Introduction Efforts Made Positive Impact Change in Iowa Change Nationally "Deposits" Iowa's Rivers Regulation And Finally And that’s not all. Iowa’s farm families… Help Iowa lead the nation in number of acres set aside for riparian buffers, grassed waterways, contour buffer strips, field borders and other buffers on private farmland. As of March 31, 2006, Iowa had 514,000 acres enrolled in these conservation programs. Source: Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Soil Conservation Division Use manure from livestock as fertilizer for crops. Iowa livestock, dairy cows, turkeys and poultry provide a renewable, organic fertilizer that is biodegradable and displaces commercial fertilizer sources that must be manufactured and imported from other countries. The Iowa Pork Producers Association reports that 70 percent of the manure generated by Iowa’s hogs is incorporated below the soil’s surface near plant roots. This provides the maximum benefits to plants and Iowa’s water resources.