The Iowa Seed Corn Cover Crops Initiative is a new Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Water Quality Initiative project that will run through 2018. This project is through the Iowa Seed Association in collaboration with the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa Corn Growers Association, and the Soil and Water Conservation Society.
Continue reading2016 Fall Watershed Academy
A few weeks ago, approximately 70 Iowa-based water professionals came together for the Watershed Academy. This two-day event was co-organized by Iowa State University Extension & Outreach, Conservation Districts of Iowa, the Soil and Water Conservation Society, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The Academy sought to provide the latest information on conservation practices and educational resources.
Continue readingCedar River Watershed Coalition Meeting Recap
On Friday, October 29, I had the good fortune of heading northeast to Parkersburg, Iowa for the Cedar River Watershed Coalition’s Fall 2016 meeting. This group has been convening since February of 2010, and I’ve made it to a few meetings in my time at the Iowa Water Center.
Continue readingGet to know the Prairie STRIPS Project
Two weeks ago, the Iowa Water Center staff attended a lecture on a study conducted with the Iowa State University Prairie STRIPS Project. Eduardo Luquin Oroz, graduate student at the University of Wageningen, presented results from examining the sediment deposition at the sites associated with this project as well as the strip width effects on sediment deposition. After leaving the presentation, the above quote immediately entered my mind.
Continue readingPlate of the Union Water Quality Panel Discussion
This year, the Iowa State University Sustainable Agriculture Student Association (SASA) received a national grant from the Plate of the Union Campus Challenge. Part of this sponsorship included hosting a panel on water quality issues
Continue readingFarmers Connect Conservation to Water Quality at Big Spring
Elkader, IA. – On August 10th, fifty farmers from the Upper Roberts and Silver Creek Watersheds enjoyed an evening of family fun at the Big Spring Trout Hatchery along the Turkey River near Elkader. The Second Annual Landowner Appreciation Day allowed farmers and their families to follow the path of water that drains from their land to where it reemerges at Big Spring.
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