(Radio Iowa) – This is Soil and Water Conservation Week in Iowa, with the theme this year, “Healthy Soil, Healthy Life.” Lynn Knutson is with the Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation Service.  “Iowa Soil and Water Conservation Week is an opportunity to recognize the important conservation work that has been placed on the Iowa landscape,” Knutson says, “and bring attention to the ongoing work by farmers, landowners and residents to protect the state’s soil and water resources.”

Knutson says there are all sorts of services being offered to Iowans to help them conserve our soil and water. “Farmers can apply to receive some cost-share funding for things like cover crops, strip till, no till, grass waterways, buffer strips,” he says. “The USDA actually approves the work orders that meets the standards and then us as commissioners approve the work that meets the priorities for our county that have been set.”

There are soil and water conservation offices in all 99 Iowa counties. Iowa leads the nation in the continuous conservation reserve program buffer initiative with more than 600,000 acres. Statewide, there are more than 60 active watershed and water quality projects.