Roadside Management

Iowa is always at the cutting edge of change:

• One of the first states to pass laws in support of the civil rights movement
• Leading the way for women's rights
• Our pharmacy board was the first to classify marijuana as a schedule II drug
• Creating a healthier state through Live Healthy Iowa and the Blue Zones Project
• Creating crop, product, and solution advances at our universities

Just to name a few.

One of these projects is the Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management Program

According to their website, "Iowa was one of the first states to establish IRVM programs at the city, county, and state levels."  They are leading the way in our shift from extensive mowing and herbicides to a more native approach.

They are working to find cost-effective, efficient, natural, and environment building solutions for a large percentage of our state's land.  The IRVM project is operated through University of Northern Iowa's Tall Prairegrass Center.  They provide resources and assistance to counties, states, and cities looking to build their program and restore native growth.  The Iowa Living Roadway Trust Fund is a division of the DOT that works to help with funding, research, education, etc of the program.

This process usually involves research to find the right mix of native plants for your regions and then working to plant and grow these while preventing soil erosion into our water system.  This is usually accomplished with predrilling and seeding, followed by coverage and fertilization.  Some mowing and maintenance of noxious weeds still exists for safety and control.

Top-Spread helps in this program by providing a cost effective solution for road crews.  You are able to use a skid loader already on site and not bring another tractor and semi.  One person can easily cover 20 acres in 2 days by themselves in muddy conditions including retrieving bales from one location with a one speed skid loader.  It is becoming increasing difficult to find small squares and folks that are willing to handle them.  Utilizing large round or square bales with Top-Spread will save you time, labor, and money.

We are looking forward to attending the Iowa IRVM Conference this week in Coralville, Iowa.  We are excited to bring more knowledge for our customers and show folks how Top-Spread is assisting in returning Iowa's green space to native plantings.

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Soil Erosion Control No Longer a Fad

The Effects of Soil Erosion

Soil Erosion is the wearing away of soil from natural processes that are sometimes sped up by human influence.  This usually occurs on construction sites (structural or roadway) and farm ground.  This is because the earth is bare and is exposed to the elements such as water and wind.

Solid run off is the number one pollutant for surface waters.  This is responsible for many problems in the water.  When run off enters the waterways, it buries underwater vegetation directly affecting the entire food chain.  Suspended soil particles also clog fish gills and other water machinery.  Construction sites also use chemicals in their building and cleaning process that will enter the water through the erosion process.  This impacts all wildlife.

Soil Erosion Prevention

There are a lot of actions to take for soil erosion prevention.  Most of the these are work done to prep a site, adding wattles and logs to drains and high risk areas.  These procedures set you up for success during the construction process.  There are also necessary steps during and post construction to help prevent soil erosion.  One of those is to cover bare earth during the process.  This can be accomplished through spreading straw.  After construction, the addition of vegetation is vital.  Anchoring the soil with plant life prevents rapid soil movement and loss of organic material in the soil.

Erosion Control Products

Straw erosion control blanketing is a great way to maintain new vegetation once planted.  Seeds are usually dispersed through a pump and hose system.  To retain moisture and protect the new seeds from washing away or being carried off by animals, straw coverage is added.

The problem we see is folks don't have an efficient way to accomplish this.  When mulch is added to the hose and pump system, seeds don't have soil contact and therefore germination rate is lowered.  Some other folks use a small bale chucker, but these still require quite a bit of manual labor and small square bales are hard to find.  Top-Notch Machine provides a different solution.  Top-Spread bale spreader attaches to a skid loader you already have on site and you can quickly cover the ground with no manual labor needed.  This also cuts down on time and material used.

Soil Erosion Prevention is no longer just something nice to do for the environment; it is also mandated across the board by almost every state.  The Federal Highway Administration provides guidelines for erosion control during projects.  Please visit your individual state sites for more information.

Be a part of the solution while cutting costs for your company.

 

Be sure to connect with us if you want to provide this solution, have questions/comments, or want to stay up-to-date on the latest news!