Weather conditions and fertilizer prices result in challenges but also opportunities

Nitrogen stabilizers and nitrogen research to be the focus of a Central Iowa Field Day By IAWA and Verdesian, an IAWA Business Council member   With nitrogen prices increasing over the past few years, growers have their minds squarely on fertilizer costs. Throw into the mix weather volatility (what else is new?), and farmers are[…]

A wetland construction site is seen in aerial view. The cleared-out site is surrounded by farmland.

From wet spot to wetland

Partnerships lead to new water quality feature at DMACC Dallas County Farm By Adam Sodders ADEL, Iowa (IAWA) – A once-troublesome mud puddle in a Central Iowa farm field has been transformed into one of the state’s newest water quality wetlands. The new wetland was completed in January at the DMACC Dallas County Farm near Adel.[…]

$80 million coming to Iowa & Missouri for Horizon II project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

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[…]

man welding with sparks flying

Northwest Iowa family builds international success with fertilizer technology

From the machine shed to the international market, Roger Montag built a business that’s improving water quality – and nearly the entire family of ten now helps run. This article is part of a special Father’s Day Series. By Rebekah Jones When Roger Montag started building his own farming equipment in the 80’s, he never[…]

two agronomists looking at soybeans in a field

Conservation agronomists: the bridge between farm sustainability and profitability

By Kaitlin Little  Five years ago, the job title “conservation agronomist” didn’t even exist. Now it’s a growing network expanding across the state, thanks to Iowa Soybean Association’s (ISA) efforts to build a trustworthy conservation source for farmers.  Conservation agronomists are agronomic experts who can help farmers with decisions that both improve profitability and water[…]

IAWA announces $7 million wetland restoration agreement with NRCS, RES

The Iowa Ag Water Alliance (IAWA) is celebrating Earth Week with a broadcast in Central Iowa about the multiple benefits of wetlands, including improved water quality, more wildlife habitat, and reduced flooding downstream. You can listen from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on WHO-AM 1040 during The Big Show’s road tour, “Clean Water in Iowa[…]

A wetland at sunset

Upstream investments making a positive impact downstream in Des Moines

By Kaitlin Little (Published March 29, 2022) As spring kicks off, we’re celebrating some of the green efforts the Iowa Ag Water Alliance and our partners support through the Midwest Ag Water Quality Partnership Renewal project (MAWQP).  The MAWQP gets conservation strategies on the ground in watersheds like the North Raccoon where farmers are putting in[…]

Saturated Buffer on the edge of a field

Polk County achieves quicker farmland nitrate reduction, spreads success to other counties

More Iowa counties aim to replicate the 50-fold increase in Polk County saturated buffers and bioreactors to improve water quality. By Kurt Lawton Remove the burdens for farm landowners to install voluntary water quality projects, and they sign up quickly. In fact, word-of-mouth project success has almost created a waiting list as 2023 project signups[…]