DES MOINES, Iowa — Cattle and livestock producers across several North Iowa counties will soon have greater access to state funding aimed at turning less-productive cropland into pasture and hay ground.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced Tuesday that the state’s Cattle and Conservation Working Lands Program is expanding into 22 counties within the Greater Des Moines watershed. The expansion includes Winnebago, Hancock, Kossuth, Humboldt, Wright, Hamilton, Palo Alto and Emmet counties.
The cost-share program helps cattle and other livestock producers convert under-performing or highly erodible row-crop acres into pasture or hay ground. State agriculture officials say the effort can provide additional forage for livestock while reducing soil erosion and improving water quality…