Now’s the time to be thinking about adding an environmentally friendly practice to your operation. There are quite a few out there and we learn about one that comes with 100% cost share. Saturated Buffers were on display at a Practical Farmers of Iowa Field Day during their Summer Series of over 40 different farms across the Midwest. Saturated Buffers help improve the environmental nature of your operation and reduce nutrient run-off, 42 percent removal of nitrate from tile water to be exact. Cynthia Farmer with the Center for Rural Affairs was on hand to witness first-hand host Jerry Vander Wert’s operation and practice.
“Had the opportunity to see a saturated buffer,” Farmer said. “Obviously you aren’t able to see what is underground, but they explain very well the system and what a farmer can do with a tiled buffer as they described it.”
There are some requirements if a Saturated Buffer is the solution for your farm, as there are many others to choose from. It must be pattern tiled and that must outlet into a stream. There’s a control valve structure that allows for flexible management of the practice based on rainfall.
“It’s obviously been a pretty dry summer, so there was just a little dribble of water down in the bottom,” Farmer said. “Like he mentioned usually if you opened up the gate there would be water there but this year even the creek is pretty dry so it’s much more effective in wetter years.”
That research has come a long way in a short period of time in regard to reducing nutrient run-off. Not only is 100% cost share available, but in some cases there may be a rental payment involved as well. Contact your local NRCS or Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to learn more.
