Like many Iowa farmers, Dirk Dunn of Villisca had an area of cropland that was too wet to farm; an area that only in the driest of years could be farmed for profit. Each spring it filled with water and remained saturated throughout the planting season, leaving no choice but to mud in a crop.
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Bill Dunn (left) owns the families' Century Farm in rural Villisca, while Dirk Dunn (right) runs their 900-acre farm operation. The two were recently named Montgomery County and District Conservationists' of the Year.
Photo courtesy of Jason Johnson, USDA-NRCS |
After years of frustration, Dunn installed a wetland this spring through the
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the first CP-23 Wetland Restoration project
in Montgomery County. “We considered the land use and the level of frustration
with farming it, and we decided installing the wetland was best,” he
says. “One farmer mentality is to farm every inch and acre possible.
We would rather have a higher average yield with a little lower input.”
“I can’t tell you how many different things we tried to get a
crop to grow there,” said Bill Dunn, Dirk’s father, who owns the
land on the family’s Century Farm.
The purpose of the CP-23 Wetland Restoration is to restore previously converted
wetlands, to improve water quality and to promote wildlife habitat.
“Wetlands have many features which benefit a very diverse community
of plants and animals,” says Dan Case, soil conservation technician with
the Montgomery Soil and Water Conservation District. “Many species of
songbirds as well as game birds, such as pheasants, quail, ducks and geese
thrive in a wetland. Mammals such as beaver and muskrat also call a wetland
home.”
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Looking over their CRP contract, Bill Dunn (left) and Dirk Dunn (right), worked with Dan Case of the Montgomery SWCD on their CP-23 wetland restoration.
Photo courtesy of Jason Johnson, USDA-NRCS |
Case said he noticed the wet ground while touring the Dunn’s farm. “I
noticed a large spot in the field where the beans had turned yellow with some
standing water between rows,” he said. “Dirk said the family had
always called it ‘The Swamp,’ so I mentioned the different CRP
wetland programs that might work there.”
The 17-acre restored wetland will have five acres of permanent pool. Another
12 acres will be saturated to the surface. A 15-acre buffer of native grasses
and forbs will allow for wetness outside the restoration area.
“Construction was finished in April, but heavy rains the first few weeks
of May temporarily halted seeding of the area,” said Case. “However,
the rains gave us an idea of what the area will look like when full and also
an idea of the amount of time necessary to drain the wetland.”
Awarded for Stewardship
Dirk and Bill Dunn were recently named Montgomery County Conservationists of
the Year and District Conservationists of the Year for southwest Iowa by
the Soil and Water Conservation Districts of Iowa. Dirk Dunn runs the 900-acre
operation of corn and soybeans, and he is no stranger to CRP. Including the
restored wetland, he has over 200 acres of land in CRP, which also includes
filter strips, bobwhite quail buffers, native prairie grasses, and food plots.
“It’s not just food plots and grass anymore to attract wildlife” said
Dirk Dunn. “With the wetland, we’ll draw a lot more wildlife diversity.”
Gary Smith, soil conservationist for USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service,
said Dirk Dunn is a good conservationist because he makes good use of the
land. “It’s not just about conserving soil for Dirk. He does
a great job protecting all of our natural resources.”
