So Long, Iowa Soil

The Des Moines Register carries news of new study using Iowa State University data to show Iowa's topsoil is washing away at an alarming rate. High commodity prices fueled by big demand for corn are driving some farmers to push their croplands to the limit. Add heavy rainfall, and it's a big problem.

From the DMR:

Eroded soil also carries farm chemicals into streams and rivers, contributing to pollution that is blamed for creating a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.According to official U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates, Iowa soil erodes at an average rate of 5.2 tons per acre annually, which is close to the rate at which the USDA estimates most Iowa land can maintain its productivity. Five tons per acre of soil would be a sheet less than a dime in thickness.But in 2009 one in every four townships in Iowa, 395 in all, had average erosion rates of more than 10 tons per acre, according to the report by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C., research and advocacy group.Thirty townships that year had erosion rates exceeding 50 tons an acre.A township is an area six miles by six miles, or 23,050 acres. Iowa has 1,570 townships that are primarily agricultural. An acre is about the size of a football field.

According to official U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates, Iowa soil erodes at an average rate of 5.2 tons per acre annually, which is close to the rate at which the USDA estimates most Iowa land can maintain its productivity. Five tons per acre of soil would be a sheet less than a dime in thickness.

But in 2009 one in every four townships in Iowa, 395 in all, had average erosion rates of more than 10 tons per acre, according to the report by the Environmental Working Group, a Washington, D.C., research and advocacy group.

Thirty townships that year had erosion rates exceeding 50 tons an acre.

A township is an area six miles by six miles, or 23,050 acres. Iowa has 1,570 townships that are primarily agricultural. An acre is about the size of a football field.

Be sure to check it out the whole story.

You have to wonder how much more data like this has to pile up before this ceases to be a sleepy issue lawmakers blow off and actually becomes a priority. Soil conservation and flood prevention go hand-in-hand. What could be more important than saving Iowa valuable soil and protecting communities? Unless something changes, the state is poised to actually spend less on conservation measures next year.

Federal and state action are needed to encourage, and in some cases require, better land use practices. Folks can either give up some of their land for conservation or watch it wash down the river.