Welcome to our new readers from the Women in Ag Conference and Iowa Water Conference!
1. ⛔Government Shutdown: What it means for conservation
A federal shutdown effectively freezes nearly all USDA-funded agricultural conservation work, with 95% of NRCS staff furloughed and program payments paused.
Why it matters: NRCS provides the technical and financial backbone for conservation on Iowa farms. Without it, many projects like wetlands or prairie planting are stalled.
Meanwhile, this does not impact privately funded or state-run projects, unless they are done in collaboration with federal funding or agencies (and many are).
Zooming out: Iowa typically has 475 NRCS employees working on conservation. During the shutdown, fewer than 500 staff are left to cover the entire country.
In FY24, NRCS put $100 million into Iowa farms—momentum that’s now paused.
Farmer takeaways:
All USDA conservation technical assistance is halted.
CRP and other payments (usually sent in October) are delayed.
The Oct. 10 conservation funding deadline for the year still stands, as of now, but we'll let you know if that changes.
The bottom line: This comes at a time when producers are already facing big challenges like disease, low crop prices, high debt, and trade disputes on the international stage. Even short interruptions in payments could deepen farmers’ economic turmoil.
New numbers from ISU's 2025 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll show that the percentage of farmers who support adopting more conservation practices declined, but the number is still high.
Why it matters: Programs, funding, and adoption rates depend on both farmer participation and broader understanding of why it matters.
Zooming out: Researchers say the drop could reflect fatigue, confusion over programs, or uncertainty about results.
The drop is small and the overwhelming majority (74%) still support adopting more conservation.
The research compares 2014 and 2024 sentiment. Current events leading up to these years were wildly different. In 2014, the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy had just been released. In 2024, we were at the tail end of four years of drought, which is directly related to lower nitrate runoff.
What the researchers are saying:
“That was surprising to me,” said J. Arbuckle, professor and extension sociologist at ISU. “One thing, though, to keep in mind is this survey went out in the spring 2024. We’ve had a lot of recent attention on water quality, particularly the impacts on human health over the summer.”
Our take: IAWA is up for the task of doing even more outreach to make sure farmers know the need and value of conservation.
3. 💪 Knowledge is power: Putting facts in the hands of farmers
Iowa State University’s nitrogen rate tool, N-FACT, just got even easier to use with more personalized options. What’s great about this update? The changes came directly from the feedback of farmers and website users.
Why it matters: Nitrogen decisions can make or break profit margins and impact water quality.
The key changes:
Farmers and advisors can better visualize trial data thanks to updates to the on-farm trials tab.
On the estimate your optimum N tab, a pop-up box will help users by providing average values for soil organic matter and local precipitation. How it helps? Localized data drive more specific results.
Zooming out: N-FACT is the first-of-its-kind website for Iowa farmers to get more personalized information to help them estimate N rates more accurately. At IAWA, we believe this is a market based solution that can drive real change.
PepsiCo and Unilever are partnering to launch an initiative designed to strengthen farmer-facing support organizations across North America. They’re calling it “Supporting Trusted Engagement and Partnership” (STEP up for Ag)
How it Works: STEP Up for Ag will provide conservation training, tools, and resources with an end goal of increasing conservation in supply chains.
The objective is to get the resources in the hands of organizations farmers know and trust.
This includes peer learning, in-person workshops, staff expansions, measurement systems, and access to new membership streams.
Who it will support:
Practical Farmers of Iowa
Farm Advisor (Indiana)
South East Research Farm (Canada)
Why it matters: When household names throw support behind soil health, it signals growing market demand and staying power. PepsiCo has a goal of 10 million acres impacted by 2030. Let's go!
New research shows that food grown in space isn’t delivering everything astronauts need on long missions.
Wait, there are farms in space?
Yep, "lettuce" tell you about it! (We couldn't help it... Dad joke limit has now been reached)
Decades of crop experiments found that microgravity can change plant nutrition in ways that are detrimental to onboard crews.
Lettuce grown on the ISS had about a third less calcium and a quarter less magnesium.
For astronauts, these are critical nutrients that maintain strong bones – which are already more prone to weakening in microgravity.
Why it matters: It’s a reminder that environment really does matter for plants.
In orbit, it's about gravity.
Here on Earth on the back 40, it’s about good soil health.
What’s next: NASA’s Analysis Working Groups remain open to new contributors. Students, researchers, and curious minds can sign up and take part in the effort. (ahem, ahem – ISU, show them how crop trials are done!)
MISSISSIPPI RIVER MAYORS URGE FEMA TO PROTECT WETLANDS
A coalition of mayors are asking federal leaders to change how the government prevents and responds to disasters, including large scale projects like wetlands to reduce disaster risks before they happen. Read more in WPR.
DES MOINES WATER WORKS GETS $9.7 MILLION SETTLEMENT TO MITIGATE PFAS
Des Moines Water Works joined a class action lawsuit against 3M, saying their water system was impacted by PFAS that 3M manufactured. Discussions are happening about how to use the money. Read more from KCCI.
BYPRODUCT OF MAKING FUEL FROM AG WASTE BOOSTS SOIL ORGANIC CARBON ON IOWA FARM
The slurry left behind when using anaerobic digestion to turn manure and agricultural residue into fuel significantly improves a key aspect of soil health when applied to fields, according to an analysis of 12 years of data from a commercial farm in southeast Iowa. Read more from ISU.
COULD AUTOMATION ACCELERATE THE VOLUNTARY CARBON MARKET?
Right now, the process of MRV (monitoring, reporting, and verifiying carbon efforts) is largely a manual effort and can take a long time. Some carbon registries are working on building more efficiency in the process using automation and AI. One registry claims that new approaches sped up reviews by 60%. Read more in WSJ.
