Conservation Compass

Spotlight Stories

Explore IAWA’s original reporting on the latest conservation news

  • Mother’s Day series: a moderately successful farm wife

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    By Melissa Miller, Guest Writer *Editor’s note: This post is part of a Mother’s Day series featuring mothers in ag and on the farm. Melissa Miller is our first guest writer in the series. Her family farms in Hardin County, Iowa and have added multiple conservation practices to their farm.  My Twitter profile, in just…

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  • IAWA announces $7 million wetland restoration agreement with NRCS, RES

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    The Iowa Ag Water Alliance (IAWA) is celebrating Earth Week with a broadcast in Central Iowa about the multiple benefits of wetlands, including improved water quality, more wildlife habitat, and reduced flooding downstream. You can listen from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on WHO-AM 1040 during The Big Show’s road tour, “Clean Water in Iowa…

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  • Upstream investments making a positive impact downstream in Des Moines

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    By Kaitlin Little (Published March 29, 2022) As spring kicks off, we’re celebrating some of the green efforts the Iowa Ag Water Alliance and our partners support through the Midwest Ag Water Quality Partnership Renewal project (MAWQP).  The MAWQP gets conservation strategies on the ground in watersheds like the North Raccoon where farmers are putting in…

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  • April 8 deadline announced for certain conservation funding (ISACD)

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    [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] By IAWA Staff (Published on March 9, 2022) If you’re a farmer doing important work to improve water quality, you may qualify for funding through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The deadline for several conservation funding opportunities for fiscal year 2022 assistance is April 8, 2022. Fiscal year 2022 runs…

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  • Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

    April 8 deadline announced for certain conservation funding (MAWQP renewal)

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    [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] By IAWA Staff (Published on March 9, 2022) If you’re a farmer doing important work to improve water quality, you may qualify for funding through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The deadline for several conservation funding opportunities for fiscal year 2022 assistance is April 8, 2022. Fiscal year 2022 runs…

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  • Strong women and clean water: how two Iowa women are changing the ag landscape

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    By Kaitlin Little, IAWA (Published March 8, 2022) From the tractor to the board room, Iowa women are helping to solve the state’s water quality challenges while pioneering new strategies and new careers. On International Women’s Day, Iowa Ag Water Alliance is celebrating their success. When Rosie Roberts studied agriculture at Iowa State University, her…

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  • Farmer conservation of critical habitat helping to restore endangered fish species

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    Key Takeaways The Topeka shiner is making a comeback thanks to restoration of their natural habitat (oxbows) alongside farmland in Iowa. Landowners can restore oxbows for free through projects co-led by IAWA. Oxbow restoration has other benefits including increased water quality, recreational areas, and flood mitigation. By Rebekah Jones, IAWA (Published March 8, 2022) Conservation…

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  • Polk County achieves quicker farmland nitrate reduction, spreads success to other counties

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    [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] More Iowa counties aim to replicate the 50-fold increase in Polk County saturated buffers and bioreactors to improve water quality. By Kurt Lawton Remove the burdens for farm landowners to install voluntary water quality projects, and they sign up quickly. In fact, word-of-mouth project success has almost created a waiting list as 2023…

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  • Don’t miss the deadline to enroll in the CRP program for 2022

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    [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Farmers have until Friday, March 11, 2022 to enroll for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for 2022 under the General CRP signup. Grassland CRP signup runs from April 4 to May 13.  Enrolling land in CRP is one way farmers and landowners can contribute to improving water quality. The amount of nitrogen and…

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  • rye cover crop sprouts in field

    USDA to pay farmers for cover crops second year in a row

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    [siteorigin_widget class=”SiteOrigin_Widget_Image_Widget”][/siteorigin_widget] Farmers who plant cover crops can get a $5 per acre savings on their crop insurance premiums for the second year in a row as part of the Pandemic Cover Crop Program. Farmers must report their cover crop acreage by March 15, 2022 to get payments. The USDA Pandemic Cover Crop Program was created in 2021 to make sure…

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