Conservationists Brace for Flood Work

October 2008
By Dick Tremain, Public Affairs Specialist

Soil conservationists across Iowa are bracing for another flood. This time they are expecting a deluge of farmers looking for help repairing erosion control structures damaged by this year’s many heavy storms. 

District Conservationist Mark Fehseke is getting ready. He’s with U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Wayne County. Fehseke leads a team of federal, state, and local specialists in his county gearing up to help farmers repair flood damage. 

“Wayne County faired better than many counties in the state,” said Fehseke, “but those numerous three and four-inch rains we got caused a lot of damage to conservation structures. We know we have numerous washed out terraces, breaches and damaged waterways.  We can’t see them right now because there are crops in the field. Once harvest is underway we expect many farmers will look to us for assistance repairing their storm damaged structures.”

Don Petty couldn’t wait for harvest. The Allerton farmer knows he has washed out waterways, breeched terraces and silt damage. He visited the Wayne County NRCS office in August looking for help to fix damage on his farms.

Steve Lewis, an NRCS soil conservationist, assisted Petty. “We did find funding and signed a contract,” said Lewis. “This allows us to go in and help him repair storm damage. We can help him fix the breeches he has and clean out the silt.”

Petty says he is pleased. “I come in and say I’ve got a problem," he said. "I’ve got washed out terraces. The local NRCS office looks for available money and helps us out.” 

Petty, 63, has been farming since 1968. He and his wife Joyce farm 740 acres. They use a corn/soybean rotation on 300 acres of land and a five to seven year rotation of corn/beans/corn/hay/pasture on the rest. 

“This seven year rotation works real well for us in these heavy clay soils,” said Petty. “It reduces soil erosion and improves soil tilth, but it couldn’t prevent the erosion we got from this years rain. That’s why we built terraces, ponds, and seed down the row crop to hay ground under EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program).”

Lewis says there are 7,300 feet of terraces on the Pettys’ farms. Some were installed when Petty first started farming. 

“I like the terrace designs we have now,” said Petty, “but the ones from 30 years ago could have been designed better. We are learning. We know more now than back then. One terrace I have will require repair. We also need to put another one up above it to slow the water going into it.”

Petty added, “NRCS has learned as well as the farmers in the last 30 years where to locate structures. They need to be located up the hill where it looks like they don’t need to be in order to stop the water washing before it ever gets started. That way you can do more with smaller terraces.” 

He said keeping soil in place is very important to him because his farm is in the Rathbun Lake Watershed. “We use Rathbun water in our house,” said Petty. “It’s one of the greatest things to happen to Wayne County because we now have good, clean water.  Before Rathbun, we had shallow wells. There was always a problem with bacteria in the well water. Not now. Not with Rathbun. I want to do my part on my farms to protect our drinking water.”

Fehseke says a lot of farmers are just like Petty. They want to farm in a way that protects the environment while growing crops.  “That’s why,” said Fehseke, “we want to help farmers quickly fix storm damaged conservation structures. We are ready to help.”

District Conservationist Todd Duncan says his team of soil conservationists in Winneshiek County is ready to assist farmers, too. “We got 14 inches of rain on June 8,” Duncan said. “The rain came down on saturated soil and did a lot of damage. Many older terraces and grassed waterways failed. There was a lot of scouring damage to rivers and streams.”

Duncan tried to find something good to come from the early June storm that hit northeastern Iowa. “The crops were young and farmers could see much of the damage," he said. "We’ve had three months to prepare for fall construction which will include a lot of storm damage repair. We’ve been very busy this summer, but we expect the workload will increase once crops come out of the fields and more damage is discovered.”

NRCS encourages farmers to check their fields for damage. If problems are found, farmers should contact their local NRCS office for recommendations and assistance to help fix the damage.

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Side Bar:

Rathbun Lake is formed by Rathbun Dam on the Chariton River in Appanoose County. It is used for flood control, recreation and drinking water purposes. Construction on the dam was completed in 1972. The lake provides drinking water to 70,000 people in 18 Iowa and Missouri counties. Rathbun Lake also provides recreational opportunities for one million visitors annually.

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