Projects
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A Sensible Trio: Farming, Conservation, and Motherhood
Posted onA Sensible Trio: Farming, Conservation, and Motherhood Guest Mother’s Day post by Kate Edwards, Wild Woods Farm You can find Wild Woods Farm on Instagram, their website, and Facebook. Our farm is a pocket-sized farm, like the corner grocery you love, because you know where every item is and don’t have to wander far. I…
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What’s a bioreactor? New video reveals underground flow of water
Posted onDES MOINES, Iowa (IAWA) — The Iowa Ag Water Alliance and several partners are releasing a new animated video that shows how bioreactors and saturated buffers clean tile drainage. It will be a critical tool in helping agronomists and water quality professionals promote these practices on farms. What happens underground in a bioreactor or…
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Taking control of water management on Iowa’s flat, fertile cropland
Posted onDrainage Water Management practices support crop success, soil health, water quality ADAIR, Iowa (IAWA) – Underground drainage tile has long been the go-to answer for handling water in northern and central Iowa’s flat, fertile, slow-draining cropland – but a newer approach is letting farmers choose how much water leaves their field and when. That approach,…
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Taylor County’s Erin Ogle named 2024 Watershed Coordinator of the Year
Posted onTAYLOR COUNTY, IA (IAWA) — Erin Ogle, Project Coordinator for the Taylor Soil and Water Conservation District, has been named the 2024 Watershed Coordinator of the Year for her programs that not only improve water quality, but also support local businesses in Southwest Iowa. Ogle’s work revolves around livestock-friendly conservation. Through the Iowa Working Lands…
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Iowa’s Oxbow Stewards’ water quality work earns Team Impact Award
Posted onTeam’s collaboration, expertise fuels surge in restored oxbows statewide ANKENY, Iowa (IAWA) – A statewide team of water quality and habitat experts is breathing new life into old, cut off river segments – known as oxbows – and their work is being recognized with the 2024 IAWA Team Impact Award. Oxbows form when a…
Posted in Central Iowa, New, NRSWO, Oxbows, Public-Private Partnerships, Spotlight Stories, Watershed Awards -
Water quality efforts blossom in the Cedar Valley
Posted onEastern Iowa farmers, landowners add more “Batch and Build” projects, cover crops By Dan Looker CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (IAWA) – In 2008, the Cedar River – namesake of the city of Cedar Rapids – surged from its banks to leave more than a tenth of the city in muck and destruction. That disaster, among the…
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Kellie Blair: Keep your eye on the goal
Posted onBy Kellie Blair On our farm, we do a lot of work advocating for conservation. When I say we advocate, I mean that we tell our story and how it works for us. What works on our farm doesn’t always work for others. Conservation on the farm doesn’t look the same everywhere, and includes cover crops, no-till/strip-till,…
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Kerri Bell: Farming is Family
Posted onBy Kerri Bell My name is Kerri Bell, and I am a fourth-generation farmer. My husband, Lance, and I have a diversified crop farm near Keota in southeast Iowa. We raise corn, soybeans, cover crops, and alfalfa, and have a crossbred cow calf operation with our twin daughters, Ellie and Sophie – both are 2023…
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Sara Preston: What do Mothers and Farmers Have in Common?
Posted onBy Sara Preston Ever pondered the similarities between mothers and farmers? As I reflect on the remarkable women in my life and the dedicated farmers I know, I can’t help but notice the striking parallels. Mothers are nurturing to their children, going above and beyond to encourage their growth and helping them be the best that…
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Here to help – farmers support farmers in adding regenerative practices
Posted onIowa farmer, Dean Sponheim, nears 100,000 acres of cover crops with his entrepreneurial endeavors, after seeing successful cover crops on his own farm in 2012. By Dan Looker OSAGE, Iowa (IAWA) It’s a warm, sunny February day in Osage, Iowa, where about 100 farmers are gathered inside a meeting hall at the Mitchell County Fairgrounds.…