Conservation Compass

Spotlight Stories

Explore IAWA’s original reporting on the latest conservation news

  • Iowa farmers use “water quality toolbox”

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    Proven 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

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    DES 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

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    By 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

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    By 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?

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    By 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.…

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  • Some soil health gains can happen fast

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    And other surprising facts about regenerative farming By Dan Looker, IAWA contributor AMES, Iowa (IAWA) – Building healthy soil takes work, investment, and time. It can be years before tests show increases in stable organic matter and benefits are seen… at least, that’s a common belief among many people. But that’s not quite right, says…

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  • Soil, water conservation practices increase profitability for S.E. Iowa farmer

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    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…

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  • Stream restorations are part of the equation to reducing nutrients in Iowa water 

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    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…

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  • Slifka recognized as 2022 Coordinator of the Year in fifth annual IAWA Iowa Watershed Awards

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    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…

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  • McCabe recognized with Private Sector Impact Award in fifth annual IAWA Iowa Watershed Awards

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    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.…

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