Black Hawk Lake Water Quality Project

02/19/2025

Here's more information on the Pig Farmer Batch & Build luncheon being held Thursday, February 27th from noon - 2:00 p.m. at the Lake City Country Club, 1300 E. Main Street, Lake City, Iowa. RSVP to Abbey Hunt at 515-868-0313 or [email protected]. Sac County farmers in the North Raccoon River watershed area are eligible for these practices. Call the Sac SWCD office at 712-662-7773, option 3, if you are unsure if you are in this watershed and we can give you that information.

02/17/2025

Cost share funding is available for those wanting to put in a windbreak. You do not need to be a farmer to receive this funding. Acreage owners are also eligible. Call the office at 712-662-7773, option 3 for more information on planting specifications and funding limits. Funding is obligated on a first-come, first-served basis, so don't wait.

The Sac SWCD still has trees and shrubs available. See attached photo for available species. If interested, call the office to reserve yours today.

02/17/2025

The Black Hawk Lake Watershed is a sub-watershed of the North Raccoon River Watershed. Farmers in the watershed who are interested in edge of field projects, should consider attending this meeting as it is your chance to learn more about them.

If you are in the North Raccoon River watershed and you are interested in installing some edge of field practices like bioreactors or saturated buffers, consider attending this informative luncheon. Any questions, reach out to Abbey Hunt or contact the Calhoun or Sac County SWCD offices.

02/17/2025

The approximately 345 employees of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship   (IDALS) are responsible for a wide range of programs that affect the quality of life of every Iowan.  Both Iowans living on the farm and those in our towns and cities are impacted almost daily by the wor...

11/05/2024

There is an article in this supplement showing all the steps that have gone into the Black Hawk Lake Watershed project from the locally funded diagnostic feasibility study done in 2007 to where we are today.

The district's FY2024 annual report was published this week. It is inserted in The Sac Sun, Lake View Resort, and The Chronicle. Copies can also be picked up at the district office starting next week.

Thank you to Dale Wegner, Editor of The Sac Sun, for all his hard work on making this publication possible!!

In this report you will see articles on all the district activities held last fiscal year and recognition of this year's conservation award winners.

07/25/2024

Yesterday was a great day for our Soil Health Workshop held in Wall Lake. Brian Dougherty with Understanding Ag was the presenter. He went over the six principles of soil health and the challenges farmers face along with suggestions of practices that will help the soil health on their farm. Part of the workshop was inside and then everyone went to a field where he showed them several tests that a farmer can perform to see how healthy the soil is. The district would like to thank the Black Hawk Lake Protective Association for co-sponsoring this event and paying for the lunch. Also a big thank you to Craig Aschinger for allowing the outdoor portion to be held on one of his farm fields.

07/09/2024

NRCS HIRES NEW DISTRICT CONSERVATIONIST
The Sac SWCD is excited to announce that Natasha Heavlin started as the NRCS District Conservationist in Sac County on July 1st. She grew up in Rockwell City and attended Briar Cliff University receiving a bachelor’ s degree in Environmental Science. She has worked for NRCS the past five years as a Soil Conservationist in Fort Dodge. She is available to assist you with your conservation plan as well as CRP, EQIP, and CSP contracting. Give Natasha a call at 712-662-7773 x3 or email her at [email protected]. Stop in and give her a great Sac County welcome!!

07/03/2024

Join us July 24th to learn the basic principles of soil health, see in field demonstrations on how to evaluate the soil health of your farm, and a free lunch to follow.

To RSVP call the Sac County Soil and Water Conservation District @ 712-662-7773 option 3, or email us at [email protected].

03/04/2024

The district has an intern position available for this summer (and up to December if needed to fill the 480 hours) for a student enrolled or just graduating in May in a soil conservation field of study. Applying is simple. Email your resume to [email protected] by Friday, March 15, 2024 or mail it to: Sac SWCD, 404 Morningside Drive, Sac City, Iowa 50583. Call 712-662-7773, option 3 for more information. This has also been advertised on handshake job #8752757 and IowaWORKS job #10631912.

01/18/2024

01/18/2024

This large snow fall during a drought might have you wondering, "How much water is sitting in my field?"

Well we went and measured today how much water is being held in fields with different levels of stubble and the difference was quite significant.

Tilled bean stubble was holding less than a tenth of an inch, while strip tilled bean stubble was holding two tenths. The winner by far was no till corn stalks, where 18" of stalk was left standing, holding 1.2 inches of water.

04/26/2023

Signs are up and cover crops are getting green! Be sure to check out our cover crop tour this spring.