Iowa Agriculture Secretary and Farm Service Agency Executive Director tour Allamakee County flood damage

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) Executive Director John Whitaker (left to right in top photo) visited Allamakee County Tuesday, July 30 to survey damage caused by flooding this spring. Northey and Whitaker surveyed damage along Patterson Creek Drive in northwest Allamakee County, accompanied by Allamakee County Supervisors Larry Schellhammer and Dennis Koenig, Allamakee County FSA Executive Director Joyce Davidshofer, Allamakee County Conservationist LuAnn Rolling (center of bottom photo) and several Allamakee County Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioners.
The group met with landowners Jason Howe (center in top photo) and Dennis Byrnes (far left in bottom photo) from the northwest portion of Allamakee County in the Patterson Creek area, who pointed out damage to pastures and conservation structures caused by storms that rolled through the area in late June. Byrnes told Northey and Whitaker that as bad as the flood damage was, it would have been a lot worse without conservation terraces. Byrnes said that more money should be invested in conservation practices and that farmers need to be educated about low-cost conservation methods that can make a big difference. Northey said that the Natural Resource Conservation Service is working on developing methods to measure the health of soil in order to measure the effects of erosion. He said such measurements would not necessarily be used as a legislative tool, but rather as a tool to convince farmers of the value of conservation practices. Northey added that the vast majority of farmers make good use of conservation practices, but those who don't use conservation practices "stick out like sore thumbs."
Whitaker said that conservation practices are tied to crop insurance within the Senate version of the farm bill currently under consideration in congress. He also said that funds are available through the Emergency Conservation Program to assist landowners with the cost of repairing damaged conservation structures in cases where the cost of repairs exceeds $1,000. In those cases, federal funds would cover 75% of the cost. Rolling pointed out that the cost to repair a terrace blow-out is approximately $400 and Davidshofer said that over 150 terrace blow-outs have been reported in Allamakee County. Photos and report by Bob Beach.