As a landowner or farm operator, you face many 

decisions when managing your natural resources. When 

it comes to improving ground and surface water quality 

in and around your operation, consider installing the 

appropriate conservation practices listed in this handout 

to make the most direct impact. 

This brochure details 12 conservation practices that 

will help improve the quality of water on your farm and 

leaving your land. These practices also help support 

Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy to reduce nutrients 

flowing into Iowa waters and eventually to the Gulf of 

Mexico. 

To learn more about improving water quality with these 

and other practices, visit staff at your local NRCS office 

to discuss a long-term plan to address this important 

resource concern. A conservation plan can be developed 

to improve management for all your resource concerns. 

NRCS staff and your local soil and water conservation 

district (SWCD) are available to help you make the right 

choices to protect your operation and resources.

United States Department of Agriculture

Natural Resources Conservation Service

Des Moines, Iowa

www.ia.nrcs.usda.gov

@IowaNRCS

CONSERVATION CHOICES

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

Conservation practices that help improve water quality, support Iowa’s 

Nutrient Reduction Strategy, and provide other natural resource benefits.
Conservation Practice Description Benefits Comments

Cover Crop

Crops, including grasses, legumes 

and forbs, for seasonal cover and 

other conservation purposes. Planted prior to grain crop harvest or immediately after harvest, cover crops 

reduce soil erosion, improve soil 

health, provide winter grazing for 

livestock, and reduce nutrient loss.

Reduces:

 Nitrates

 Phosphorus

 Sedimentation

 Pesticides

Denitrifying Bioreactor

An edge of field, below ground 

structure containing a carbon 

source, such as wood chips, 

installed to reduce nitrate-nitrogen 

concentration in subsurface 

agricultural drainage via enhanced 

denitrification.

Reduces:

 Nitrates

 Phosphorus

 Sedimentation

 Pesticides

Drainage Water Management

Using a water control structure in 

a main, submain, or lateral drain 

to vary the depth of the drainage 

outlet. The water table must rise 

above the outlet depth for drainage to occur. Water stays in the root 

zone when it is needed and drains it 

when there is too much.

Reduces:

 Nitrates

 Phosphorus

 Sedimentation

 Pesticides

Filter Strip

A strip or area of vegetation next to 

a stream, lake, or other water body 

that helps remove sediment, organic 

matter, and other pollutants from 

runoff and wastewater. Filter strips 

also provide cover for wildlife.

Reduces:

 Nitrates

 Phosphorus

 Sedimentation

 Pesticides
Conservation Practice Description Benefits Comments

Manure Management

Storing manure through total 

containment until conditions are 

appropriate for field application. 

Containment could include storage ponds, above or below ground 

tanks, pits beneath a confinement, 

or a sheltered concrete slab area.

Reduces:

 Nitrates

 Phosphorus

 Sedimentation

 Pesticides

No-Till/Strip-Till

Performing no full-width tillage, 

regardless of the depth or timing of 

the tillage operation. Most experts 

consider true no-till to be at least five 

years without tilling the soil. Strip-till 

involves tilling a narrow path ahead 

of planting for better seed placement, 

often incorporating fertilizer.

Reduces:

 Nitrates

 Phosphorus

 Sedimentation

 Pesticides

Nutrient Management

Reducing the potential for nutrients to go unused by managing the 

amount (rate), source, placement 

(method of application), and timing 

of plant nutrients and soil amendments. Nutrient sources include 

animal manure, sludge, commercial 

fertilizers, and municipal biosolids.

Reduces:

 Nitrates

 Phosphorus

 Sedimentation

 Pesticides

Pest Management

Evaluating and using a tailored 

system to reduce crop and environmental damages from insects, 

weeds and diseases. If pest control 

is economical, alternatives are 

evaluated based on cost, results, and 

environmental impact.

Reduces:

 Nitrates

 Phosphorus

 Sedimentation

 Pesticides
Conservation Practice Description Benefits Comments

Prescribed Grazing

Managing the harvest of vegetation 

using grazing animals. This is often 

attained through a rotational or 

mob grazing system where pastures 

are divided (with fencing) into 

four or more pastures. Animals are 

moved from paddock to paddock 

on a schedule.

Reduces:

 Nitrates

 Phosphorus

 Sedimentation

 Pesticides

Riparian Forest Buffer

A planned area of trees, shrubs, and 

grasses and forbs planted along a 

stream or river to help reduce excess 

amounts of sediment, nutrients, and 

pesticides in surface runoff. These 

buffers also reduce excess nutrients 

and other chemicals in shallow 

water groundwater flow.

Reduces:

 Nitrates

 Phosphorus

 Sedimentation

 Pesticides

Saturated Buffer (Vegetated Subsurface Drain Outlet)

A shallow, lateral pipeline intercepts 

tile lines before they release water 

into a stream. The lateral line has 

control structures that raise the 

water table and slow outflow, allowing the buffers to naturally remove 

nutrients such as nitrate and phosphorus.

Reduces:

 Nitrates

 Phosphorus

 Sedimentation

 Pesticides

Wetlands

A marshy area with saturated soils 

and water-loving plants that provides 

wildlife habitat and helps improve 

water quality by filtering sediments 

and chemicals. CREP wetlands (left) 

are targeted to receive tile drainage 

by gravity flow, treating the water 

before it enters water downstream.

Reduces:

 Nitrates

 Phosphorus

 Sedimentation

 Pesticides

Frankenburger et al., unpublished