By Jeff Lucas
As a kid who grew up in Southeast Iowa where the Skunk and Des Moines rivers pour into the Mississippi, I developed an early respect for farmers and their role in improving the water we use every day. Now, I’m grateful to mark my one-year anniversary as
executive director of Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance (IAWA). And though there’s a lot of work left to do, I’m more confident than ever that we will continue to see our farmers’ efforts produce positive water-quality results for all Iowans.
When I joined IAWA, I was struck by the level of collaboration in Iowa’s conservation space. It’s rare in any field to see leaders consistently setting aside ego to work toward a shared goal. Yet that’s what I found here.
One of my favorite aspects of our organization is our Business and Advisory Council, which brings together decision makers and leaders from a variety of for-profit companies, nonprofits, and government agencies. When you put those types of people in the same room, they produce some special things. Water touches all of us, and it’s our collective responsibility to maintain clean water for our neighbors.
Throughout my life, I’ve been struck by the way agriculture, water, and conservation continue to intersect my world. Although I earned my degree in elementary education, I never stepped into the classroom. Instead, I went straight into business development while living on my in-laws’ ranch near Boise, Idaho.
I’ve announced professional rodeos across the country and run a livestock trailer-manufacturing business. I married my high school sweetheart, a conservationist through and through who holds degrees in agronomy and environmental science. Through her influence, and my own roots in Iowa’s river country, I’ve always held a deep appreciation for the farmers who steward the land and protect the water that sustains us.
The greatest complement we hear is how IAWA is truly the one place everyone is welcome, and the value of association is abundant. We want to be the hub for all things conservation in regard to water quality efforts.
Collaboration is the engine, but engagement is the fuel. Our year-round work with a variety of partners allows us to have direct contact with the people at the center of Iowa’s water stewardship: farmers. Their ongoing sharing of experiences, challenges, and successes give us the real-time data we need to create tools they’ve requested for years. These include our Iowa Cost Share Comparison tool, which helps Iowa farmers navigate incentive programs for cover crops, no-till, and reduced till.
Looking ahead, our vision for IAWA remains in many ways the same, with a few exciting additions. In addition to welcoming new agriculture partners, we are eager to bring to the table leaders of water-dependent industries outside of agriculture to generate diverse funding sources for conservation efforts and outcomes across the state. This kind of multistakeholder collaboration will also ensure we’re sharing insights and comparing notes as we learn what works best for Iowa’s farmers, non-ag businesses, residents, and waterways.
Additionally, we are exploring how practices such as diversification of cropping systems and converting wet, nonproductive ground into wetlands can increase profitability and positive results for soil health and water quality across the state. I’d love to see an uptick in adoption of these and other practices in the coming years as we transition Iowa’s agriculture to the next generation of farmers.
The IAWA team is passionate and focused on connecting with farmers at a human level. We want to meet farmers where they are on their walk with conservation. I often describe our team members as servant leaders: They’re constantly looking for opportunities to jump in and help.
Everyone is impacted by clean water, so that means we all play a role in ensuring we all have access to clean water. The majority of farmers we work with aren’t persuaded by changes in day-to-day life. They continue to engage in conservation because it ties directly to their passion for doing the right thing for their land, family, and neighbors.
We often hear farmers describe themselves as of the land they’ve been blessed with who are focused on upholding that responsibility to the best of their abilities.
At IAWA, we look forward to supporting them in that mission for many years to come.