Iowa Select Farms, the largest pork producer in Iowa, recently conducted a survey on soil health and water quality sustainability.  The study, according to Erica Lain, Sustainability Manager for Iowa Select Farms, gathered data from 14 hog farms that receive hog  manure from hog farms located in the Raccoon River Watershed.  The area represented more than 14,000 acres.

Lain says the results show a reduction of soil erosion when hog manure is injected into the fields.

The Iowa Select Farms official says the injected hog manure offered benefits to the soil by providing organic fertilizer as well as stopped erosion and nutrient run-off.

Lain says when additional conservation measures are practiced, the benefits to soil health multiply.

She says as a result of the findings, Iowa Select Farms plans to implement a new program for its contract pork producers.

Lain says when compared to conventional practices, fields within the study had more than 1550 tons of soil saved instead of being lost to erosion.