As you read this edition of E-Tip today, Barack Obama has been re-elected, Republicans still control the U.S. House, and a tough road lies ahead for various conservation programs you've become familiar with.

Eric B. Banks, Natural Resources Conservation Service state conservationist in Kansas, announced that applications are being accepted to support cover crops planted on lands damaged by the 2011 flooding along the Missouri River to assist producers in controlling erosion and building organic matter.

$1 million in USDA NRCS EQIP funding for the efforts in the Grand Lake St. Marys watershed.

For FY 2012, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service has made significant changes to conservation programs to streamline procedures, reduce costs and improve consistency.

Trying something new and innovative is always easier when you can learn from someone else’s experience. For a small group of innovative Pottawattamie County farmers experimenting with cover crops, that someone else is Pete Hobson.

Controlling soil erosion is one of the big reasons farmers have switched to no-till, but that's not why conservation-minded Arliss and Todd Nielsen made the switch six years ago on the 1200 acres of corn and soybeans they own and rent in Wright County.