Published Aug 19, 2016

One Stop Cover Crop Service Boone and Story County Iowa
By Sarah Carlson
cover crop

Cover crop established after corn in Iowa. Photo credit IDALS.

One Stop Cover Crop Service available in Boone and Story County:

We take the hassle out of building your soil health

Prairie Rivers of Iowa, in partnership with the Boone and Story County Soil and Water Conservation Districts, is taking the hassle out of fall cover crop application. You tell us what you want for your fields, and we’ll book the service and buy the seed. You’ll receive only one bill in the end, and hopefully, some peace of mind.

We are providing both pre-harvest and post-harvest application options primarily with cereal rye and oats. Farmers will have the option of an airplane, highboy applicator, or drill for application. Other mixes can be made and applied upon request.  By providing numerous options, we intend to provide a service that fits the farmer and the goals they would like to achieve within their farm operation.

“As a farmer, I know that adding something new to the farm operation can be challenging,” says Jeremy Gustafson, Chairman for the Boone County SWCD. “It is our goal to make the incorporation of cover crops as easy as possible with this service to the area.”

 

The cost for this service is $30/acre for cereal rye with the following application types: highboy, aerial, and drill application. The cost for oat application is $35/acre across all of the above application types. Farmers in Boone and Story County will have the opportunity to off-set the costs for this service from a wide range of cost-share opportunities available within the counties. These funds are made available through the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship – Division of Soil Conservation and Water Quality as well as through federal financial programming.

 

Farmers and landowners are encouraged to contact Kayla Hasper at 515-232-0048 or khasper@prrcd.org  as well as the Boone and Story Natural Resource and Conservation Service centers located in Boone and Story County to learn more about the service, cost-share opportunities, and to sign up for the service.