Iowa native to bring wide-ranging experience, passion for service to leadership role ANKENY, IA (IAWA) — The Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance is excited to welcome new Executive Director Jeff Lucas to the team this week. The Fort Madison, Iowa native and proud Iowa State University alum brings diverse career experiences from across the country, from the[…]
By Adam Sodders, Communications Specialist MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (IAWA) – Central Iowa has been the place my great grandpa, grandpa, dad, I have all called home over the last century or so, and in 2022 a fifth name was added tothe list: Milo. As a young father, it’s impossible not to think about my own childhood[…]
Eastern 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[…]
Iowa farmer, Dean Sponheim, nears 100,000 acres of cover crops with his entrepreneurial endeavors, after seeing successful cover crops on his own farm in 2012. By Dan Looker OSAGE, Iowa (IAWA) It’s a warm, sunny February day in Osage, Iowa, where about 100 farmers are gathered inside a meeting hall at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds.[…]
Record cost share for farmers, increased practices stand out in 2023 ANKENY, Iowa (IAWA) – Iowa saw record investment in water quality and soil health practices in 2023, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s (IDALS) annual Soil Conservation and Water Quality statewide report. The work of IDALS, in collaboration with many public[…]
DENISON, Iowa (IAWA) – Sixth-generation Iowa farmer and regenerative ag advocate Kelly Garrett is one of just three finalists for the prestigious Farm Journal 2023 Top Producer of the Year award. Qualifying for this Top Producer magazine honor is a big deal for any farmer – the publication’s subscribers must meet operational requirements (2,000+ corn or soybean[…]
By Dan Looker ANKENY, Iowa (IAWA) Diamonds are valued and appreciated for their beauty because they’re rare. So it is with a nearly vanished American landscape – the tallgrass prairie. Only 4% of its original 170 million acres remains in the U.S. In Iowa, it covers less than 0.1% of the land. Yet, anyone who[…]
New Soil Health Interpretation Portal gives customized, “apples-to-apples” insights ANKENY, Iowa (IAWA) – It’s no secret that Iowa is blessed with great cropland, and the Iowa Soybean Association’s new, free-to-use Soil Health Interpretation Portal (SHIP) is helping farmers get the most out of their top-notch topsoil. The SHIP shows farmers how their soil is performing in the[…]
Iowa farmers face ag drainage problems. There are solutions. When farm field runoff flows through traditional tile drainage structures, water doesn’t have a chance to slow down and infiltrate the soil. This is not good for drought resiliency – which is becoming even more important as we face more dry summers. It also leads to[…]
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (IAWA) – City of Cedar Rapids Watersheds & Source Water Program Manager Mary Beth Stevenson has been named the winner of the 2023 Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance (IAWA) Public Impact Award for her impressive partnership efforts, urban-rural focus, and her role in increasing the pace and scale of water quality practices in[…]