The state’s three-year effort to map six major conservation practices is complete, setting a base line to help track progress, Iowa Agriculture Secretary Mike Naig reported. 

The laser-based mapping using LiDAR technology found that the conservation already on the land would be worth $6.2 billion in today’s dollars. The techniques on the land include terraces, ponds, grassed waterways, basins and various types of planting in strips. 

Further study will look more closely at how the practices help water quality.

The study identified:

• 114,400 pond dams.
• 327,900 acres of grassed waterways.
• 506,100 terraces running 88,874 miles.
• 246,100 basins covering 12,555 miles.
• 557,700 acres of contour buffer strips.
• 109,800 acres of strip cropping.