With the announcements of water usage restrictions in parts of Iowa, pesticide applicators may need to use alternative water sources for their pesticide applications. Keep in mind the considerations below when using water from a new source this spring.
ISU Extension and Outreach and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences recently hosted a “five-stop” virtual field day series. This series featured a greeting by Dean Dan Robison, an administrative update on the farms, and four consecutive days featuring water quality research, fungicide trials, a long-term tillage trial and phosphorous and potassium placement trials for crop production.
The dry conditions throughout large areas of Iowa during 2020 reminds us of Iowa’s last significant drought in 2012 and the subsequent impacts on nitrate-N levels in subsurface drainage the following spring. This article will address concerns for water quality in drought conditions and opportunities to reduce nutrient losses from fields this fall.
An ongoing public concern is the loss of nutrients from agricultural land in the corn belt. In Iowa, nitrogen and phosphorus losses from farm fields are driven by a variety of factors. Since the mid-twentieth century, statewide corn and soybean acres have increased as extended rotations, hay, and pasture declined. Compared to perennial crops and small grain rotations, corn-soybean and continuous corn rotations are leaky systems.
This article summarizes major findings about nutrients in surface and groundwater in the eastern Iowa basins (see map) between 1996 and 1998. The data were collected as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA). Water quality is discussed in terms of local and regional issues and compared with conditions found in all 36 National NAWQA study areas assessed to date. Findings are explained in the context of selected national U.S.
My home drinking water source comes from the Xenia Rural Water District. Depending on where you are located within the district, your water comes from an alluvial aquifer, or surface water from the Raccoon River or the Des Moines River. The water is treated and delivered to my home and, according to their web page, over 9,400 other customers.
A farm just outside the north-central Iowa town is home to Iowa State University’s Agriculture Drainage Research and Demonstration Site, a facility that has been working to further Iowa State University’s water conservation efforts since 1990.
Water quality is an important issue for agriculture. The protection of Iowa's rivers, streams, and lakes from nonpoint source pollution is one of the greatest environmental challenges facing our state. Despite the accomplishments of Iowa producers over the past few years (buffer strips, grassed waterways, no-till, and similar efforts), some water bodies have fallen short of water quality standards.
This article concludes a series that provides producers with information to help with on-farm management of phosphorus (P) and in understanding the complex economic and environmental issues involved in P management. This article discusses potential regulatory action and offers options to help producers move toward compliance.
