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Small steps to improve water quality might not be enough in Iowa

The CEO of the Iowa Soybean Association says incremental progress might not be enough for the state to maintain its voluntary nutrient reduction strategy.

 

Kirk Leeds tells Brownfield there are recent examples of government taking control away from landowners under the veil of improving water quality.

“I think Minnesota is a great example.  Some of the work and the challenges in the Chesapeake Bay is another.  For us, that is a reminder of why we must take more than small steps forward on a voluntary approach in Iowa.  We have got to find the resources.”

At the end of January, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law a $282 million-dollar water quality bill to provide long-term funding for science-based water quality protection practices.

Leeds calls the legislation a step in the right direction.

“Maybe not as big a step or as aggressive as we would’ve liked to have seen, but it’s certainly a step forward because it identified some additional resources.  Those resources are critically important if we’re going to be able to implement a voluntary approach.  But we have a great deal more work to do.”

Brownfield interviewed Leeds at the ISA Farmer Research Conference in Des Moines Wednesday.