Articles Tagged: Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

A lifelong fascination with amphibians and care for wildlife ultimately led to Mary Beth Stevenson’s current job of restoring and preserving wetlands in the Cedar Rapids area.

Also in Notebook: Eight more land reclamation projects near former coal mines in southeast Iowa are underway.

Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced the results of the 2023 survey Wednesday.

The use of cover crops in Iowa has expanded significantly in recent years. The conservation practice is promoted by the state through cost share incentives — an effort by the Iowa Department of Agriculture to reduce nutrients that contribute to the Gulf dead zone. But new research suggests that while the number of acres being planted with cover crops has grown, not all farmers are sticking with the practice.

A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected in a commercial turkey flock in Calhoun County. It is the first detection of the H5N1 bird flu in Iowa since April, but the eighth detection in Iowa flocks in 2025.

A reinspection last week of the Cedar Rapids Animal Care & Control shelter found that all issues identified by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship as being non-compliant last month have been addressed or are in the process of being addressed.

Food banks in Iowa will get $200,000 in new funding this year to address food insecurity by buying fresh food — such as dairy products, meat, poultry, eggs, grains, honey and produce — from local producers.

The Iowa Department of Ag announced this week a pilot project that will provide $3 million to encourage farmers and landowners in the watersheds upstream from the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids metro areas to add perennial buffers to fields along streams.

Also in today’s Capitol Notebook, Iowa AG Brenna Bird joins a bipartisan coalition urging artificial intelligence firms to protect children from harmful chatbots.

Also, Fairfield becomes Iowa’s newest Main Street Community

The installation of saturated buffers and bioreactors will help to improve the Middle Cedar watershed by keeping nutrients in the fields, according to IDALS.

More Iowa herds have tested positive for a tick-borne parasite that can sicken and kill cattle, but experts said they still do not expect the illness to become widespread across the state.

Asked about protesters who attended a Thursday groundbreaking in Des Moines, demanding action on agricultural pollution and linking it to high cancer rates in the state, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters that “regulation is hardly ever the answer” and “is a killer in most instances — it takes out innovation.”

Researchers from Iowa State University say that the over application of fertilizer can be harmful, but under-applying can be too.

This weekend, you’ll be able to shop while you hop from barn to barn across Iowa.