Learning about ag from the ground up

While Iowa farmers rushed to get seed in the ground recently, a group of Des Moines third-graders planted their own mini field of corn and soybeans, right next to the school playground.

The young students from St. Theresa Catholic School in Des Moines planted the seeds by hand, using a ruler and string to measure in straight rows.

“It’s like my first time planting,” said third-grader Ethan Chee, as he kneeled in the dirt to plant soybean seeds, getting dust on the knees of his navy blue pants.

His teacher, Theresa Dutchuk, said the students have been asking all year about when they will get to plant their Learning Test Plot.

“Their enthusiasm has been through the roof,” Dutchuk said. “Anything hands on and anything with technology, they enjoy and they remember it better. It means a lot. Instead of just driving by a field, it’s something that they did.”

The Learning Test Plot project, organized by the Polk County Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom program, teaches local elementary students about Iowa agriculture through the hands-on experience of planting and harvesting their own corn and soybean crops.

Since 2006, more than 3,500 Des Moines-area students have participated in the Learning Test Plot project. This year, six elementary schools are growing their own learning plots, including St. Theresa’s School in Des Moines; Horizon, Beaver Creek, Wallace and Lawson elementary schools in Johnston; and Jordan Creek Elementary in West Des Moines.

Students plant the 30-by-30-foot plot of corn and soybeans on school property. The plots are large enough to get a good stand for pollination and also allow students to harvest at least one ear of corn in the fall, said Cindy Hall, Polk County Farm Bureau’s Ag in the Classroom (AITC) director.

When the students return as fourth-graders in the fall, they will harvest the crops, also by hand, and will learn more about harvest technology today and back in pioneer times.

“Hopefully, because (the students) have done this, if they drive around and see a planter in the field, they notice

it more and talk about it. And I think it’s happening,” Hall said.

Written by Teresa Bjork, senior features writer for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.

Distilling the facts on water quality

I read with great interest the recent Des Moines Register story, “Record nitrate levels in Raccoon, Des Moines threaten Des Moines-area tap water.”  The simple truth is, there’s not one regulation that would have prevented the current spike in nitrates from the Raccoon River watershed, short of outlawing crop production in Iowa.  That’s exactly why the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the Department of Natural Resources have drafted the Iowa Nutrient Strategy, a science and technology-based approach to assess and reduce nutrients to Iowa waters and the Gulf of Mexico. It will target efforts to reduce nutrients in surface water from both point and nonpoint sources in a scientific, reasonable and cost effective manner.

Weather patterns of extreme drought and extreme rainfall are taking their toll in Iowa and all watersheds see the impact.  During dry and cool periods like last fall, there is relatively little, if any, conversion of anhydrous ammonia to nitrate and movement of it from the soil or farm fields. Movement of nitrate is expected as the soil warms, especially after the first major rain events following a drought, such as we’ve seen since late April.  Of course, last fall was dry, so we did not see movement of nitrates to streams going back to September 2012, which is the usual concern in Iowa.

This spring turned out to be wetter than normal, with some areas seeing several inches of rainfall in a single day, resulting in the recent 14-day nitrate spike we are seeing right now.  A new record for Iowa April average precipitation was set this year at 6.52 inches, twice the normal about of rainfall and comfortably beating the old record of 6.25 inches, set back in 1999.

The good news is that the Des Moines Water Works “treated water quality” is safe for people to drink and use, according to current data on the DSM Water Works website.  Considering Iowa’s proud first-in-the nation crop production status, it’s also a sign of progress that this is the first time in six years that the nitrate removal plant has even been used.  Clearly, if we all do our part, farmers, homeowners, businesses and communities, we will all have a positive impact on Iowa’s watershed, keeping Iowa’s water safe to drink today, and for future generations.

Written by Rick Robinson. Rick is environmental policy advisor for the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.