Wallaces Farmer

Slideshow: Pilot project will assist Iowa farmers to address ephemeral gullies on highly erodible land.

May 7, 2019

6 Slides

Iowa is one of six states selected by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service to take part in a pilot project providing financial assistance to farmers to address ephemeral gullies on highly erodible land. Other states in the project are Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Idaho and Oregon.

Application deadline is June 21 for the $5 million available in Iowa through the pilot project. NRCS state conservationist Kurt Simon says priority will be given to applicants with tracts that were selected for conservation compliance reviews in the past two years and received variances to address ephemeral gully erosion.

The pilot will provide financial assistance to farmers to use conservation practices such as cover crops, no-till, buffer strips, terraces and grassed waterways.

Don’t lose program benefits

Ephemeral gullies are those areas in cropland fields where small gullies appear after heavy rains. Tilling an ephemeral gully to close it leaves nutrient-rich topsoil vulnerable to erosion. Fixing the gullies with conservation practices protects productivity and water quality, and allows farmers with highly erodible land to continue receiving USDA benefits.

Since the 1985 Farm Bill became law, farmers have been required to control erosion on fields classified as highly erodible. Each spring, NRCS conducts compliance reviews on a random selection of highly erodible fields to determine if erosion has been adequately controlled.

A noncompliance ruling can affect benefits that farmers receive from USDA agencies, including program payments and Price Loss Coverage. If erosion control issues are identified during compliance reviews, farmers may be given variances, which provide time for farmers to adjust and install needed conservation practices.

“Our advice to farmers is to work with your local NRCS staff to develop conservation alternatives that will address your erosion issue,” Simon says. “We are dedicated to working with farmers and ranchers to figure out ways for them to produce agricultural products in ways that are both economical to them and respectful of the resources. This pilot provides us with additional funding to do that.”

4 ways to prevent gullies 

After a gully-washing rain, some farmers dig up soil from bottomlands to fill in the washouts in fields. But what care is taken to prevent these gullies from forming again?

The 1985 Food Security Act requires all gullies on highly erodible land to be repaired or farmers risk losing government farm program payments.

After heavy rains, ephemeral gullies — shallow gullies that can be easily filled in by tillage — appear in many fields. Some farmers work on repairing those gullies by filling them in with soil from bottomlands. While this may look good for a while, this soil can easily be washed out again in another big storm. Such storms are expected to become more frequent as the climate is changing, so it’s important to fix gullies and make sure they don’t form again.

Four things you can do to prevent gullies from forming:

1. Improve soil infiltration. The key is to improve soil health. The more water soaks into the soil, the less runoff and the less likely gullies will reform.

2. Use no-till farming. No-till leaves crop residue on the soil surface to protect soil from effects of raindrops. The crop residue slows runoff, giving water more chance to infiltrate. The organic matter left on top of the soil also stimulates biological activity, which maintains soil structure.

Another important step is to avoid soil compaction that would reduce infiltration. Cover the repaired gully with straw or sawdust to protect it from the elements and to feed the soil organisms.

3. Plant in narrow rows and seed cover crops. Planting crops in narrow rows (such as drilling beans instead of planting them) and planting crops on the contour (across the gully) will help. Also, plant cover crops after summer crop harvest and plan to use high cover crop seeding rates in the repaired gully area.

4. Establish a grassed waterway. If you expect a concentrated flow to occur frequently in the repaired gully area, it may be best to plant a grassed waterway there. In extreme cases, farmers could also install permanent erosion control structures in the previous channel. If soil has a seasonal high-water table, artificial drainage may help remove excess water.

Source: NRCS is responsible for information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and subsidiaries aren’t responsible for any content contained in this information asset.

 

 

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