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The Iowa Environmental Council says the state’s approach to reducing nutrient runoff into waterways has been slow to meet its goals, six years into having a strategy in place.
In an analysis it released this morning (Tuesday), the council says at the current pace of adoption, it would take 90 years to meet the goal of 60 percent of corn and soybean acres having a cover crop.
Ingrid Gronstal (GRON-stoll) Anderson is the council’s Water Program Director.
I like to think of this as what if you’re in a boat, and you’re rapidly taking on water and you try to bail yourself out with a Dixie cup. So you’re making progress toward getting some of the water out of your boat but not you’re not really going to achieve that in a timely fashion to keep your boat from sinking.
Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy is voluntary for farmers. The council says it doesn’t blame them for not adopting more conservation practices.
Rather, it says mandatory adoption of certain practices would even the playing field for farmers and bring greater results faster.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is set to host the state's annual economic development summit.
Ricketts will also unveil a new website Wednesday designed to attract and retain talented workers.
The Nebraska Governor's Economic Development Summit was created to bring together business leaders, trade practitioners, and public leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities in Nebraska's economy.
The summit will take place in Lincoln and include comments from Ricketts, state economic development officials and Gallup Chairman and CEO Jim Clifton. It will also be live-streamed.
