STRIPS Collaborator Survey: 2019 Results

The STRIPS (Science-based Trials of Rowcrops Integrated with Prairie Strips) project has developed collaborative partnerships with more than 35 farmers and landowners who have integrated prairie strips into their farm landscapes. One of the STRIPS project’s guiding principles is to “create and maintain feedback loops for information sharing among team members, farmer/farm landowner adopters, and other stakeholders.” A major goal of these feedback loops is to learn from collaborators who have adopted prairie strips so project staff can help current (and future) collaborators to successfully establish and manage prairie strips

Landowners and Operators Caring About the Land (LOCAL): Iowa Farmland Owner and Operator Survey

This document reports the results of a survey conducted for the Landowners and Operators Caring About the Land (LOCAL) project. The LOCAL project is a joint effort between Conservation Districts of Iowa, Agren, Inc., and Iowa State University (ISU) Extension Sociology. Funded by a Conservation Innovation (CIG) grant from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the purpose of the project is to develop and promote market-based incentives that lead farm operators and non-operator landowners to implement conservation-friendly management on rented farmland. The overall goal of the program is to improve the mutual capacity and willingness of non-operator landowners and their operators to achieve conservation objectives. This report addresses objective 1 of the project: to improve our understanding of landowner and operator willingness and capacity to participate in and support natural resources conservation on Iowa’s farmland

Farmer Perspectives on Pesticide Resistance

Pesticide resistance is on the rise in Iowa and the Midwest. Most corn and soybean farmers in the Corn Belt grow plants that have been genetically modified to express resistance to the herbicide glyphosate. In the case of corn, many hybrids have been genetically modified to express one or more Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) proteins that are toxic to western corn rootworm, a major insect pest. The development of crops that are genetically modified to tolerate glyphosate has been tied to a substantial reduction in tillage, which has led to reduced soil erosion. The advent of Bt corn has been credited with a major reduction in the use of broad-spectrum insecticides. However, widespread and continuous use of these pest management technologies has led to selection pressure, or conditions that are conducive to the evolution of resistances to their modes of pesticide action.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/extension_communities_pubs/1025/thumbnail.jp

STRIPS Cooperator Survey: 2017 Results

The STRIPS (Science-based Trials of Rowcrops Integrated with Prairie Strips) project has developed collaborative partnerships with more than 35 farmers and landowners who have integrated prairie strips into their farm landscapes. One of the STRIPS project’s guiding principles is to “create and maintain feedback loops for information sharing among team members, farmer/farm landowner adopters, and other stakeholders.” A major goal of these feedback loops is to learn from cooperators who have adopted prairie strips so project staff can help current (and future) cooperators to successfully establish and manage prairie strips

STRIPS Cooperator Follow-On Survey: 2015 Results

This survey was conducted to support the STRIPS project’s guiding principle to “create and maintain feedback loops for information sharing among team members, farmer/farm landowner adopters, and other stakeholders.” The overall purpose of the feedback loop is to learn from collaborators so project staff can help current (and future) collaborators to successfully establish and manage prairie strips. The purpose of the survey was to learn about collaborating landowners’ experiences with the establishment and management of prairie strips to help project staff understand what (1) positive and negative experiences and (2) information and technical assistance needs they have. The survey consisted of six open-ended questions and one question asking cooperators if they would be interested in receiving periodic emails with prairie strips management reminders and tips. The questions were: 1. What have been some of your positive experiences with your prairie strips? 2. What have been some of the challenges with your prairie strips? 3. What would you do differently if you planted new prairie strips? 4. What advice would you give someone who is getting ready to plant prairie strips? 5. What are some of the questions you have about prairies and prairie management? 6. What else can the Iowa State University STRIPS project do to help? 7. Would you be interested in receiving periodic emails with management reminders and tips for your prairie strips? The survey was sent by email to 25 collaborators in mid-August 2015, and a reminder was sent in early September. Ten collaborators completed the survey. This document presents the responses to the questions

Farmer support for extending Conservation Compliance beyond soil erosion: Evidence from Iowa

Conservation Compliance, which since its inception in 1985 has led to substantial reductions in soil erosion by linking eligibility for some Farm Bill programs to erosion control on highly erodible land, is at a critical juncture. Agricultural economic and budget factors have reduced the effectiveness of compliance incentives, and numerous groups are calling for enhancement of incentives and/or for extension of compliance beyond erosion control to cover concerns such as water quality impairment. This study analyzed survey data measuring Iowa farmers\u27 support for four increasingly stringent Conservation Compliance scenarios ranging from the current configuration to a requirement that all farmers control nutrient runoff regardless of participation in Farm Bill programs. Overall, the results indicate that Iowa farmers have a generally positive view of Conservation Compliance policy, both as currently configured and in potentially more stringent and extensive forms. Farmers with stronger conservationist identities and attitudes were more likely to endorse increasing the scope and stringency of Conservation Compliance, while farmers who expressed greater levels of concern about the property rights implications of government intervention and those with more productivist orientations were less likely to support such policy changes. Taken as a whole, the results suggest that most Iowa farmers think that Conservation Compliance is a good idea, should be continued, and should be extended to more farmers and other resource concerns

Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll: 2015 Summary Report

The Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll is an annual survey of Iowa farmers. The survey project collects and disseminates information on issues of importance to agricultural stakeholders across Iowa and the Midwest. The Farm Poll has been conducted every year since its establishment in 1982. It is the longestrunning survey of its kind in the nation. Iowa State University (ISU) Extension and Outreach, the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and the Iowa Agricultural Statistics Service are partners in the Farm Poll. The information gathered through the annual survey is used to inform the development and improvement of research and extension programs and is used by local, state, and national leaders in their decisionmaking processes. We thank the many farm families who responded to this year’s survey and appreciate their continued participation.https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/extension_communities_pubs/1027/thumbnail.jp