The Midwest Ag Water Quality Partnership
Project Leadership
IAWA and Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
Funding
$100 million
Summary
The Midwest Ag Water Quality Partnership (MAWQP) is a $100 million+ RCPP aimed at advancing soil health, reducing nutrient loss, and improving water quality. It is the nation’s largest RCPP.
The MAWQP offers cost share for a variety of high-impact water quality practices like cover crops, no-till, nutrient management, constructed wetlands, saturated buffers, and many others. Many of those practices also provide wildlife and pollinator habitat, carbon storage, recreation opportunities, and reduced erosion.
The project covers 37 of Iowa’s 99 counties, all partially or entirely within five priority watersheds — the North Racoon, Lake Red Rock, South Skunk, Middle Cedar, and Upper Cedar. Its initial run from 2016-2021 proved so successful that USDA-NRCS renewed it for a further five years, through 2026.
The MAWQP is funded through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). RCPP projects drive innovation in conservation efforts by bringing public and private entities and dollars together to target priority watersheds and landscapes.
Project Area
Conservation Practices Implemented
Check out the in-field and edge-of-field practices in this project.
IN FIELD PRACTICES
COVER CROPS
Keep living roots in the ground all year round.
NO TILL
Minimize disturbance of the soil and prevent erosion.
nutrient management
Be more efficient with fertilizer to save money and improve water.
IN FIELD PRACTICES
bioreactors & saturated buffers
Install a filter at the edge of the field.
DRAINAGE WATER MANAGEMENT
Control the water table to hold back water and nutrients when you want them.
wetlands
Construct nature’s natural filters to trap sediment and power-boost nitrogen removal.
MAWQP Partners
- IAWA
- USDA-NRCS
- Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
- Iowa Corn
- Iowa Soybean Association
- Iowa Pork Association
- Practical Farmers of Iowa
- Agriculture’s Clean Water Alliance
- Agri Drain
- Bayer
- Central Valley Ag
- Corteva
- Ecosystem Services Exchange
- EFC Systems
- Arm Nutrients
- Growmark
- Heartland Co-Op
- Houston Engineering
- Mosaic
- Nutrien
- Peoples Company
- Syngenta
- Truterra
- Verdesian
- WinField United
- YARA
- Conservation Districts of Iowa
- Environmental Defense Fund
- Field to Market
- Great Outdoors Foundation
- Iowa League of Cities
- Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation
- Midwest Row Crop Collaborative
- The Nature Conservancy
- Pheasants Forever
- Prairie Rivers of Iowa
- Soil Health Partnership
- City of Des Moines
- Iowa Department of Natural Resources
- Fourmile Creek Watershed
- Iowa State University
- US Fish and Wildlife Service
- Walnut Creek Watershed
- WRA
- Iowa Cattlemen’s Association
- Iowa Farm Bureau
- Buena Vista Soil and Water Conservation District
- Pocahontas Soil and Water Conservation District
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