RetaiN Nitrate Testing Kits: Engaging Farmers and Landowners in Citizen

Science

retaiNOrigin

“I always thought I was doing everything pretty good in terms of nitrogen stewardship, but it turned out I had room for improvement” -Tim Smith

Iowa Soybean Association

Initial Collaboration

• State Soil Conservation Committee Research and Demonstration grant opportunity

• Farmers were interested in understanding how current management impacts water quality

• Collaboration formed

– Conservation Districts of Iowa

– Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and Iowa Learning Farms

• Grant was awarded from SSCC -IDALS

Simple kits make testing tile water for nitrogen easy

& provide solutions for

retaining nitrogen on

the farm

Kit contents: Nitrate/Nitrite Test Strips

Hach.com

Kit contents: Booklet

• N loss process

• Using the strips to test your water

• Reading your results

• Retaining your N

• Practices that retain N

• Practice descriptions and effectiveness

• Farmer quotes

• Website

• Log for results

• Notes

• Project supporters

C o v e r C r o p s

N u t r i e n t M a n a g e m e n t

• E x t e n d e d R o t a t i o n s• W e t l a n d s• D r a i n a g e W a t e r M a n a g e m e n t &

S h a l l o w D r a i n a g e• S a t u r a t e d B u f f e r s• P e r e n n i a l V e g e t a t i o n

P r a i r i e S t r i p s a n d B u f f e r s

B i o r e a c t o r s

www.retainiowa.com

instructional video | contact information | resources for those distributing kits

Initial Kit Distribution

Nutrient Reduction Strategy Water Quality Initiative Demonstration Watershed Projects Soil and Water Conservation Districts | Iowa State University Extension and Outreach | Agribusiness

Association of Iowa Certified Crop Consultants (CCCs) | Iowa Soybean Association | Iowa Corn Growers Association | Individual Farmers | Others

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Demo projects

Priority watersheds

Kit distribution

Initial Kit Distribution

• 250 kits distributed

• Watershed coordinators

• Extension specialists

2016 Evaluation FeedbackFarmers | Conservation & Agriculture Staff

• Email and phone survey of watershed coordinators and farmers/landowners that used kits in 2015

• 95% would test again if kits were available

• 81% of farmers would be willing to purchase their own kit

• 88% would pay between $15-$20 for a kit

Watershed Coordinator and Extension Specialist Feedback

• “Long overdue and needed, fits well with water quality programs in our counties”

• “...excellent tool to introduce farmers within my WQI to monitoring…confidential and free way for them to begin the process of identifying potential issues…great conversation starter about site specific outputs and provided a nice gift to bring when doing site visits. I LOVED IT!!”

Project Expansion

• Modifications made based on feedback

• Approximately 1500 kits have been distributed through individual and group requests

• Promotion through newsletters, articles, and radio

Partnership with Iowa Corn Growers Association

• ICGA purchased test strips

• Distributed kits to members and non-members at watershed field days and workshops and Iowa Corn events

• Over 600 kits distributed

2018 Evaluation

• Qualtrics survey

• Distributed to watershed coordinators, extension specialists, and individuals

• Limitations

How did you use the RetaiN nitrate testing strips? (check all that apply)

Res

po

nse

s

2018 Evaluation

How often did you test?

Monthly

Every other week

Weekly

2018 Evaluation

What did you like about the testing kits?

Has the testing experience

influenced any of the following actions?

(check all that apply)

The project is currently funded by grants and support from the Iowa Corn Growers Association. In

the future, would you be willing to purchase a kit?

42%

58%

What is the maximum amount you would be willing to pay for the kit?

Kit Use Distribution

Farmers Coop Association Forest City

• Read about RetaiN in Corn and Soybean Digest

• Distributing kits to farmer-members for tile monitoring

• Agronomists will sample area streams monthly

Next Steps

• Continue to seek funding to offer farmers their first kit at low or no cost

• Expand partnerships with agribusinesses

• Explore other citizen-science and on-farm science tools

On-farm Science

• Are there other measurements that farmers could take on their farms to aid in conservation decisions?

• What can we learn from other citizen science efforts that could be applied to on-farm science?

360 Soilscan

360yieldcenter.com

5 minutes| tests soil and water for nitrogen | portable

Soil Health Buckets

• Physical properties– Infiltration test

– Bulk density

– Soil temperature

– Organic matter

• Chemical properties– pH

– Nitrogen

– Phosphorus

• Biological properties– Solvita (respiration) test biological

activity

Additional tools available

• Trailer rainfall simulators (Area Offices in Fort Dodge, West Union and Fairfield)

• Tabletop rainfall simulator (set of 2 per 2 field offices)

• Penetrometer – soil compaction (every office)

• Soil moisture probe (area offices)• Slate test – aggregate stability (every

office)• Solvita test readers (area offices)• Amoozemeter - run measurements of

saturated hydraulic conductivity, how well water infiltrates(5 in Waverly Soil Survey Office)

• Thermometers that can be buried (each field office has 3 but they are in area offices)

Kit RequestsRetainiowa.com

Project PartnersFunding, Promotion, and Project Coordination

State Soil Conservation and Water Quality Committee – Iowa