Senior Fellow with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minneapolis, Dennis Keeney wrote an opinion article in the Des Moines Register last week outlining that soil being one of the most important resources of Iowa’s agriculture, is also one of the most neglected resources.

Keeney emphasized that Iowa’s current policies are in need of adjustment in regards to soil protection.

“Today’s farm policies give soil conservation a back seat and, instead, encourage the very farming practices that are most damaging to soil quality,” he wrote.

Keeney also argued that the current farm bill “trapped in Washington politics” may not be the best sollution to soil conservation as it may make worsen matters by implementing a crop insurance to aid in the profitability of crops which may damage the soil. Instead he suggests a soil protection act, which he states would “at a minimum, take the politics out of administering programs. It would also redefine conservation plans to include grasslands, savanna and other soil protection practices.”

To read Keeney’s article click here.