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by Garrett Heyd
Iowa has some of the richest and most productive soil in the world, with over 85% of the land dedicated to agriculture, producing billions of dollars annually for the state.
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JOHNSON COUNTY, Iowa — Iowa has some of the richest and most productive soil in the world, with over 85% of the land dedicated to agriculture, producing billions of dollars annually for the state.
However, the constant use of Iowa's resources over the past century has come at a cost, especially to our water quality and overall soil health.
To help combat this, Johnson County launched a program in 2022 called the Soil Quality Restoration Program. It helps incentivize homeowners adopt new or different practices to make greener, healthier lawns without the use of chemicals that would otherwise runoff into Iowa's waterways and continue to degrade the health of the soil.
The program is offering to reimburse homeowners in Johnson County outside of Iowa City, North Liberty, and Coralville 50% of the costs for soil quality restoration, up to $2,000.
To participate, homeowners must receive pre-approval from program coordinators and hire a contractor from a pre-approved list.
But there are other soil health improvement programs such as the Pocket Prairie Program in Johnson County, and for those here in Linn County a parallel program is being launched called the Native Oasis Pollinator Patch Program.