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Green Lands Blue Waters - Iowa

Contact
Del Christensen
c/o Practical Farmers of Iowa
PO Box 349, 300 Main St., Suite 1
Ames, IA 50010
del_christensen1@yahoo.com
(515) 971-0953

Activity: Green Lands Blue Waters - IOWA

Geographic location: Iowa

Brief activity description: Green Lands Blue Waters IOWA (GLBW IOWA) is a comprehensive effort to support development of and transition to a new generation of agricultural systems in the Mississippi River Basin that integrate more perennial plants and other continuous living cover into the agricultural landscape.

Primary goals or focus:

• Nutrient reduction
• Sediment reduction
• Agricultural landscape change
• Water quality improvement
• Research/development for alternative crops
• Education/information sharing
• Organizing/networking/coordinating

Projected outcomes/impacts, if known: Our primary goal is to develop and promote profitable enterprises based on continuous living cover farming systems. Projected outcomes will be new and improved farming enterprises that incorporate more perennial and continuous living cover. Subsequently, these systems will result in increased reduced nutrient loading into our streams.

Activity type:

• Research
• Education
• Demonstration
• Other (please specify):
• Networking

Scale of activity:

• State

Lead organization(s)/organizer(s): Iowa State University, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Practical Farmers of Iowa

Other partners and participants: Iowa Farmers Union, Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa Environmental Council, Des Moines Water Works, Trees Forever, Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, Iowa Soybean Assoc, Prairie Rivers RC&D, USDA/NRCS, IDALS, Water for Iowans, The Nature Conservancy, Iowa DNR

Timeline/duration: Unknown
Projected or real startup time: May 2005
Projected ending time or goal deadline: Unknown

Funding sources:

• Federal government

Follow-up activities that will/might result from this activity: GLBW IOWA will continue to encourage: 1. Research to evaluate and develop new uses for products of continuous living cover systems. 2. Market development for products of perennial crops. 3. Expanding the knowledge base regarding perennial crops and the use of cover crops in annual systems and the environmental, economic, and health impacts of these continuous living cover systems 4. Assessing the environmental outcomes on water quality, wildlife habitat, flood control, and nutrient cycling in local watersheds; social and economic outcomes; human health impacts; and changes in stakeholder perception and action related to the concept of continuous living cover. 5. Identify and promote policy changes to encourage and support adoption of perennial crops and increase the use of cover crops in annual crop systems.