Welcome to Spring!
Spring is more than just a new season—it’s a fresh start. For farmers, it’s go-time: prepping equipment, planting their fields and focusing on stewardship practices that support both the soil and our water.
As spring showers roll in, we’re reminded of how interconnected our water, land and livelihoods really are. That’s why this edition of Warm Welcomes from the Farm is all about water quality and how farmers are protecting our natural resources and how you can play a part too.
As farmers, we want the safest, best-quality water for Iowa. Our families, like yours, drink the water and enjoy using the state’s lakes, rivers and waterways. We’re taking on the challenge and making continuous improvements in preserving the water, soil, air and habitat on our farms. Farmers, conservation experts and scientists are working in collaboration to improve and scale up practices known to reduce nutrients in the water.
Meet our farmers and learn about their stories here!
Spring is finally here, which means longer days and more time outdoors. Check out these recipes for ways to mix up your food choices this spring!
Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Squares | Midwest Dairy
Strawberry season is here, and what better way to celebrate than with a refreshing frozen treat! Frozen yogurt is just one of the many delicious products made from milk! Did you know dairy farmers recycle water up to SIX times on the farm? That’s udderly amazing! Check out the recipe from Midwest Dairy here.
Cowboy Marinated Skirt Steak with Corn Salad
Winner winner steak dinner! May is National Beef Month and Iowa beef farmers are celebrating by continuing to go above and beyond to help keep Iowa’s water clean through Iowa’s water quality initiative. Celebrate their hard work and dedication with a steak dinner of your own. Explore a delicious recipe from Iowa Beef here.
Mexican Coffee Cup Scramble - Iowa Egg Council
Busy mornings just got easier—and tastier! This quick and hearty scramble is made with corn-fed Iowa eggs and loaded with your favorite garden veggies. It’s the perfect way to power through long spring days! Bonus: while you're whipping up breakfast, take a cue from Iowa’s corn farmers — turn your eggshells and other scraps into compost for your garden. Composting improves soil structure, allowing soil to hold water while decreasing water runoff, just like farmers do with cover crops. Find the full recipe from the Iowa Egg Council here Hungry for more? Visit our website to
Farmers who grow Iowa’s corn know how important our state’s water is; they depend on every drop and not just for crops to grow. They have families just like yours and want to be sure the water we all drink is as pure as it can be.
Farmers today use a variety of conservation and nutrient management practices to improve water quality and soil health. Learn more below about how farmers are implementing these sustainable, smart practices on their farms.
Cover Crops: Cover crops improve soil quality by increasing organic matter, reducing erosion, suppressing weeds and helping the soil retain nutrients, which means they stay in the soil and don’t move into rivers and streams.
Nutrient Management: Nutrient management is applying the right source of nutrients at the right time, right place and right rate.
Strip Till: Strip till greatly reduces soil disturbance, which reduces erosion, builds organic matter and helps reduce nutrients entering waterways.
Grassed Waterways: Grassed waterways are in-field channels where vegetation grows to filter runoff from heavy rains.
Wetlands: Wetlands are shallow, vegetated pools that filter nitrates, control flooding and provide wildlife habitat.
Bioreactors: Bioreactors direct tile water to an underground bed of woodchips and reduce nitrates by an average of 43%.
Technology: Technology plays an important role in protecting the water we share. Farmers can view maps of their soil, track rainfall history and identify weeds growing in their fields, all from their smartphones and tablets.
To learn more about how farmers care about the water we share, visit iowacorn.org.
