NE Iowa
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NE Iowa farmer leads the way in profitable conservation
Posted onBy Dan Looker The word, genius, brings to mind researchers in lab coats. Or Einstein’s shock of unruly white hair. As Loran Steinlage’s pickup truck bounces past a cornfield, genius isn’t how he describes himself. Yet each field on his farm near West Union, Iowa, is an experiment with an operator that fits…
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Water quality efforts blossom in the Cedar Valley
Posted onEastern Iowa farmers, landowners add more “Batch and Build” projects, cover crops By Dan Looker CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (IAWA) – In 2008, the Cedar River – namesake of the city of Cedar Rapids – surged from its banks to leave more than a tenth of the city in muck and destruction. That disaster, among the…
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DNR’s Josh Balk named IAWA Watershed Coordinator of the Year, honored at Iowa Watershed Awards
Posted onWATERLOO, Iowa (IAWA) – Josh Balk’s dedication to improving water quality in the Cedar River watershed is being recognized with the 2023 IAWA Watershed Coordinator of the Year award, an honor given to one outstanding Iowa watershed coordinator each year. In his role as an Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) watershed and source water…
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Walking in water
Posted onWatershed coordinators’ hands-on work improves NE Iowa streams By Dan Looker The Turkey River winds and ripples past limestone bluffs in Northeast Iowa and is a favorite of paddlers and anglers. But where the river starts, at a gently sloping corn field in Howard County, it looks more like an easily jumped ditch. Hunter Slifka,…
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Changing water, soil health mindsets where the prairie meets the hills
Posted onNE Iowa farmer optimistic about future of water quality, soil health after first decade of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy By Adam Sodders ARLINGTON, Iowa (IAWA) – Tim Recker’s family has a long history of crop farming in northeast Iowa’s Fayette County, and he’s adding to that legacy as a leader in on-farm soil and…