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Naig: Iowa expanding Cattle and Conservation Working Lands program

More Iowa cattle producers will soon be eligible for a cost-share program designed to improve water quality.

Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig says the Cattle and Conservation Working Lands Program is expanding into 22 counties within the Greater Des Moines watershed.

“The highest and best use of an acre of farm ground in the state of Iowa can be in grass raising cattle,” Naig said.

According to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), the cost-share program supports cattle and other livestock producers in converting under-performing or highly erodible acres of row crops into pasture and hay ground – providing land and forage to support the growth of the US beef herd, while reducing soil erosion and improving water quality.

Naig says the state is allocating $1.5 million into the program over the next five years.

“This balances productivity with the environmental outcomes we want to see and helps us achieve that growth in the cattle industry,” Naig said.

Bill Fields is a cattle producer from Greene County, an area that’s now eligible for the cost-share.

“In our area we’re pretty flat anyway,” Fields said. “I think more of your pastures are going to be along creeks and rougher ground, but good ground makes good hay. So the hay part of the this is probably going to be regular flat, black, and tiled ground.”

IDALS says the cost structure is set up at $290 per acre for converting cropped acres to hay and $1,000 per acre for converting cropped acres to pasture. Producers can apply by contacting their local USDA Farm Service Agency office or visit costshare.iowaagriculture.gov.

Naig says he hopes the program, which began as a pilot project in Taylor County in 2016, can become a model for reforming the federal Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

The announcement was made Tuesday morning at the 2026 Iowa State Fair inside the Cattlemen’s Beef Quarters.

Press Conference Audio: