Practices
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The Great Conservation Cost Share Rush
Posted onA look into the forces driving accelerated adoption of conservation in Iowa By Dan Looker Joel Rasmussen and his father, Kevin, are strong conservationists, using strip tillage for years to reduce erosion on their farm near Humboldt, Iowa. But when Joel’s father tried seeding a cover crop of oats after combining corn a few years…
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MATT FRANA WINS IOWA WATERSHED COORDINATOR OF THE YEAR
Posted onCounty coordinator recognized for source water protection work in the Central Turkey River Watershed DECORAH, IA (IAWA) – Matt Frana has been named a recipient of the prestigious Iowa Watershed Coordinator of the Year Award for his work as the Central Turkey River Watershed Project Coordinator with the Winneshiek Soil and Water Conservation District. He…
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JACOB HANDSAKER WINS IOWA INDIVIDUAL IMPACT AWARD FOR WATERSHED WORK
Posted onHardin County contractor proved out a batch and build model now being copied across the country HARDIN COUNTY, IA (IAWA) – Jacob Handsaker, owner operator of Hands On Excavating, has won the Individual Impact Award for water quality in Iowa. His work includes installing several hundred water control structures across the state, proving out Iowa’s…
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DUBUQUE COUNTY WATERSHEDS WINS IOWA WATERSHED TEAM IMPACT AWARD
Posted onCounty-led drone cover crop program cut costs, scales cover crop acres like never before in Iowa DUBUQUE COUNTY, IA (IAWA) — Dubuque County Watersheds has been named the 2026 recipient of the Iowa Watershed Team Impact Award for its work protecting water quality across the driftless region’s karst landscape. The team was recognized at the…
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Iowa’s agriculture secretary announces major cattle conservation expansion
Posted onDES MOINES, Iowa (IAWA) – At a time when the market is demanding more beef production and central Iowans want cleaner water, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced a conservation program expansion that could meet both needs. On Tuesday, speaking at the Iowa State Fair, Naig said the popular Cattle and Conservation Working Lands…
Posted in Central Iowa, Cover Crops, Dan Looker, Industry News, livestock practices, NW Iowa, Uncategorized -
IAWA featured in water quality podcast
Posted onIowa Soybean Association Interviews Communications Director Rebekah Jones as part of a water lineup of speakers. DES MOINES, Iowa (ISA) – August is National Water Quality Month, and the Iowa Soybean Associatoin is celebrating by exploring an often-overlooked part of Iowa’s water story: urban and rural collaboration. This episode follows Iowa’s water upstream — from…
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Iowa 2026 pheasant numbers expected to be high thanks in part to conservation
Posted onIowa’s pheasant population is forecast to be similar to 2025, when the state’s pheasant population reached a 20-year high, according to Iowa DNR. On-farm conservation efforts like prairie strips, native prairie buffers, and CRP enrollments help to create strong habitat for the birds. That forecast is based on a model using 50 years of weather…
Posted in Prairie -
Urban and rural conservation commitments move Iowa forward together
Posted onDES MOINES, Iowa (July 13, 2026) — Clean water depends on both urban and rural communities working together, which is why IAWA supports improvement on the landscape in both farms and cityscapes. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) recently announced four new urban water quality projects in Cedar Falls, Des Moines, Riverside,…
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How cross-watershed collaboration across state lines can spark change and quicken progress
Posted onCOON VALLEY, Wisc. (July 14, 2026) — Watershed groups in Iowa and Wisconsin are building a cross-state network to trade flood-mitigation and water-quality strategies, an effort now documented in a new University of Iowa video, “Currents of Collaboration.” Click here to watch on Youtube. Produced by IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering with Northeast Iowa RC&D, the Coon…
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Data centers and water: economic growth or environmental threat?
Posted onData centers aren’t new, but they’ve been getting an increasing amount of attention as tech companies work to meet the demands of an increasingly online society. In this article, IAWA breaks down the pros and cons of data center investments and corrects common misinformation. By Dan Looker Key Takeaways Water availability: Location matters. Some utilities…