Monday shortly after noon, US Congressman Zach Nunn made a stop in Guthrie County.

Nunn visited a field farmed by Curtis Wilson north of Montieth, and the moisture relay station on the acreage that was put up in conjunction with the Iowa Flood Center. Wilson states that the station has four probes, ranging in depths from six feet, 12 feet, 24 feet and 48 feet to measure the soil moisture levels.

Nunn shared some of what he learned from Wilson, and speakers from the IFC and American Flood Coalition.

“We’re seeing the opportunity right now with this moisture field to really do some monitoring amongst conservationists, innovators, as well as practitioners in the field, the farmer, on what they can do to be able to plant a field that’s going to have more resiliency to drought, but also mitigate the kinds of flood damage we’ve seen in the past.”

Nunn explains that with innovative steps like these, he’s stepped up with some new legislation that uses the data gathered by stations like this.

“It’s one of the reasons that I am leading the Protecting Farmers from Natural Disasters Act to expand USDA’s Emergency Watershed Program and give farmers the support they need to restore the land to better conditions after the disaster than they even were before the disaster.”

Nunn shares that the expansion to the EWP is essential, and apparent, especially after the 2019 floods along the western side of the state in places like Hamburg, and with the derecho in 2020, which caused over $11 billion in damages.

The station is paired with another identical set up on Wilson’s father’s field not too far away, but the men have different farming methods. Curtis does multi-crop farming, while his father rotates his crops on a no till acreage. Having the systems on fields with these different farming styles helps to show the difference in water absorption and retention.

Nunn also made a visit to The Gardens Assisted Living Facility in Jefferson on Monday as well.