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Ag Bytes<br />
Lori Schnoor,<br />
Natural Resources<br />
Conservation<br />
Jackson County tops<br />
state in conservation<br />
Jackson County led the state in a key<br />
conservation program with more than<br />
$960,000 going to local landowners in<br />
2023 to improve the environmental quality<br />
of their ground.<br />
The Natural Resources Conservation<br />
Service (NRCS) obligated a record $85.8<br />
million in conservation practice funding<br />
to Iowa farmers last year. The various<br />
programs will help treat natural resource<br />
concerns such as soil erosion and water<br />
quality on 386,736 acres across the state.<br />
The Jackson County NRCS office led<br />
the state in the number of contracts, funding<br />
and acres covered under the Conservation<br />
Stewardship Program (CPS), with<br />
33 CRP contracts totaling $961,870 and<br />
covering 13,443 acres. Those projects<br />
included nutrient management, integrated<br />
pest management, cover crops, and notill,<br />
among others.<br />
“Our goal is to<br />
work with landowners<br />
to help identify<br />
their natural resources<br />
issues<br />
on their land and<br />
solve those issues<br />
with conservation<br />
practices,” said<br />
Lori Schnoor,<br />
Jackson County’s<br />
NRCS district<br />
conservationist.<br />
“We want to get<br />
the word out that<br />
we would welcome<br />
the opportunity to come to your farm and<br />
discuss your challenges. The Maquoketa<br />
staff show they care about our farmers<br />
and landowners, and they really do try to<br />
help. I believe our numbers reflect that in<br />
the amount of voluntary conservation our<br />
county implements.”<br />
Throughout the year, the staff, some<br />
of whom work for the Iowa Department<br />
of Ag and Land Stewardship, host field<br />
days and does onsite consultations with<br />
landowners to see what practices make<br />
sense.<br />
Many of the programs are done through<br />
cost share, in which landowners and agricultural<br />
producers can access financial<br />
and technical assistance to put structural<br />
and management conservation practices<br />
in place. The landowner pays a certain<br />
amount for the project, and the NRCS program<br />
pays a certain amount.<br />
For more information:<br />
In Clinton County – Chris Hiher, DeWitt<br />
Service Center, 1212 17th Ave., DeWitt, IA<br />
52742; (563) 659-3456; or chris.hiher@<br />
usda.gov.<br />
Jackson County: Lori Schnoor, Maquoketa<br />
Service Center, 603 E. Platt St.,<br />
Maquoketa, IA 52060; (563) 652-2337; or<br />
lori.schnoor@usda.gov.<br />
Jones County: Addie Manternach,<br />
The Eastern Iowa<br />
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