Incentive Ed Program

Incentive Education for Nutrient and Pesticide Management
In a local initiative, farmers in northeast Iowa receive incentive payments to learn and apply refined crop management practices.

Through research and demonstration, many practical and profitable "Best Management Practices"(BMPs) for agricultural pollution prevention are now available. Some of the most important of these in Iowa are refined methods for crop nutrient and pest management that reduce excess nutrient and pesticide use. Such methods have also been proven to increase farm profitability by increasing the use of on-farm resources.

In recent years, public incentive programs aimed at increasing the adoption of nutrient and pesticide management BMPs have paid producers to hire crop consultants, who provide management prescriptions for nutrient and pest management. Examples are the ACP SP53 practice and the "ICM" Practice in Water Quality Incentive (WQIP) special projects. These incentive programs have been hindered by the small number of qualified crop consultants available in Iowa. Or even where consultants are available, due to economies of scale they may be unwilling to serve small acreage farms, low resource farms, beginning farmers, or livestock operations of any size if they have a small crop acreage base. Producers who don't want to hire consultants also may not learn enough from the special assistance program to continue the practices on their own.

The staff and local advisors of the Northeast Iowa Demonstration developed a new approach to improve the ability of incentive-based programs to cause long-term changes in nutrient and pesticide management practices. Their pilot Incentive Education Program is attempting to make more efficient use of public funds. Rather than pay for consultants' management prescriptions,the education incentive supports farmers' direct participation in a series of educational workshops where they learn to develop and apply their own, site-specific, nutrient and pest management plans.

Producers receive small incentive payments (about $2.50 per acre in the first year, depending upon the number of acres enrolled and whether they have livestock manure to include in their plans) to participate in a three-year series of educational workshops conducted by project specialists. In the workshops they learn to plan refined crop nutrient management - using their own fields as examples. Each prepares an inventory of soil nutrient resources and manure resources, if they have livestock, and develops a nutrient management plan based on realistic yield goals and proper soil tests. Pesticide management education is delivered by timely newsletters and occasional field laboratories held during the growing season.

During the second and third years, biweekly pest management newsletters and field laboratories continue during the growing season. Participants meet once after harvest to review field records and adjust plans for the next season. The three year program is tied together by a simple record keeping system focused on annual accrual of environmental and economic benefits. Completed field records are required to receive each year's payment.

Participants also complete short annual surveys to evaluate how much they have learned and whether they are applying the BMPs. So far, the program has targeted low resource and young farmer participants, and those who live in special watershed project areas in northeast Iowa. During crop year 1997, 64 producers are participating in their first, second or third year of the workshops.

About 90% of Demonstration Project area farms, and virtually all farms in the pilot Incentive Education project, have livestock. These farmers can significantly reduce excess fertilizer use by crediting their manure nutrients and targeting application more appropriately. Management changes recorded in participant surveys document economic and environmental improvements that will affect their decisions throughout their farming careers and lead to long-term reduction of excess nutrient inputs.

For example, 88% of first year participants changed their nitrogen management, and 71% of these did so by taking manure N credits. Seventy-six percent of participants spreading solid manure were able to report their application rate after one year, versus 18% in the entry survey. Improved net income from reduced fertilizer nitrogen application ranged up to $5,500 per farm. Even more important, the number of participants who named themselves (rather than suppliers) as responsible for their nutrient management program also significantly increased.

Field-by-field plans and records - the key to more profitable nutrient and pest management.

In spite of the incentive payments and the value of the information, farmers have to be recruited for this program. Eligibility during the second and third years depends on keeping field records, and the annual workshop focuses on evaluation of yields and revising nutrient and pest management plans for the next season. It seems the record keeping requirement has been a deterrent for enrollment and retention in the program, even when there are significant economic benefits from the plans developed during the first year's workshops. For some

participants, the annual payments (maximum of $250 during years two and three) may be an insufficient incentive.

For producers who remain in the Incentive Education Program, however, surveys suggest this initiative lowers the cost and increases the effectiveness of public NPM practice incentives. As a result, state agencies have sanctioned the use of the incentive education approach in other Iowa water quality projects. The Natural Resources Conservation Service in Iowa is also developing guidance for NPM Incentive Education Programs which can be used in Environmental Quality Incentive (EQIP) projects established by the 1995 Farm Bill.