The Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers (CSIF) has launched a new program encouraging farmers to plant more trees and shrubs around their livestock facilities.
It’s called the Green Farmstead Partner program. Two organizations-Trees Forever and the Iowa Nursery and Landscape Association-are helping in the effort. The coalition’s Megan Ritter says vegetative environmental buffers-VEB’s-provide numerous benefits for farmers and their neighbors. She cites Iowa State research showing that VEB’s can reduce odor from livestock barns by 10 to 15 percent, while also enhancing soil and water quality and conserving energy-not to mention making farms more aesthetically pleasing.
Ritter says it’s a good example of how farmers and the environmental community are working together for stronger farms and stronger communities. “We want to make sure that when we go about the business of raising livestock and continuing to grow agriculture in Iowa, that we do it in a way that’s going to be responsible for the livestock, responsible for the land, and particularly, responsible to our communities,” Ritter says.
More information on the Green Farmstead Partner program can be found on the CSIF web site. It includes the names and contact information of nursery and landscape professionals who can help farmers plan vegetative buffers.
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