Rather than pay for consultants' management prescriptions,the education incentive supports farmers' direct participation in a series of educational workshops where they learn to develop and apply their own, site-specific, nutrient and pest management plans. In the workshops they learn to plan refined crop nutrient management - using their own fields as examples . Each prepares an inventory of soil nutrient resources and manure resources, if they have livestock, and develops a nutrient management plan based on realistic yield goals and proper soil tests. Pesticide management education is delivered by timely newsletters and occasional field laboratories held during the growing season. During the second and third years, biweekly pest management newsletters and field laboratories continue during the growing season.
Participants meet once after harvest to review field records and adjust plans for the next season.
The three year program is tied together by a simple record keeping system focused on annual accrual of environmental and economic benefits. Completed field records are required to receive each year's payment. Participants also complete short annual surveys to evaluate how much they have learned and whether they are applying the BMPs. So far, the program has targeted low resource and young farmer participants, and those who live in special watershed project areas in northeast Iowa. These farmers can significantly reduce excess fertilizer use by crediting their manure nutrients and targeting application more appropriately.