming is a way of life. Agriculture, from corn to cattle, claims more than 85% of the state’s land. That’s why the long-term health and productivity of Iowa’s land is crucial to farmers and, more broadly, to communities who depend on Iowa’s agricultural economy.
For nearly 35 years, Iowa farmers have shared their experiences through the Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll. Their insights help local and state decision makers, researchers and other farmers better understand the major trends in Iowa’s agriculture – as well as what these trends mean for the long-term vitality of their communities.
This year’s Farm Poll shines a light on the growing understanding among farmers that a strong environment and business go hand in hand. The farmers’ testimonies reinforce how critical a role many of the organizations the Walton Family Foundation partners with, and others that provide assistance to farmers across the region, play in helping farmers protect the economies and environment that they and their communities depend on.
Conservation organizations have long emphasized the need to promote soil health to landowners. But one of the Farm Poll’s most encouraging findings is that Iowa farmers are increasingly seeing soil health as important for both economic and environmental reasons. However, the poll shows that over the past decade, farmers have only moderately increased practices that protect and improve the quality of their soil. While more farmers are changing how and when they till their land to reduce soil erosion and protect water quality, many still haven’t explored other practices like cover crops that can improve water quality by improving the capacity of the soil to absorb water and hold nutrients.
According to J. Gordon Arbuckle Jr., an associate professor at Iowa State University who manages the annual survey, these are the types of insights that make the Farm Poll useful. As he explains, “the initial research has confirmed that farmers are thinking about soil health and are interested in trying to find ways to improve it. But since it’s a fairly new concept for most farmers, and because it’s difficult to measure and quantify progress toward soil health, there’s some uncertainty about how to manage for it.”
Ultimately, Iowa farmers care about keeping their soil productive and healthy, not polluting rivers and streams, and protecting their land for the next generation of growers. But the Farm Poll’s results spotlight an ongoing need for farmers across the state to have better access to the knowledge, technologies and financial support that’s available, and for agricultural conservation. The good news is that many of our partners are already making great strides to fill this gap and help farmers protect their bottom line and the environment.
