Iowa to host Soil and Water Quality Funding Summit

Jan 20, 2015

Date scheduled for Friday, February 6, 2015

By Diego Flammini, Farms.com

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, along with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources will host a summit focusing on the quality of water, sustaining and improving it through resource funding proposals and other projects.

Attendees must register and will receive updates on state and federal water programs, requirements and application cut-offs. They will also benefit from guidance and advice on how to better position themselves to receive funding and complete their desired projects.

As part of the registration process, attendees can impact which topics are discussed during the summit. The choices are:

Regional Conservation Partnership Program through the USDA
Involvement of private corporations and charities in watershed programs
The role of non-government parties (universities, environmental groups) in watershed projects
Urban conservation programs
A panel discussion on what practises are successful and which ones aren’t
Considering streambank stabilization during project development

The meeting is scheduled for Friday, February 6, 2015 at the Wallace State Office Building in Des Moines. The schedule of events is as follows but subject to change:

9:00a.m. – 10:30 – Welcomes, summit objectives, overview of state and federal programs
10:30 – 10:45 – Exhibitors and watershed project partners are introduced
10:45 – 11:30 – 1^st breakout meeting (topics chosen based on selections during registration)
11:30 – 1:00p.m. – Lunch, roundtable discussions, exhibits open
1:00 – 1:45 – 2^nd breakout meeting (topics chosen based on selections during registration)
1:45 – 2:00 – Break and question period
2:00 – 3:00 – Plenary session: How to prepare a successful watershed project application

Attendance is free but people are asked to bring a non-perishable donation for the Central Iowa Food Bank.

Soil and Water Conservation Week is April 28 – May 5, 2015.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.