Nutrient Management
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Nutrient Reduction Strategy Dashboards Receive New Updates, Show Positive Trends
Posted onRecently, the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy Interactive Dashboards received an update with 2024 data. With nearly every data set showing an improvement, here are some highlights from two of the updated dashboards, “Land Use and In-Field Practices” and “Edge-of-Field Practices and Structural Erosion Control.” If you’re interested in exploring the data for yourself, visit the…
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New IAWA Resource Helps Farmers, Public Break Down Complex Cycle
Posted onNitrogen makes up 78% of Earth’s atmosphere; it is an essential building block for life, and it is also a topic of many water quality discussions in Iowa. With Iowa’s water nitrate level a concern for many, it is understandable that people have questions like what it is, how it works, and why farmers are…
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Farmer Feature: Bob Puetz
Posted onHog farmer uses conservation to prepare land for next generation By Micaela Cashman In the gently rolling hills of northwest Plymouth County, Bob Puetz has spent a lifetime farming the land he calls home. The region, once dominated by tallgrass prairie, is rich with loam soil. But with erosion risk on slopes and naturally poor…
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Registration Open: Advanced Soil Health Training in Eastern Iowa
Posted onRoots to Results, an advanced soil health workshop program is accepting applications for agriculture professionals, watershed professionals, farmers, and crop advisors in Dubuque County. The year-long “Roots to Results” program includes four two-day sessions starting February 9-10, with only 35 spots available. Download the event brochure here. What You’ll Gain Participants work directly with leading…
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Urgent: Jan 15 Deadline for NRCS Conservation Funding
Posted onFarmers interested in USDA-NRCS conservation funding for the 2026 planting season need to get their paperwork in order ASAP to meet the upcoming deadline. The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has officially announced a national batching deadline of January 15, 2026, for the first round of funding for several key programs. While the NRCS…
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ISU Announces N-FACT User Experience Updates
Posted onSeptember 29, 2025 (AMES, Iowa) — The Iowa Nitrogen Initiative (INI) team announced updates to N-FACT, Iowa State University’s dynamic nitrogen fertilizer decision support tool. The updates incorporate user feedback and are intended to improve ease-of-use and deeper understanding of the tool and its outputs. Since release in February 2025, N-FACT has been used by…
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ACWA Chairman Wins Lifetime Achievement Award
Posted onHarry Ahrenholtz, Chairman of the Board for Agriculture’s Clean Water Alliance (ACWA), a non-profit committed to improving Iowa’s water quality, has won the 2025 Watershed Lifetime Achievement Award.
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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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Iowa regenerative farmer Kelly Garrett named Top Producer Award finalist
Posted onDENISON, 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…
Posted in Cover Crops, Farmer champions, MAWQP, New, Nutrient Management, Press release, Spotlight Stories, SW Iowa -
When it comes to better soil health, context is key
Posted onNew 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…