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The Washington Post had a story last week saying that the historic floods that hit Iowa might not be a natural disaster, but caused by human actions.

They quote Kamyar Enshayan, a college professor and Cedar Falls City Council member…

Enshayan, director of an environmental center at the University of Northern Iowa, suspects that this natural disaster wasn’t really all that natural. He points out that the heavy rains fell on a landscape radically reengineered by humans. Plowed fields have replaced tallgrass prairies. Fields have been meticulously drained with underground pipes. Streams and creeks have been straightened. Most of the wetlands are gone. Flood plains have been filled and developed.

“We’ve done numerous things to the landscape that took away these water-absorbing functions,” he said. “Agriculture must respect the limits of nature.”

They discuss the changing nature of agriculture away from sustainable practices.

“I sense that the flooding is not the result of a 500-year event,” said Jerry DeWitt, director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. “We’re farming closer to creeks, farming closer to rivers. Without adequate buffer strips, the water moves rapidly from the field directly to the surface water.”

Corn alone will cover more than a third of the state’s land surface this year. The ethanol boom that began two years ago encouraged still more cultivation.

Between 2007 and 2008, farmers took 106,000 acres of Iowa land out of the Conservation Reserve Program, which pays farmers to keep farmland uncultivated, according to Lyle Asell, a special assistant for agriculture and environment with the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR). That land, if left untouched, probably would have been covered with perennial grasses with deep roots that help absorb water.

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Last week, my wife and I had the chance to tour High Hopes Gardens, a 7 acre farm just off Highway 330 west of Marshalltown. High Hopes grows a large variety of foods and flowers and uses sustainable practices. It was a definite learning experience for me.

Here are some pictures from the tour.

This trellis has gourds growing on it. Thought it was a cool picture with the sun and birdhouse in the background.

They grow many varieties of flowers and sell bouquets. Here are some Zinnias.

The Raspberry patch was huge. There is an old Mulberry tree in the background that they considered cutting down when they bought the place and plant some apple trees. However, they kept the Mulberry tree because the birds like to eat the Mulberries and they stay out of the Raspberries.

Here is a water tank they bought at an auction. It collects rainwater that runs off the barn and they use the water to water the plants around the farm. A half inch of rain fills up the tank.

They have some chickens. Here they are in a little pin that keeps the dogs and other larger animals out and the chicken in. They rotate the pins around the farm, so one area doesn’t get worn down.

And they have 3 goats. They said they’d like to get another female and use the milk for cheese and things. However, these 3 help weed and clean up the gardens in the fall.

Here is a picture of one of their garden plots.

They also have 2 bee hives and they have gotten 16 gallons of honey this summer.

Check out the High Hopes blog to read more about the farm.

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Iowa farmers who want to diversify the crops they grow and provide local food are prevented from doing so by federal agriculture rules.

From Eat Local Challenge…

Iowa farmer Gary Boysen grows sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes, cantaloupes and other produce on 65 acres near Harlan. He sells his produce at nearby supermarkets and Wal-Mart. And he would like to be growing more fruit and vegetables for Iowans. However, a big obstacle is standing in his way: federal agricultural rules.

If farmers want to plant fruit and vegetable crops on land enrolled in USDA subsidy programs, they must permanently give up the possibility of receiving benefits. Not just for the period when they are growing non-program crops. Permanently.

Many people want to buy locally produced fruits and vegetables and this rule is preventing farmers from providing that. If Iowans would diversify their agriculture, a lot of money could be kept in the state.

These rules seem to favor large commercial farmers that want to keep their access to markets across the country. For example, large tomato farmers in California wouldn’t want Iowa farmers to grow tomatoes and sell them in Iowa because they would lose out. Hopefully, these rules can be changed in the Farm Bill.

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A new study concludes energy has a greater impact on rising food prices than rising corn prices does.Energy costs have a much greater impact on consumer food costs as they impact every single food product on the shelf,” said Urbanchuk. “Energy is r…

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Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) is guest blogging at TPM Cafe this week and he wrote about the upcoming farm bill. Blumenauer discusses a Food and Farm Bill of Rights. Now I am hardly the one to dissect farm policy, but the I like the core ideas of limit…

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Over the past couple days there has been some great posts on Iowa blogs that are definitely worth the read.Yesterday, John Deeth covered a May Day Peace event in Iowa City.Organizers of Tuesday’s Missing May Day peace events in downtown Iowa City had e…

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