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Iowa Pork offering cost share program

January 30, 2017, Clive, IA — The Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA) is partnering with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) to offer additional cost share dollars to pig farmers installing new nutrient loss reduction technologies.

Through this program, IPPA will provide up to $25,000, throughout the next year, to offset up to 50 percent of costs for pig farmers to install saturated buffers or bioreactors on their farmland. Sites will be selected based on greatest opportunity for nitrate reduction and be geographically dispersed throughout the state to aid in education and demonstration opportunities.

“Bioreactors and saturated buffers are new practices that have been developed to address water quality, so this $25,000 investment will help us install them at sites across the state so we can continue to demonstrate to farmers how they may be able fit on their farm,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey. “I greatly appreciate the Iowa Pork Producers Association for making this significant investment. This is another great example of ag groups in Iowa stepping up to help improve water quality.”

Participating producers will be asked to share information and experiences with other farmers through IPPA and IDALS programs.

“We are happy to partner with IDALS to offer this program and technical assistance,” said 2017 IPPA President Curtis Meier, a pig farmer from Clarinda, IA. “While these practices are not specific to pork production, our leaders have recognized the importance of enhancing assistance to install and build awareness of these exciting new edge-of-field technologies.”

Pig farmers interested in the program can submit basic farm information for project consideration at www.surveygizmo.com/s3/3108271/IDALS-EOF-Funding-Application. For more information, contact Tyler Bettin at IPPA at (800) 372-7675 or tbettin@iowapork.org or Matt Lechtenberg at IDALS at (515) 281-3857 or matthew.lechtenberg@iowaagriculture.gov.