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_ - w. v .�s•�u� 1 as\. 1 ul J NATURAL VITALITY The Simple Ag Fix That's Saving Iowa's Land Food&Nutrition>Farms&Farmers>The Simple Ag Fix That's Saving Iowa's Land CONNECTIONS kry By Ken Roseboro,The Organic&Non-GMO Report POPULAR PINS An innovative project Is using an age-old ecosystem to help solve problems resulting from modern agriculture A team of scientists at Iowa State University is reintroducing strips of native prairie into Iowa's farms as away to i reduce sod erosion,prevent fertilizer pollution of waterways,and create new habitats for wildlife,Insects,and I� pollinators "Think outside the box" The idea for the project arose out of discussions among agriculture experts at Iowa State who were becoming concei ued about negative environmental Impacts of Industrial agriculture in Iowa,particularly with reduced water quality and loss of wildlife habitats "We were looking for something to do to address those concerns without Impacting the profitability of agriculture," says Lisa Schulte Moore,ISU associate professor of natural resource ecology and management"We tried to think outside the box" Their idea was to reintroduce the once predominant ecosystem of Iowa—prairie—Into Iowa's farms,which are dominated by corn and soybean production. Until the mid-1800s,Iowa's landscape was dominated by prairie spreading across 85 percent of the state.But with the introduction of agriculture in the mid-nineteenth century,Iowa's prairie gave way to the plow and todayjust 0 1 percent of Iowa's native prairie remains The ISU team,which included experts In agronomy,agricultural engineering,entomology,and ecology,chose the Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge in Prairie City,Iowa,to conduct the prairie experiment The 3,600-acre refuge contains the largest reconstructed prairie in Iowa Iowa is known for its rich,fertile soils,which resulted from centuries of growth and decay of tall prairie grasses with deep root systems.As Moore says,"In Iowa you rarely see bare ground because the soil is so fertile" http://organicconnectmag.com/project/the-simple-ap- x-thats-saving-iowas-land/?utm_sour... 4/1/2015