Sliding backward a third time down the snow- and ice-covered hill, Scott Moats decided the only way to see some of the 160 bison that roam Broken Kettle Grassland Preserve was on a four-wheeler.
The massive animals, weighing up to 1,400 pounds, have a job to do on the 6,600-acre prairie remnant, the largest of its kind in Iowa. They graze on grasses and sedges, helping manage the delicate habitat that sits in the Loess Hills.
"We don't have the prairie to support the bison," Moats said. "We have the bison to support the prairie."
The Nature Conservancy assembled the preserve with the help of a little-known state tax credit for Iowans who donate land and conservation easements, said Susanne Hickey, the program's conservation director.
Between 2008 and 2013, Iowa landowners received $6.3 million in tax credits for donating $19.4 million in land or conservation easements. In all, they gave away 9,200 acres. Even with those donations, Iowa ranks second-to-last nationally in the amount of publicly owned land, experts say.
But that's still too much for the tax credit's opponents. The state's largest agriculture group contends that the land donations shrink local property taxes and idle acreage in a state where competition for farmland is intense.
Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, said if property owners want to give land for parks and preserves, they should do so without tax cuts, which are expected to grow to $12.1 million by 2021, based on revenue department projections.
"Government incentives for donations eliminates opportunities for young farmers," Hill said. "A lot of our young farmers think it’s wrong."
'Land is scarce'
Acquiring land is tough for farmers, particularly in Iowa.
Average farmland values in the state were $7,183 an acre in 2016, down about 18 percent from the 2013 peak of $8,716, following declining commodities prices.
Still, last year's average farmland value was the fifth-highest in more than six decades, according to the Iowa State University's annual land survey. And over a decade, land values have more than doubled.
"Land is scarce," Hill said. "There's only so much of it. It's hard for young farmers to get a foothold."
That's why Jason Russell was surprised when Linn County supervisors paid nearly $7.2 million for nearly 500 acres, most of which will be added to a large county park. The purchase came the same day voters overwhelmingly approved a $40 million bond to protect land and water.
"It riled some people up, when the land across the road was sold for about half that" and had more tillable acres, said Russell, a Linn County Farm Bureau board member.
County leaders told Russell they had to compete with a higher offer from developers.
Still, it doesn't make some farmers happy that the county could use more than half its bond — 55 percent is designated to target water quality — to acquire land that won't be available to grow crops or graze cattle, sheep or other livestock.
"There are a lot of questions," Russell said.
Owning land, as opposed to renting it, gives farmers more certainty about their operations each year. It also makes it easier for farmers to build permanent conservation practices — from buffers to terraces.
Even cover crops, grown annually to hold nutrients, are a long-term investment in building soil health, Russell said. Yet half of all Iowa farmland is rented, an ISU report shows.
"It’s very difficult to buy land. You can't buy it and have it pay for itself," given still high land values and low commodity prices, he said.
"You have to have a war chest built up … if you can manage to save a little," said Russell, who hopes to buy some of his family's farm next year.
How the credits work
Last fall, Iowa Farm Bureau delegates approved a long list of policy priorities. Among them was ending tax breaks for people who donate land to charitable organizations and governments.
Hill, Farm Bureau's president, doubts lawmakers will pick up the idea in a year that's brought controversial budget cuts and collective bargaining legislation.
But legislative leaders last month vowed to look at all of Iowa's tax credits, which, when combined with tax exemptions, deductions and exclusions, totaled $12 billion in 2010, according to a Des Moines Register report.
Conservation income tax credits are a small piece of that lost revenue. Donors receive half the value of donated land or easements — up to $100,000 — and the credit can be used over 20 years to reduce the tax bill.
About half of the state's conservation tax credits have gone to donors providing easements, according to a 2015 Iowa Department of Revenue report, the most complete accounting available. Those easements can protect land for conservation, grazing and farming.
They also can protect farmland against development.
About 12 percent of the tax credits have gone to donors selling land at a bargain price.
About 60 percent of the credits went to The Iowa Nature Conservancy and Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation donations; and about 14 percent to county conservation board donations. The rest were undisclosed.
The tax credit provides some reward for people who "already have conservation in their heart," said Joe McGovern, president of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.
The case for credits
Brent Oleson, a Linn County supervisor, said residents want more investment in conservation, including improving water quality, outdoor recreation and wildlife habitat.
"They go to lakes and find them covered in algae," he said. "They know we’re not doing right for the next generation on water quality."
Seventy-four percent of voters approved the county's $40 million bond initiative for land and water protection. Local Farm Bureau members fought the proposal.
"They claim there's competition for farmland with us, but no one forces anyone to sell anything," he said. "Their (Farm Bureau) members sell to developers. It's a bogus argument.
"Farm Bureau doesn't discourage tax credits when it comes to companies like fertilizer plants," Oleson said, referring to $100 million in state tax credits approved in 2012 for the Iowa Fertilizer Co., a project near Wever in southeast Iowa that's coming online this year.
"But they don't like credits for individuals who provide land for county parks," he said.
The Iowa Farm Bureau supported the fertilizer plant project, saying its analysis showed the plant could save growers $740 million annually.
Trailing in public lands
Although the report was done in 2000, hunting groups, state leaders and conservationists often refer to it: Iowa ranks 49th nationally in its percentage of public lands.
Only Kansas ranks lower, with less than 1 percent in public lands.
Public lands managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources last year made up about 1 percent of Iowa — or 374,500 of the state's 36 million acres.
About 40 percent of Iowa's public lands were forested, 14 percent were lakes and streams, and 17 percent were prone to flooding, Iowa DNR said.
"This is an agricultural state, and it always will be. But there's room for conservation as well," said Dale Garner, Iowa DNR's conservation and recreation chief. "It's about working together to find balance."
Land has to serve a public purpose to qualify for state purchase, he said. That can include restoring wetland filters and storing water, reducing flooding and cleaning water for downstream residents, as well as creating habitat for waterfowl and migrating birds.
"Mostly, it's marginal land," Garner said. "It probably benefits the farmer because he's probably putting more … into it than he's getting cash out of it."
http://www.press-citizen.com/story/...vation-tax-credits-farm-bureau-says/96438658/
The massive animals, weighing up to 1,400 pounds, have a job to do on the 6,600-acre prairie remnant, the largest of its kind in Iowa. They graze on grasses and sedges, helping manage the delicate habitat that sits in the Loess Hills.
"We don't have the prairie to support the bison," Moats said. "We have the bison to support the prairie."
The Nature Conservancy assembled the preserve with the help of a little-known state tax credit for Iowans who donate land and conservation easements, said Susanne Hickey, the program's conservation director.
Between 2008 and 2013, Iowa landowners received $6.3 million in tax credits for donating $19.4 million in land or conservation easements. In all, they gave away 9,200 acres. Even with those donations, Iowa ranks second-to-last nationally in the amount of publicly owned land, experts say.
But that's still too much for the tax credit's opponents. The state's largest agriculture group contends that the land donations shrink local property taxes and idle acreage in a state where competition for farmland is intense.
Craig Hill, president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, said if property owners want to give land for parks and preserves, they should do so without tax cuts, which are expected to grow to $12.1 million by 2021, based on revenue department projections.
"Government incentives for donations eliminates opportunities for young farmers," Hill said. "A lot of our young farmers think it’s wrong."
'Land is scarce'
Acquiring land is tough for farmers, particularly in Iowa.
Average farmland values in the state were $7,183 an acre in 2016, down about 18 percent from the 2013 peak of $8,716, following declining commodities prices.
Still, last year's average farmland value was the fifth-highest in more than six decades, according to the Iowa State University's annual land survey. And over a decade, land values have more than doubled.
"Land is scarce," Hill said. "There's only so much of it. It's hard for young farmers to get a foothold."
That's why Jason Russell was surprised when Linn County supervisors paid nearly $7.2 million for nearly 500 acres, most of which will be added to a large county park. The purchase came the same day voters overwhelmingly approved a $40 million bond to protect land and water.
"It riled some people up, when the land across the road was sold for about half that" and had more tillable acres, said Russell, a Linn County Farm Bureau board member.
County leaders told Russell they had to compete with a higher offer from developers.
Still, it doesn't make some farmers happy that the county could use more than half its bond — 55 percent is designated to target water quality — to acquire land that won't be available to grow crops or graze cattle, sheep or other livestock.
"There are a lot of questions," Russell said.
Owning land, as opposed to renting it, gives farmers more certainty about their operations each year. It also makes it easier for farmers to build permanent conservation practices — from buffers to terraces.
Even cover crops, grown annually to hold nutrients, are a long-term investment in building soil health, Russell said. Yet half of all Iowa farmland is rented, an ISU report shows.
"It’s very difficult to buy land. You can't buy it and have it pay for itself," given still high land values and low commodity prices, he said.
"You have to have a war chest built up … if you can manage to save a little," said Russell, who hopes to buy some of his family's farm next year.
How the credits work
Last fall, Iowa Farm Bureau delegates approved a long list of policy priorities. Among them was ending tax breaks for people who donate land to charitable organizations and governments.
Hill, Farm Bureau's president, doubts lawmakers will pick up the idea in a year that's brought controversial budget cuts and collective bargaining legislation.
But legislative leaders last month vowed to look at all of Iowa's tax credits, which, when combined with tax exemptions, deductions and exclusions, totaled $12 billion in 2010, according to a Des Moines Register report.
Conservation income tax credits are a small piece of that lost revenue. Donors receive half the value of donated land or easements — up to $100,000 — and the credit can be used over 20 years to reduce the tax bill.
About half of the state's conservation tax credits have gone to donors providing easements, according to a 2015 Iowa Department of Revenue report, the most complete accounting available. Those easements can protect land for conservation, grazing and farming.
They also can protect farmland against development.
About 12 percent of the tax credits have gone to donors selling land at a bargain price.
About 60 percent of the credits went to The Iowa Nature Conservancy and Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation donations; and about 14 percent to county conservation board donations. The rest were undisclosed.
The tax credit provides some reward for people who "already have conservation in their heart," said Joe McGovern, president of the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.
The case for credits
Brent Oleson, a Linn County supervisor, said residents want more investment in conservation, including improving water quality, outdoor recreation and wildlife habitat.
"They go to lakes and find them covered in algae," he said. "They know we’re not doing right for the next generation on water quality."
Seventy-four percent of voters approved the county's $40 million bond initiative for land and water protection. Local Farm Bureau members fought the proposal.
"They claim there's competition for farmland with us, but no one forces anyone to sell anything," he said. "Their (Farm Bureau) members sell to developers. It's a bogus argument.
"Farm Bureau doesn't discourage tax credits when it comes to companies like fertilizer plants," Oleson said, referring to $100 million in state tax credits approved in 2012 for the Iowa Fertilizer Co., a project near Wever in southeast Iowa that's coming online this year.
"But they don't like credits for individuals who provide land for county parks," he said.
The Iowa Farm Bureau supported the fertilizer plant project, saying its analysis showed the plant could save growers $740 million annually.
Trailing in public lands
Although the report was done in 2000, hunting groups, state leaders and conservationists often refer to it: Iowa ranks 49th nationally in its percentage of public lands.
Only Kansas ranks lower, with less than 1 percent in public lands.
Public lands managed by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources last year made up about 1 percent of Iowa — or 374,500 of the state's 36 million acres.
About 40 percent of Iowa's public lands were forested, 14 percent were lakes and streams, and 17 percent were prone to flooding, Iowa DNR said.
"This is an agricultural state, and it always will be. But there's room for conservation as well," said Dale Garner, Iowa DNR's conservation and recreation chief. "It's about working together to find balance."
Land has to serve a public purpose to qualify for state purchase, he said. That can include restoring wetland filters and storing water, reducing flooding and cleaning water for downstream residents, as well as creating habitat for waterfowl and migrating birds.
"Mostly, it's marginal land," Garner said. "It probably benefits the farmer because he's probably putting more … into it than he's getting cash out of it."
http://www.press-citizen.com/story/...vation-tax-credits-farm-bureau-says/96438658/
