Motherhood on the farm: Easy? No. Worth it? Yes.
Motherhood 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[...]Read More »A Sensible Trio: Farming, Conservation, and Motherhood
A 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[...]Read More »What’s a bioreactor? New video reveals underground flow of water
DES 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[...]Read More »IAWA wins top honors for costsharecompare.com
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (IAWA) – The Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance proudly received recognition for its website to help farmers demystify the many cover crop cost share options available to them. The website, costsharecompare.com, allows Iowa farmers to filter cover crop payment programs by important factors like contract length, rates, and funding source. They can then compare details[...]Read More »Taking control of water management on Iowa’s flat, fertile cropland
Drainage 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,[...]Read More »Imagine a day without water 2024
ANKENY, Iowa (IAWA) – Water’s essential role in life on earth, everywhere and every day, is common knowledge. Despite its importance to everyday life (or maybe because of it), water can also be easy to take for granted. That’s true even for folks whose day jobs revolve around Iowa water quality – and it’s why the[...]Read More »Beyond cost share – more bang for your cover crop buck
Cover crop seeding, equipment options can help save time, money By Adam Sodders ANKENY, Iowa (IAWA) – As cover crop acres have spread across Iowa in the last 10 years, Iowa farmers are ever more aware of their powerful water quality and soil benefits – and of the public and private cost share programs helping[...]Read More »Taylor County’s Erin Ogle named 2024 Watershed Coordinator of the Year
TAYLOR 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[...]Read More »Practicing what he preaches: Nevada teacher-farmer earns water quality Impact Award
Kevin Cooper brings on-farm water quality efforts to his classroom and community NEVADA, Iowa (IAWA) – For Nevada High School Vocational Ag teacher and part-time farmer Kevin Cooper, water quality practices aren’t just a textbook topic – they’re a part of his life that he shares with his students and community. That combo of education,[...]Read More »Iowa’s Oxbow Stewards’ water quality work earns Team Impact Award
Team’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[...]Read More »$470,000 to go to Central Iowa wetlands thanks to Prairie Meadows grant
DES MOINES, Iowa (IAWA) — Prairie Meadows Casino just announced that four Central Iowa wetlands projects will get a $470,000 Legacy Grant to support water quality, habitat, and conservation education. Ducks Unlimited is leading the grant, collaborating with Polk County Public Works, Polk County Conservation, the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance, and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation.[...]Read More »NE Iowa farmer leads the way in profitable conservation
By Dan Looker The word, genius, brings to mind researchers in lab coats. Or Einstein’s shock of unruly white hair. As Loran Steinlage’s pickup truck bounces past a cornfield, genius isn’t how he describes himself. Yet each field on his farm near West Union, Iowa, is an experiment with an operator that fits[...]Read More »IAWA launches guide to compare Iowa cover crop payment programs
News Release FOR RELEASE ON: June 25, 2024 CONTACT: Rebekah Jones, Cell: 515- 901-3147 | rjones@iaagwater.org IAWA launches guide to compare Iowa cover crop payment programs ANKENY, IA (IAWA) — By stacking incentives, some farmers could get paid $100 or more per acre for planting new cover crops, but it’s not always easy to keep[...]Read More »IAWA names Jeff Lucas as new Executive Director
Iowa native to bring wide-ranging experience, passion for service to leadership role ANKENY, IA (IAWA) — The Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance is excited to welcome new Executive Director Jeff Lucas to the team this week. The Fort Madison, Iowa native and proud Iowa State University alum brings diverse career experiences from across the country, from the[...]Read More »Wonder and water – reflections on my second Father’s Day
By Adam Sodders, Communications Specialist MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (IAWA) – Central Iowa has been the place my great grandpa, grandpa, dad, I have all called home over the last century or so, and in 2022 a fifth name was added tothe list: Milo. As a young father, it’s impossible not to think about my own childhood[...]Read More »Water quality efforts blossom in the Cedar Valley
Eastern 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[...]Read More »Remembering Bill Northey, a great agricultural and conservation leader
By Dan Looker Energetic. Empathetic. Eclectic. These are a few words some would use to describe Bill Northey, one of Iowa’s most consequential and admired agricultural leaders. Many were shocked by his death last February. On Monday, May 27, 2024 he would have been 65. Last winter, Northey was CEO of the Agribusiness Association of[...]Read More »Kellie Blair: Keep your eye on the goal
By 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,[...]Read More »Kerri Bell: Farming is Family
By 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[...]Read More »Sara Preston: What do Mothers and Farmers Have in Common?
By 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[...]Read More »From prairie meadows to renewable fuel: how one man’s vision could reshape the Midwest
By Dan Looker Rudi Roeslein was born in Salzburg, Austria, not far from mountain meadows where the movie, The Sound of Music, was filmed. His family emigrated to St Louis when he was a boy and today Roeslein has a vision of spreading different flowering fields–30 million acres of native tallgrass prairies–in his adopted country,[...]Read More »From deadly dams to revitalized recreation: Iowa initiatives transform waterways
By Dan Looker ICON Water Trails continues building momentum for 150 miles of waterway recreation while the Wetland Wave supports water quality to improve the recreation experience. DES MOINES, Iowa (IAWA) – Not far from Hannah Inman’s office south of downtown Des Moines, the Des Moines River below the Scott Street Dam is a jumble[...]Read More »Here to help – farmers support farmers in adding regenerative practices
Iowa 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.[...]Read More »‘A milestone year’ for Iowa water quality
Record cost share for farmers, increased practices stand out in 2023 ANKENY, Iowa (IAWA) – Iowa saw record investment in water quality and soil health practices in 2023, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s (IDALS) annual Soil Conservation and Water Quality statewide report. The work of IDALS, in collaboration with many public[...]Read More »Iowa regenerative farmer Kelly Garrett named Top Producer Award finalist
DENISON, Iowa (IAWA) – Sixth-generation Iowa farmer and regenerative ag advocate Kelly Garrett is one of just three finalists for the prestigious Farm Journal 2023 Top Producer of the Year award. Qualifying for this Top Producer magazine honor is a big deal for any farmer – the publication’s subscribers must meet operational requirements (2,000+ corn or soybean[...]Read More »
