Across Iowa, it’s people who are building a new green infrastructure to improve water quality. 1st in a 2-part series Across Iowa, it’s people who are building a new green infrastructure to improve water quality. People like landscaper Lucy Hershberger. Hershberger took a Master Conservation class and collaborated with North Liberty city leader Tracey Mulcahey[…]
Nearly 60 percent of Iowa farmland is owned by someone other than the family farmers who operate it. This means that a majority of Iowa farm land-use decisions are made by the owners, while daily conservation management decisions are made by the operators. The way this happens is as unique as farmland in Iowa. It[…]
Increased Conservation Practices for Increased Profitability These types of comparative field images are helping farmers improve profitability. Top: Aerial field viewed by the naked eye just shows wet and dry areas. Middle: Aerial field view through precision ag technology. The red areas show profit loss; green areas indicate profitable areas of the field. Bottom: Possible range of profitability.[…]
By Anthony WeilandIowa’s landscape is divided into about 1,600 watersheds that span about 22,000 acres apiece. It’s in these individual watersheds that progress is being made toward keeping nutrients on the land and out of water. Local people, acting as one community with a myriad of support from experts and a thorough watershed plan makes[…]
Raising Better Crops and Minimizing Our Impact on the Environment Space aliens turning a telescope to Earth might think it’s a static blue ball. We know better. Earth is driven by dynamic cycles. Some are long, as the geologic ones with glaciers that grind rock into dust over centuries. Much shorter weather cycles bring life-giving[…]
National Attention at One Water Summit 2016: How Iowa is Improving Its Water Quality “Iowa’s collaborative approach to improving water quality has received national attention,” says Sean McMahon, executive director of the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance (IAWA). He also said, “We are fostering strong partnerships among the public and private sectors; urban and rural communities;[…]
Integrating Cover Crops on Your Farm Wade Kent, a farmer and agronomist with Beck’s Hybrids, has been helping his father, Bruce, work cover crops into their Algona, Iowa farm’s continuous corn since 2014 and he still chuckles at the thought that he’s considered an expert. “At this point in time, we do not have an[…]
City Municipalities and Rural Interests Working Toward Same Goal While drinking water in the U. S. is among the safest in the world, elevated levels of nitrate, coupled with increasingly strong weather events and a persistent low oxygen “dead zone” in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, has the attention of businesses, governments and non-government organizations.[…]
From Urban and Rural Partnerships to Tenants and Farmers, the Keys to Improving Water Quality Lie in Collaborative Efforts Members of the leadership team of Iowa’s Water Future Task Force who are looking for solutions to improving water quality had the opportunity to see and discuss what farmers are doing during a tour hosted by[…]
Kurt Simon, Iowa State Conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service The Des Moines River flows through downtown, just a block away from Kurt Simon’s new office on the sixth floor of the Neal Smith Federal Building. Recently named Iowa state conservationist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation[…]