The Iowa office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nat­ural Resources Conservation Serv­ice (NRCS) last week rolled out a new standard for implementing nutrient management plans that are typically required for participation in federal conservation cost-share programs, such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) or Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP).

The updated standard, called the 590 Standard, treats commercial ...