News
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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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Iowa farmers can get up to $38/acre through WQI funds
Posted onDES MOINES, Iowa (IDALS/IAWA) – Farmers and landowners can now get up to $38 per acre for water quality practices like cover crops and no-till. It’s through Iowa’s Water Quality Initiative (WQI). WQI funds help farmers adopt proven water quality practices, including planting cover crops, transitioning acres to no-till/strip-till or applying a nitrogen inhibitor. “Building on the record…
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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…
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From wet spot to wetland
Posted onPartnerships 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.…
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IAWA and partners to celebrate $140,000 grant with wetlands tour
Posted onADEL, Iowa (IAWA) – You’re invited! Join us during Earth Week on April 19, 2023 at 1:30 p.m. to learn about the power of wetlands near Iowa farmland to improve water quality! RSVP here. This is part of a celebration hosted by the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance, DMACC, Ducks Unlimited, Dallas County, and Polk County…
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Iowa farmers use “water quality toolbox”
Posted onProven practices find success on Iowa farms, benefit downstream neighbors By Dan Looker, IAWA Writer Iowa (IAWA) – Seven years ago Jon Bakehouse of Hastings, Iowa, started planting cover crops where he grows corn and soybeans with his father. Switching to no-till farming in the 1990s improved water filtration in wet spots on their West Nishnabotna…
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Iowa N Initiative hits the airwaves
Posted onDES MOINES, Iowa (IAWA) – Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance Executive Director Sean McMahon hit the airwaves this week to talk about the Iowa N Initiative – a program helping Iowa farmers dial in their fields’ fertilizer needs. McMahon was joined on The Big Show’s “Clean Water Wednesday” by Melissa Miller of The N Initiative. The…
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Farmers back clean water research
Posted onBy Dan Looker Two farmer-led organizations in Iowa have a long history of research-based work—the Iowa Soybean Association and Practical Farmers of Iowa. For 11 years, ISA has run its own water lab – the Research Center for Farming Innovation (RFCI) – testing thousands of samples from streams and drainage tiles each year. Nitrates and…
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Tools to track nutrient reduction progress
Posted onBy Dan Looker Iowa (IAWA) – Iowans can track nutrient reduction progress using two sources: the Iowa Nutrient Research and Education Council (INREC) and Iowa State University’s online reporting dashboard. INREC conducts statistically reliable surveys of ag retailers each year, meeting with agronomists to pick 1,000 representative locations. Other sources rely on data from government…
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Nutrients in farming: What are they and why do we need them?
Posted onBy Dan Looker, IAWA Writer Iowans have heard a lot about nitrogen fertilizer in recent years. Nitrogen and phosphorus are the two key nutrients that the state is working to manage better through the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. Nitrogen is one of earth’s most important elements, and it plays a key role in plant growth.…