USDA Natural Resources Conservation 

Service is helping Iowa’s organic producers 

protect their natural resources through the 

Organic Initiative.

Go 

Organic

United States Department of Agriculture

www.ia.nrcs.usda.gov
EQIP Organic Initiative

Iowa’s organic farmers are implementing long 

standing and new, innovative conservation 

practices to protect the natural resources on 

their farms through a USDA initiative to help 

producers of all commodities meet their conservation goals. The 2014 Farm Bill specifically includes help to organic producers through 

the Organic Initiative.

Through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) the Organic Initiative 

provides financial assistance to National Organic Program (NOP) certified producers, as 

well as producers in the process of transitioning to organic production.

Organic producers applying through this 

initiative can receive up to $20,000 per year or 

$80,000 during any six year period. Farmers 

may also compete for the larger pool of EQIP 

funds that allow for up to $300,000 over six 

years.

EQIP is administered through the USDA 

Natural Resources Conservation Service 

(NRCS). Program applications are accepted 

on a continuous basis at NRCS offices across 

the state. NRCS offices are stationed at USDA 

Service Centers in every county in Iowa.
Initiative Requirements

» Financial assistance is provided for only 

those practices which will assist growers 

meet provisions of an Organic System Plan 

(OSP) as administered by the Agricultural 

Marketing Service (AMS).

» Payments are not authorized for activities or 

practices which are solely production related 

and are not linked to an identified resource 

concern.

» Participants who are already certified organic must implement EQIP practices according to an approved OSP and submit a copy 

of their current OSP.

» Participants who are transitioning to organic 

production must submit a self-certification 

letter stating they agree to develop and implement conservation practices for certified 

organic production that are consistent with 

an OSP, and provide the name and contact 

information of the USDA-accredited certifying agent who will be used for the organic 

certification process.

What is an OSP?

An Organic System Plan (OSP) is a management plan for organic production or for an 

organic handling operation that has been agreed 

to by the producer/handler and the certifying 

agent. It includes written plans that govern all 

aspects of ag production or handling. An OSP 

must be developed annually and include:

1. practices and procedures to be performed 

and maintained;

2. a list of each substance to be used in production or handling;

3. monitoring practices and procedures to be 

performed and maintained;

4. a description of the record keeping system;

5. practices and physical barriers established to 

prevent co-mingling with conventional food 

and contact with prohibited substances, and;

6. additional information deemed necessary by 

the certifying agent (CA) to document NOP 

compliance.
Iowa Organic Initiative 

Conservation Practices

Animal Mortality Facility

Composting Facility

Conservation Crop Rotation

Conservation Plan Supporting Organic Transition

Contour Buffer Strips

Contour Farming

Cover Crop

Critical Area Planting

Fence

Field Border

Forage Harvest Management

Heavy Use Protection Area

Nutrient Management

Pasture and Hay Planting

Pest Management

Pipeline

Prescribed Grazing

Residue and Tillage Management, No-till/Strip-till

Residue and Tillage Management, Mulch-till

Seasonal High Tunnel System for Crops

Stripcropping

Watering Facility

Windbreak/Shelterbelt Establishment

Windbreak/Shelterbelt Renovation

Seasonal High Tunnel System for Crops

Photo by Jerry DeWitt
Reaching A New Audience

By all accounts, the Organic Initiative has been 

an overwhelming success in Iowa. Since its 

inception in 2009, NRCS has provided nearly 

$8 million to Iowa producers through the EQIP 

Organic Initiative. 

From seasonal high tunnels to cover crops, 

nutrient management to conservation crop 

rotations, USDA’s Organic Initiative is helping Iowa farmers and vegetable growers protect 

and enhance natural resources on their organic 

operations. And it’s allowing for an easier, more 

environmentally-friendly transition for producers converting to organic agriculture.

The following four feature stories are snapshots 

of Organic Initiative successes across Iowa. 

These stories showcase certified and transitioning producers who are taking advantage of the 

Organic Initiative. They show how the Initiative is assisting producers in all corners of the 

state in all types of operations - from corn and 

soybeans to livestock production to vegetable 

production.
Glen Elsbernd

Young Vegetable Grower Flourishing

Elsbernd in a row of potatoes.
Elsbernd is in his third growing season 

operating the farm, following a one-year 

stint learning about growing organic 

vegetables at Harmony Valley Farm in 

Wisconsin. “My original goal was to have 

the entire farm in vegetables in 20 years,” 

said Elsbernd. “I think I’ll have it within 

10 years now.”

Elsbernd markets his produce under the 

name “G It’s Fresh.” He and his crew of 

at least six workers grow everything from 

romaine lettuce to carrots to parsnips. 

He says his biggest sellers are potatoes, 

lettuce and broccoli. During his first 

growing season, he sold produce through 

Grown Locally and the Winneshiek 

County Farmers Market. Grown Locally 

is a cooperative of more than 20 local 

farms and producers who work together 

to deliver a variety of locally produced 

food. He says Grown Locally markets the 

group’s food to many schools and restaurants.

His operation is expanding, so this 

year he is also marketing his produce 

to Organic ValleyTM, a farmer-owned 

Wisconsin-based company that sells 

organic products nationwide. “At first I 

had a problem with too much produce, 

and now I don’t have enough,” he said. “I 

guess it’s a good problem to have.”

Cover Crops

Elsbernd interseeds alfalfa into a fourseed mix of triticale, hairy vetch, oats, and 

a grass mix. Triticale is a cereal rye/winter 

wheat cross that is easy to establish. He 

likes it because it effectively controls erosion and suppresses weeds.

For early spring produce, Elsbernd plants 

an Austrian winter pea and oat cover 

crop. “Austrian peas are winter hardy, but 

easy to kill off in the spring,” he said.

Elsbernd has also uses winter tillage radishes, which are a deep-rooted cover crop 

that benefit the soil by reducing compaction, improving water infiltration, increasing organic matter and keeping the soil 

well-covered over the winter.

Beginning Farmer

A native of Spillville in northeast Iowa, 

Elsbernd also received higher payment 

rates on conservation practices for participating in EQIP as a Beginning Farmer. 

The USDA defines a Beginning Farmer 

as one who has not operated a farm for 

more than 10 consecutive years.

“The Program has been a really big help 

for me to get my operation going,” said 

Elsbernd. “It’s been the shot in the arm 

that I needed.” 

Twenty-three year-old Glen Elsbernd is utilizing the USDA’s Organic 

Initiative and higher payment rates on conservation practices as a 

Beginning Farmer to help transition his 88-acre Winneshiek County 

farm to organic vegetables much sooner than he expected, and in 

doing so is protecting valuable natural resources on the farm...

Organic Initiative

Conservation Practices

» Conservation Crop Rotation

» Cover Crops

» Forage Harvest Management

» Nutrient Management

» Pest Management

» Seasonal High Tunnel System

Cover Crops

Elsbernd inspects his romaine lettuce.
Jason & Paul Wells

Cover Crops Suppress Weeds for Dairy Operation

Jason and Paul Wells in their wheat cover crop.
An aerial-applied wheat and red clover cover crop is helping 

to suppress weeds, reduce soil erosion, and provide other 

environmental benefits on 200 acres of certified organic cropland 

that help feed a 150-head certified organic dairy operation in 

Van Buren County near Milton...

Organic Initiative

Conservation Practices

» Cover Crops

» Pest Management

Wells Dairy is a father-son operation that 

first certified organic cropland in 1993, 

and just recently certified the dairy in 

2008. Father, Paul, and son, Jason, farm 

about 1,000 acres of certified organic 

pasture and cropland as well. 

Certified organic crop producers are 

required to grow row crops no more 

than three years in a five-year rotation. 

Their rotation is typically soybeans-cornsoybeans-small grain and at least one year 

of hay.

Cover Crops

A major issue with growing row crops 

organically is weed invasion. Jason Wells 

says their fields get particularly weedy 

by the third consecutive row crop year. 

That’s how cover crops help. In fall 2009, 

they aerial applied wheat and red clover 

to standing soybeans to reduce weeds and 

erosion, limit nitrogen leaching, increase 

soil organic matter, and improve overall 

soil quality. 

“We are very happy with the wheat and 

clover,” said Jason. “We tried to plant a 

rye cover crop in the past, and it got away 

from us.”

With no experience applying cover crops 

aerially, Jason says he was skeptical 

during the winter months whether the 

wheat/clover cover crop would come in 

this spring, but he was pleasantly surprised. “If you were out here this February you could barely tell we seeded cover 

crops this year, but they just shot up this 

spring,” he said.

A major reason why they aerial applied 

the wheat and clover was a wetter than 

normal fall, which included a late soybean 

harvest. The cover crops were applied in 

late October, more than a month later 

than recommended. And with a wet 

spring, the father-son team didn’t cultivate the cover crops and plant corn until 

mid-June. They plan to aerial apply cover 

crops again this year, but this time in late 

August or early September.

“With the wet ground, we wouldn’t have 

even applied cover crops without the assistance of the Organic Initiative through 

EQIP,” said Jason. “It really worked for us 

and helped our operation through a wet 

fall and spring, which can be tough for 

organic farmers.”

Organic dairy cows graze.

Inspecting the wheat cover crop.
Gary Otto

Cherokee County Farmer Transitions to Organic Production

Gary Otto kneels in his organic transitioning cornfield.
A strong history of land stewardship and a suite of new conservation 

practices are helping longtime conventional farmer Gary Otto of rural 

Cherokee transition about 160 row crop acres to certified organic 

agriculture...

Gary Otto conventionally farmed corn 

and soybeans for 35 years before beginning the organic certification transition 

process in 2008. He is splitting his 160 

acres into five equally-sized fields. In 

those 30-acre fields he will annually rotate 

alfalfa/wheat, alfalfa, corn, soybeans with 

cover crops, and corn. 

Having also worked off the farm for many 

years, Otto says the desire to farm fulltime was a major factor in his decision 

to transition to organic production. “My 

farm is too small to make a living farming conventionally,” he says. Otto’s son, 

Travis, is also interested in farming. With 

the extra help he feels more comfortable 

with the added workload that organic 

farming brings.

Through the years Otto has implemented 

sustainable conservation practices such as 

terraces, field borders, grassed waterways, 

contour buffer strips and windbreaks to 

help reduce soil erosion, protect water 

quality, and attract wildlife. Through the 

Organic Initiative he is applying pest and 

nutrient management plans, cover crops, 

a heavy use protection area, and crop 

rotations.

Since beginning the organic transition 

process, Otto says he has seen very little 

erosion. “It’s a balancing act between getting rid of weeds and protecting against 

soil erosion,” he says. “I am careful to 

farm along the contour and leave crop 

residue wherever possible.”

Otto feels the EQIP Organic Initiative 

has helped him most in nutrient management planning. “Having to apply strictly 

organic inputs for nutrients, it’s hard 

to keep a balance,” he says. “It’s been a 

learning experience. The education I’ve 

received is worth more than the payment.”

He says organic farming can be a little 

discouraging at times. For example, 

organic corn prices have dropped steadily 

since he began transitioning. “At the time 

we set up our rotation there was a pretty 

good market for organic corn. Right now, 

that’s not the case,” he says.

Nonetheless, Otto is staying positive. He 

says the camaraderie among organic producers has helped. “I am sticking with it. 

That’s the thing about organic growers – 

we’re willing to share our experiences and 

information,” he says. “It’s not like we’re 

competing against one another.”

Organic Initiative

Conservation Practices

» Conservation Crop Rotation

» Cover Crops

» Heavy Use Protection Area

» Nutrient Management

» Pest Management

Wheat is one of Otto’s five rotations.

Gary stands in a terrace with wife, Alura, and 

son, Travis.
Ron Muth

Initiative Helps Northwest Iowan Experiment with Cover Crops

Ron Muth overlooks his organic vegetables.
Organic Initiative

Conservation Practices

» Conservation Crop Rotation

» Cover Crops

» Nutrient Management

» Pest Management

Funding through the USDA’s Organic Initiative is helping 

Sioux County organic farmer Ron Muth experiment with 

cover crops which help suppress weeds and supply nutrients 

to his row crops and his vegetables...

Ron Muth, whose farm is near Ireton 

in northwest Iowa, grows 60 varieties of 

mostly organic vegetables, along with 

more than 100 acres of a corn, soybeans, 

alfalfa, oats and wheat rotation – all organic. He started growing organic vegetables eight years ago, and he says it is a 

continuous learning process. “I imagine if 

I do this 10 more years it’s still going to be 

a learning experience,” he says. “People in 

the niche part of agriculture share ideas 

well, so I’ve learned a lot really fast.”

He says his forte is tomatoes, peppers, 

beets, carrots and onions. “I’m getting 

better at sweet corn – I’ve always fought 

the weeds and bugs,” he says. 

Muth says he is constantly trying new 

things to grow a better crop, and to suppress weeds, a major issue for organic 

farmers. His most recent experiment was 

sowing an oats cover crop into sweet 

corn to help reduce weeds. He says the 

key is to plant sweet corn at least a week 

before sowing the oats – that way the 

slow-growing corn has time to grow 

before the fast-growing oats take over. “It 

really works neat,” he says. “The first time 

I tried this I put them in simultaneously 

and the oats grew too fast too soon, so 

this year I planted the sweet corn first to 

give it time to establish.” He says this may 

be the second consecutive year he gets all 

the sweet corn out of every patch.

Muth is using an oats cover crop because 

of its availability and because of wet 

ground. However, he plans to go with a 

rye cover crop on much of his cropland 

next year.

In addition to cover crops, Muth is utilizing the Organic Initiative to implement 

three other conservation practices including conservation crop rotations, nutrient 

management and pest management.

He employs three to five part-time 

workers to pull weeds, harvest, clean 

vegetables, and load and haul produce to 

farmer’s markets in Sioux City, Akron, 

and Hawarden.

Muth says some of the myths about 

organic farming are not totally true, like 

the overall cost per acre to grow a crop. 

“We’re led to believe that growing an acre 

of vegetables is very expensive compared 

to row crops, but it isn’t,” he says. “And 

your net return per acre is considerably 

higher [in organic farming].”

He says the key is managing labor costs. 

“Growing organic vegetables is [labor] 

intensive,” he says,” but what I like about 

it is the initial investment per net return 

of dollar is a pretty nice deal.” 

An oats cover crop in sweet corn.

Muth harvests vegetables the day before a 

farmer’s market.
For more than 75 years NRCS has placed a high 

priority on helping agricultural producers with 

conservation plans to meet their environmental 

and economic goals, while concurrently planning for the protection of soil, water, air, and 

wildlife resources.

Conservation goals are highly individual and 

may certainly include transitioning to organic 

agriculture (or boosting pollinator populations, 

increasing biodiversity including soil-borne 

organisms, enhancing water quality, controlling 

invasive species, or dozens of other resourceenhancing possibilities).

NRCS conservationists work with farmers to 

come up with scientifically-sound alternatives 

for accomplishing their goals and working out 

a timeline to implement the conservation practices in the plan.

All information provided to NRCS for conservation planning purposes is confidential. Implementation may be partially funded through 

Farm Bill programs such as EQIP.

Conservation Planning with NRCS

NRCS works with private landowners to help 

them protect the land, water and air quality. 

Those who know us typically think the agency 

only works with farmers and ranchers. But 

NRCS also works with cities and counties, nonprofit groups and businesses, schools and other 

conservation groups throughout Iowa. What 

many people don’t know or recognize is that the 

conservation work we do impacts their lives on 

a daily basis.

Since the aftermath of the Dust Bowl, our main 

charges has been to help landowners identify 

natural resource concerns and put together a 

plan for repairing and protecting the resources 

on their property. This voluntary conservation 

plan addresses when and how farmers should 

till their soil, apply nutrients and pesticides, 

how and when cattle should graze pastures, how 

crops should be planted, what crops should be 

planted and in what rotation. The plan may 

also include different conservation practices or 

structures to be planted or installed to help keep 

soil and nutrients in place and out of water supplies.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, 

age, disability, and where applicable, sex, marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, genetic information, political 

beliefs, reprisal, or because all or a part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all 

programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) 

should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination write to USDA, Director, Office 

of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-6382 (TDD). USDA 

is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

www.ia.nrcs.usda.gov

Helping People Help the Land

October 2014