JANUARY STEWARDSHIP ADVOCATE UPDATE

MONTHLY UPDATE FROM BEN GLEASON, IOWA CORN SUSTAINABLE PROGRAMS MANAGER

A new year has kicked off and that means state and federal legislatures are back in session. At the Iowa Capitol, there has been a lot of talk about significant, long-term funding for water quality programs. Unfortunately, a shortfall in the state’s budget due to slower-than-expected revenue growth has garnered most of the attention. ICGA remains committed to advocating for long-term water quality funding to implement Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy. 

Winter meeting season is in full swing. Last week, the Soil Health Partnership hosted its third annual summit in Des Moines. Almost 200 participating farmers, agronomists and collaborators met to receive program updates and provide feedback as the Partnership grows to 100 farms across nine states.

Iowa Corn is hosting several upcoming events, including crop fairs and a booth at the Iowa Power Farming Show. Be sure to stop by booth #852 and attend one of two water quality seminars that Iowa Corn is hosting.

• Seminars will be held in room 311 from 11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.

• Hear from Secretary Northey, Dr. Larry Weber with the Iowa Flood Center and several Iowa corn farmers as they discuss water quality, conservation and Iowa watershed projects

We are still looking for farmers interested in receiving nitrate test kits to test their tiles and streams. Click here for more information and contact Ben Gleason if you are interested. 

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fARMER TO FARMER:

LET'S TALK ramping up conservation

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and Iowa Corn farmer Chris Edgington share advice on getting started with cover crops and other conservation practices and doing your part in preserving the land for future generations. 

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UPCOMING EVENTS:

• IOWA CORN CROP FAIR: ROCK RAPIDS, JAN. 26

• Cover Crop Webinar: Jan. 26

• IOWA CORN CROP FAIR: GREENE, JAN. 31

• IOWA POWER FARMING SHOW: DES MOINES, JAN. 31 - FEB. 2

• Lower skunk field day: Houghton, Feb. 2

• Cover crop Webinar: Feb. 2

• Iowa Corn Crop Fair: Missouri Valley, Feb. 3 (Rescheduled from Jan. 17)

• Iowa corn crop fair: Paullina, Feb. 7

• Cover Crop Workshop: Spirit Lake, feb. 7

• ISA RESEARCH CONFERENCE: DES MOINES, FEB. 7 - 8

• cover crop workshop: Moville, Feb. 8

• meet with an ag engineer: Storm lake, feb. 8

• soil fertility short course: Ames, feb. 8 - 9

• WATERSHED MANAGEMENT SYMPOSIUM: DUBUQUE, FEB 8 - 9

• cover crop webinar: feb. 9

• southfork watershed alliance: Iowa falls, Feb. 12

• Soil health workshop: Monticello, feb. 14

• AGRIBUSINESS SHOWCASE & CONFERENCE: DES MOINES, FEB. 14 - 15

• english river wma meeting: feb. 16

• SOIL HEALTH CONFERENCE: AMES, FEB. 16 - 17

• cover crop workshop: Fort dodge, feb. 21

• upper wapsi wma meeting: independence, feb. 21

• cover crop workshop: Nashua, feb. 22

• cover crop workshop: Central city, Feb. 23

• maximizing economic returns to fertilizer: waukon, feb. 27

• cover crop workshop: knoxville, feb. 28

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LATEST INFORMATION:

• Soil Health a Long-Term Process

• BV Supervisors Await Supreme Court Ruling in Water Works Suit

• Fischer, Ernst Introduce Senate Resolution Against WOTUS

• Northey Takes Farmers’ Questions in Boone

• Governor Calls For Water Quality Funding

• Boone River Watershed Project Receives Three Year Extension

• CRP Opens Up Special Programs Aimed At Helping Wildlife

• Introducing the Iowa Watershed Approach

• Nutrient Reduction Strategy Working, Slowly

• Farmer Adds Cover Crops to Suite of Conservation Practices

• Time to Take a Fresh Look at Strip Till

• 2016 in Review: An Agricultural Law Summary

• Where Dicamba Stands For 2017