Projects
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Farmer Feature: Emily Boettcher
Posted onA New Generation of Conservation: Emily Boettcher Carries on Father’s Commitment to Healthy Soil Even after growing up on a Dickinson County farm that’s been in her family since 1936, Emily Boettcher never thought she’d become a farmer. She got her degree in sociological justice from Northwestern College and planned to become a police officer. …
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An Introduction to Drainage Water Management
Posted onManaging Water, Boosting Farmland: An Introduction to Drainage Water Management By: Tom Collins In 1938, the invention of in-field tile drainage systems ushered in a new era of productivity for US farmers. Tile works by effectively draining water off agricultural farmland to prevent flooding and oversaturation within the field. Sometimes, though, this drainage can be…
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Drainage water recycling improves crop yields and water quality
Posted onEmerging Farm Resiliency Practice Provides Significant Farm-Level and Public Benefits, New Report from EDF New economic analysis of drainage water recycling shows the practice can increase crop yields and improve water quality, highlighting the opportunity for public and private co-investment strategies October 21, 2025 – In the face of increasingly volatile and extreme weather across…
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Iowa NRCS Sets Oct. 10 Cutoff for Conservation Program Applications
Posted onIowa NRCS Sets Oct. 10 Cutoff for Conservation Program Applications Photo Credit: Iowa NRCS DES MOINES, IOWA, Sept. 10, 2025 – The first application cutoff for Iowa farmers and other private landowners to apply for conservation practices in Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 through USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) programs is Oct. 10. NRCS accepts conservation program…
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Sophia Campbell Wins Watershed Award
Posted onSophia Campbell Wins 2025 Iowa Watershed Coordinator of the Year By Rebekah Jones SOPHIA CAMPBELL WINS IOWA WATERSHED AWARD For her work in the Yellow River Headwaters of Winneshiek County WINNESHIEK COUNTY, IA (IAWA) — Sophia Campbell has been named a recipient of the prestigious Iowa Watershed Coordinator of the Year Award for her work as…
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Iowa Cover Crop wins Team Award
Posted onIowa Cover Crop wins team award for statewide network of cover crop advocates By Rebekah Jones JEFFERSON, IA (IAWA) — Iowa Cover Crop (ICC), a Jefferson-based conservation business co-owned by Bill and Melissa Frederick and James and Megan Holz, has been named the 2025 recipient of the Iowa Watershed Team Impact Award. They will be recognized…
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FlyCID Director Wins Iowa Watershed Impact Award
Posted onFlyCID Director Wins Iowa Watershed Impact Award By Tom Collins CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IAWA) – Marty Lenss, Airport Director for the Eastern Iowa Airport, has won the Individual Impact Award for water quality in Iowa. His efforts include founding a nonprofit for water quality, employing conservation practices on the farmland surrounding the airport, and working…
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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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Farmer leadership shines in NW Iowa
Posted onFarmer leadership shines in NW Iowa By Rebekah Jones In Northwest Iowa, a small but mighty movement is reshaping the way communities approach conservation. The Northwest Iowa Ag Stewardship Alliance, a grassroots coalition of local producers, is working to expand cover crops and no-till by putting farmers in the driver’s seat of sustainable agriculture. What…
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Motherhood on the farm: Easy? No. Worth it? Yes.
Posted onMotherhood on the farm: Easy? No. Worth it? Yes. Guest Mother’s Day post by Paula Ellis Being a mom is not an easy job. Being a farmer is not an easy job. Being a mom and farmer is definitely not an easy job. But we’re all the same; We just face different obstacles and challenges…