USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins brought a significant investment to Iowa during her visit to Cedar Rapids earlier this week, announcing $10 million in federal funding to expand the state’s Cattle and Conservation Working Lands Program. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig says the announcement marks an important step forward for an initiative that has grown over nearly a decade.
Rollins announced during a visit to ADM’s corn processing facility in Cedar Rapids, where she highlighted opportunities for American agriculture and announced a new round of funding through USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program. Naig says Iowa has successfully secured competitive federal conservation grants, and the latest award will build on that progress.
The Cattle and Conservation Working Lands Program focuses on converting environmentally sensitive and less productive row crop acres into pasture, allowing farmers to maintain agricultural production while improving conservation outcomes. According to Naig, the program has already helped convert approximately 20,000 acres of cropland into pasture and supported the planting of hundreds of thousands of acres of cover crops.
The initiative began as a pilot project roughly ten years ago and has gradually expanded into 28 Iowa counties. Naig believes the approach has proven successful enough to serve as a model for other states looking to balance conservation with agricultural production.
While the new federal investment will help expand the program, Naig says his ultimate goal is to make it available statewide. He plans to ask the Iowa Legislature for additional funding to support that expansion.
Naig says the program is designed to identify acres that may not be delivering strong returns through traditional row crop production, particularly land that is vulnerable to erosion or located near waterways. Converting those acres to pasture can help address environmental concerns while providing additional opportunities for Iowa cattle producers.
However, establishing pasture involves more than simply planting grass. Producers may need fencing, water infrastructure, and other improvements before cattle can graze those acres effectively. Naig says the additional federal funding will allow the state to develop conservation packages that better address those individual needs.
The investment also comes as the nation’s beef cattle herd remains at historically low levels. Naig says expanding available pasture is one way Iowa can help producers rebuild their herds while keeping agricultural land productive.
He also believes conservation programs should recognize the value of working lands rather than focusing exclusively on removing acreage from agricultural production.
While traditional Conservation Reserve Program contracts can provide environmental benefits, Naig says there are opportunities to allow more haying and grazing on certain acres while still protecting natural resources. He would like to see greater flexibility for those practices.
Properly managed grazing, he says, can contribute to soil health and help maintain productive grasslands. That creates an opportunity for producers to generate agricultural value from acres that may not be well suited for continuous corn and soybean production.
Naig says Iowa faces a particular challenge because much of the state’s available farmland is already in production. Expanding cattle numbers and pasture opportunities will require a combination of converting less productive cropland, improving existing pastures, and potentially increasing access to suitable Conservation Reserve Program acres.
He believes the Cattle and Conservation Working Lands Program demonstrates how conservation and agricultural production can complement one another rather than compete for the same land.
With the additional $10 million in federal support, Naig says Iowa can continue expanding those opportunities while working toward his larger goal of making the program available across the state. He hopes the success of Iowa’s approach will also encourage other states to explore similar conservation efforts that support both environmental stewardship and livestock production.
