Iowa secures water quality funding

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig recently announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has been selected to receive funding for two conservation projects, totaling $13 million, to help support water quality improvement projects in the state. The funding is part of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The Department was selected for a $10 million RCPP project to launch the Iowa Systems Approach to Conservation Drainage project in the Des Moines Lobe, which encompasses north-central Iowa. The Department is working with 16 public and private partners on this demonstration project. The groups will work with farmers and landowners to demonstrate the benefits of pairing agronomic production systems with edge-of-field conservation and in-field management practices to improve soil health and water quality.