Take Five – June 25, 2026

On Monday, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig made a stop at Pro Cooperative in Pocahontas for a roundtable with farmers and ag retail staff focused on water quality and conservation. These discussions provide valuable insights to accelerate the adoption of conservation practices across the state.

In conjunction with the roundtable, Sec. Naig highlighted the launch of the Greater Des Moines Watershed Program, which will support a series of conservation incentives, cost-share, and targeted investments to improve water quality in the Greater Des Moines watershed.

The first initiative, launched on Monday, is designed to increase the number of cover crop acres planted in a 22 county area north and west of Des Moines. New and existing cover crop users in the qualifying area can receive payments of $25 per acre for up to 500 acres per farmer or landowner. The cover crop incentive is the first of several conservation initiatives that will be rolled out through the Greater Des Moines Watershed Program in coming weeks and is part of the Farm to Faucet legislation that was signed into law on June 1.

AAI is engaged with IDALS to help identify programs that can help accelerate the adoption of conservation practices in this watershed and targeted watersheds across the state. We are soliciting member input on which incentives would be most effective for encouraging precision nutrient management. If AAI members have input on this topic, contact Ben Gleason - [email protected].