Farmer-led Efforts to Improve Water Quality · –Increase the pace and scale of farmer-led efforts...

www.iowaagwateralliance.com

Farmer-led Efforts to

Improve Water Quality

Iowa Swine Day 2016June 30th, 2016


Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance

• Mission

– Increase the pace and scale of farmer-led efforts

to improve water quality

• Founding organizations

– Iowa Corn Growers Association

– Iowa Pork Producers Association

– Iowa Soybean Association


U.S. Corn Production and Nutrient Use


Water Quality – National

• >100,000 miles of rivers and streams

• 166 coastal hypoxic areas or “dead zones” nationwide

• “nutrient pollution is widespread”: 27% river and stream miles have high N, 40% have high P

Source: 2013 EPA website: http://water.epa.gov/type/rsl/monitoring/riverssurvey/index.cfm ,http://www2.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/effects-environment , http://www2.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/where-occurs-lakes-and-rivers

http://water.epa.gov/type/rsl/monitoring/riverssurvey/index.cfm

http://www2.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/effects-environment

http://www2.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/where-occurs-lakes-and-rivers


http://water.epa.gov/type/rsl/monitoring/upload/EPA-MARB-Fact-Sheet-112911_508.pdf

Water Quality – Regional

Wadeable Streams

http://water.epa.gov/type/rsl/monitoring/upload/EPA-MARB-Fact-Sheet-112911_508.pdf


Gulf Hypoxia


<11 to 1010 to 100100 to 500500 to 1000>1000

<0.010.01 to 0.10.1 to 1.01.0 to 5.05.0 to 10.0>10.0

kg km-2 yr-1 lbs/A/yr (approx.)

USGS Estimates of Loss and Delivery of N and P to the Gulf

SPARROW - Modeled Estimate of N and P Discharge in Watersheds of the Mississippi R. Basin

Alexander et al. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008, 42, 822–830


EPA Hypoxia SAB report suggested

45% less total N AND

45% less total P discharge to the Gulf to reduce

hypoxia


Water Challenges – Regional Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia

David, et al., 2010. JEQ 39:1657-67

Impact on the Gulf


• Nutrient content of water has more to do with historic changes in land use and hydrology than inputs by farmers.

• Current major cropping system leaves soil vulnerable to erosion and nutrient leaching.

• Markets and Technological Advances have shifted cropping patterns and increased productivity.

• Have the most tools available to date and will still continue to develop and adopt new technologies

Soils Vulnerable to Leaching


Changes in Land Use

0

2000

4000

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000

16000acre

s h

arv

este

d i

n t

ho

usan

ds

year

Corn, Hay, Small Grains, & Soybeans Harvested Trends 1866-2008

Barley

Corn GrainHarvestedFlaxseed

Hay Alfalfa

Hay Other

Oats

Rye

Sorghum

SoybeansHarvestedWheat


Microbial production of nitrate from native soil

(100-400 lbs N /acre/year)

Fertilizer to Corn(~150 lbs N/acre/year)

Nitrate leaching to water(~30 lbs N/acre/year)

Corn Grain Harvest(~100 lbs N/acre/year)

Gaseous Loss(~10 lbs N/acre/year)

Corn Nitrogen Cycling & Budget

Native Soil Organic Matter Nitrogen ~ 10,000 lb N/acre

NITRATE

Microbial re-uptake of nitrate

(150-350 lbs N/acre/year)

Corn Nitrate Use(~165 lb N/acre)

Corn Residue Return(~65 lbs N/acre/year)

3


Microbial production of nitrate from native soil

(100-400 lbs N /acre/year)

Nitrate leaching to water(~30 lbs N/acre/year)

Soybean Grain Harvest(~165 lbs N/acre/year)

Gaseous Loss(~2 lbs N/acre/year)

Soybean Nitrogen Cycling & Budget

Native Soil Organic Matter Nitrogen ~ 10,000 lb N/acre

NITRATE

Microbial re-uptake of nitrate

(150-350 lbs N/acre/year)

Soybean Nitrogen Use(~230 lb N/acre)

Corn Residue Return(~65 lbs N/acre/year)

Atmospheric Fixation(~100 lbs N/acre/year)

Soybean Nitrate Use(~130 lb N/acre/year)

4


For nitrate, it’s the system…

– Land Use Changes:

Intensive row crop production

Tile Drainage

-Long fallow period

– Climate (it rains, nitrate will move)

– Highly productive soils (rich in organic N and C)

Christian Fischer, Wikipedia

USDA


Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy

Iowa Water Quality InitiativeIOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE & LAND STEWARDSHIP

Leads• Iowa Department of Ag and Land Stewardship• Iowa Department of Natural Resources• Iowa State University

Goal of 45% Reductions in Total Nitrogen and Phosphorous


Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy

• Transformational change will be required

to meet these targets (estimated $1-4B

implementation costs, $77M-1.2B

annualized costs)

• No single practice will meet these

reductions

• Current rate of adoption and investment

-centuries vs decades

NRCS Photo


Farmers Taking Action

Conservation PracticesCover CropsNutrient ManagementStrip Till / No-TillBioreactorsSaturated BuffersNutrient Treatment WetlandsDrainage Water ManagementBuffers, Grass Waterways, Terraces Prairie STRIPS

NRCS Photo


Cover Crops


Nutrient Management


Drainage Water TreatmentWoodchip Bioreactor

Greene County Bioreactor

Oct Apr Jul Oct Apr Jul Jan09 Jan10

Nitra

te-N

, m

g/L

0

3

6

9

12

15

18

21

Incoming, Nitrate, mg/L

Outgoing, Nitrate, mg/L

Maximum Contaminant Level

Woodchip Bioreactors for N removal. An innovative practice being applied in watersheds with nitrogen resource concerns. Water monitoring data to validate performance.


Re-saturated Riparian Buffers


Sub-Field Scale Profitability Analysis


Subfield Financial Product Design: Current Practices

Summary

50 Year Yld Ave: 170 bu/acre50 Year Yld STD: 38 bu/acreProfit Average: $47 $/acreProfit STD: $235 $/acre

Years Profitable Ave: 31

Years Profitable STD: 14Percentage of Field Profitable: 74%


Subfield Financial Product Design: Release Acres

Summary

Discontinue ops on areas with aveloss > $250/acre with risk adjusted

ins prem’s and int rates

Profit Average: $76 $/acreProfit STD: $124 $/acrePercentage of Field Profitable: 72%Percentage of Field Used Profitable: 81%


ROI Focused Agronomic Management

No Cost Zone

Expense Limited Zone

Revenue Zone


National Fish and Wildlife

Foundation

• Business planning as entry point to

conservation planning and water quality

practices

IAWA

Heartland Co-op

AgSolver

ISA-EPSPheasants

Forever

SWCDs


Business Planning

Identify areas with <0 ROI Plan and implement practice(s)

Business and Conservation

Planning Integration

Conservation Planning


Initial Estimated CostsInitial Cost: $5.0m ($117/ac)

Yearly Cost: $750k ($45/ac)

Water Quality – Watershed Scale

Rock Creek Watershed Management Plan

*Update – after completion of watershed plan, Mitchell SWCD applied and received WPF/WSPF funding from IDALS. $174K/year one; $962K total request.


RCPP – Public Private Partnership


• Co-led by IAWA and IDALS

• Largest RCPP project in nation

• Focused on water quality practices

• Private partners working on integration of

environmental metrics with precision ag

platforms

Midwest Water Quality

Partnership Project (RCPP)


Iowa Watershed Focus


Practices


What is the Fieldprint Calculator?

• An online education tool for row crop farmers that indexes their agronomics and practices to a Fieldprint

• Helps growers evaluate their farming decisions and compare their sustainability performance

– In the areas of:• Land use• Soil conservation• Soil carbon• Water use

• Energy use• Greenhouse gas emissions• Water Quality• Biodiversity (in development)


• Integration of FTM FPC environmental metrics

with private sector platforms

• Agrium/CPS, AgSolver, Agronomic Technol.

Corp., DuPont Pioneer, Syngenta, United

Suppliers, WinField

RCPP Platform Integration


• Field to Market

• Midwest Row Crop Collaboration

• RCPP – Platform Integration Component

• Data to support sustainability claims?

• Pay farmers for data?

Supply Chain Sustainability Claims


• Soil Health metric with chemical, physical and

biological indicators

• Improved Validation

• Link Soil Health with land valuation

-economic signals reward management practices

-if adopt practices, land worth more

-promote Soil Health CSR

• New asset class around soil health

• Resilience, Risk and Ag Lending?

Soil Health and Land Valuation


Questions?

Farmer-led Efforts to Improve Water Quality · –Increase the pace and scale of farmer-led efforts...

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