News
To help farmers and landowners better understand and monitor nitrate levels in surface and tile drainage water, the Iowa Nutrient Research Center has released a new publication, Guide to Water Quality Testing for Nitrate. The publication is available for download at no cost from the ISU Extension Store.
AMES, Iowa - Working Towards Better Water Quality through Regional Collaborative Research is the theme of the Iowa N
While many farmers express interest in growing alternative crops that could be profitable and improve environmental quality, there are strong incentives for growing conventional row crops. Exploring the potential of options that could outweigh those risks is a professional quest for Andy VanLoocke, associate professor of agronomy at Iowa State University. Recent research he led showed that incorporating miscanthus, a perennial biomass crop, on less productive farm ground can increase farm income, and improve water quality and soil health.
AMES, Iowa - The Iowa Nutrient Research Center has released its 2024 Annual Review.
Do wetlands engineered for water quality treatment function in ways that provide benefits for biodiversity, similar to Iowa’s natural wetlands? A research project led by Charlie Loewen, assistant professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology at Iowa State University, is trying to better understand these systems, their potential benefits and unintended consequences, with support from the Iowa Nutrient Research Center.
The Swampbuster provision has been in the news recently, so I thought it would be a good time to provide a refresher on what the provision is, how it came about, and why we care about wetlands in the agricultural landscape.
-- excerpt from Iowa Learning Farms blog post (5-14-25) by INRC Assistant Director Kay Stefanik
Research continues to increase the effectiveness of best management practices (BMPs) for improving water quality, while seeking to make practices cheaper and easier for landowners to install, say researchers Tom Isenhart and Michelle Soupir at Iowa State University.
This is the third and final article in an INRC series highlighting partnerships that help advance water quality research.
Last year, Matt Helmers was a featured speaker for a Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research webinar highlighting the benefits of collaboration. Helmers, director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, has considerable experience with partnerships at state, regional and national levels.
"Collaboration takes time and sometimes other investments, and it doesn't always work out," he said. "But when it does, it has so much potential to expand the reach and impacts of our research."
Helmers especially values several impactful partnerships he has been – and continues to be – involved in, including the Iowa Learning Farms, the SERA-46 Committee that works on Gulf Hypoxia and FFAR.
The Iowa Nutrient Research Center is accepting new proposals through May 2, 2025, for research projects designed to reduce nitrate and phosphorus in Iowa’s water. The center invites proposals for water quality projects that will benefit farmers, landowners, agribusinesses, policy makers and communities. Potential applicants are encouraged to review the full 2025 request for proposals (PDF) for complete details about the priority topics and application instructions. Proposals are due by May 2, 2025, for projects that would begin in August. Award decisions will be made in July.
Stay warm and settle in for an engaging set of seminars on trends in nutrients in surface and groundwater across the U.S. Review recordings from the Iowa Nutrient Research Center’s Fall 2024 seminar series, highlighting the status of nutrients and water quality in watersheds across the country.
“INRC’s fall 2024 seminars were the center’s most popular to date,” said Matt Helmers, INRC director. “The series encompassed a lot of important data about watersheds recognized as important locally and nationally, presented by some leading researchers. So it seems worthwhile to remind people that the seminar recordings are available free on our website.”
Click here to view the INRC Fall 2024 seminar talks.
The spring 2025 Iowa Nutrient Research Center seminar series will showcase “Insights from Next Gen Water Researchers” with presentations by current and recent Iowa State University graduate students. They will discuss studies they are or have been involved in and how water quality research is helping inform their careers. The presentations will take place the second Wednesday of each month, Feb. 12, March 12, April 9 and May 14, from 3:10-4 p.m. The hybrid seminars will be presented online and in-person at 1306 Elings Hall, 605 Bissell Road, on the Iowa State campus. Register here to participate online.
Water quality research is a 'team sport’: NGOs can play important roles to expand capacity, outreach
This is the first article in an INRC series highlighting partnerships that help advance water quality research.
Read the others:
AMES, Iowa – The Iowa Nutrient Research Center seminar series for Fall 2024 wil
AMES, Iowa – A free half-day workshop on the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy and incorporating nutrient reduction practices into farm operations will take place Tuesday, June 18, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the East Shelter House, Swan Lake State Park, near Carroll, Iowa. The workshop is hosted by the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Nutrient Research Center.
AMES, Iowa – A group of Chinese academics and professionals representing water resource and forestry disciplines recently visited the Iowa Nutrient Research Center and colleagues at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa.
AMES, Iowa - The Iowa Nutrient Research Center has released its 2023 Annual Review.
AMES, Iowa- The Iowa Nutrient Research Center is accepting new proposals for research projects designed to reduce nitrate and phosphorus in Iowa’s water.
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