By Dan Looker, IAWA contributor WASHINGTON CO., Iowa (IAWA) – In southeast Iowa, sixth-generation farmer Brian Hora has seen great improvements in soil health and input savings after starting no-till in 1978 and cover crops in 2013. Weed suppression from planting into growing cereal rye, a cover crop, has eliminated the need for residual herbicides[…]
NORTH RACCOON WATERSHED, Iowa (IAWA) – Many farmers have old oxbow scars on their properties, but they don’t even realize it. Restoring them can make a big difference for water quality. Oxbow scars are “u-shaped” stream beds that fill with eroded sediment. They often end up being wet spots in a field that have consistently[…]
Hunter Slifka, watershed project coordinator for the Turkey River Headwaters & Chihak Creek in NE Iowa, was honored as the 2022 Watershed Coordinator of the Year by the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance (IAWA) during the fifth annual Iowa Watershed Awards program. With Slifka’s dedication to water quality in his 62,000-acre watershed, cover crops have expanded from[…]
Ruth McCabe, Heartland Co-op Conservation Agronomist based in Central Iowa, is the 2022 winner of a statewide Impact Award for her outstanding commitment to water quality. McCabe accepted the Impact Award for the Private Sector at the Iowa Water Conference in Dubuque on Thurs., Sept. 29 during the fifth annual IAWA Iowa Watershed Awards program.[…]
Tracy Peterson, City of Ames Municipal Engineer, was honored with the Public Sector Impact Award by the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance (IAWA) during the fifth annual Iowa Watershed Awards program. Peterson oversees a five-year, $6.3 million flood mitigation program that focuses on a section of the South Skunk River that used to flood frequently. That’s[…]
By Dan Looker, IAWA contributor Tanner Puls has been the state’s new edge-of-field coordinator only since April 1. Every day is different as he works to meet the goals of Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy. Based at the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS,) he works mainly with watershed coordinators around the state. He[…]
AMES, Iowa (ISU Agronomy) – Iowa State University (Iowa State), has partnered with agricultural service providers, Iowa farmers and their advisers to launch the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative – a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership that will leverage on-farm data to generate continuous improvements in resource use efficiency. The Iowa Nitrogen Initiative is currently recruiting Iowa farmers to[…]
By Rebekah Jones, IAWA Communications Director ANKENY, Iowa (IAWA) – An $80 million project to enhance climate-smart markets, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and improve carbon sequestration in agriculture will be funded by USDA. It’s part of a $2.8 billion announcement made by USDA Wednesday morning. The project is a major win for Iowa, bringing millions[…]
DES MOINES, Iowa (NRCS) — Iowa farmers and private landowners interested in treating resource concerns on their lands have until Oct. 7 to be considered for priority funding for conservation programs administered through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Four of the most popular USDA conservation programs are included in this signup period: Agricultural Conservation[…]
By Jenna Middaugh Corn and soybeans cover much of Iowa’s rolling acres, but some farmers are starting to change the state’s landscape with small grains – crops that are also improving water quality. These Iowa grown small grains are going into the first beer in a brand new Exile Brewing Company series called “Born Here,[…]