Livestock manure driving stream nitrate.

Growth and consolidation in the livestock industry in the past 30 years have resulted in more total farm animals being raised on fewer Iowa farms. The effects of this on stream water quality at the landscape scale have largely gone unexplored. The main objective of this work was to quantify the effects on stream nitrate levels of livestock concentration in two western Iowa watersheds relative to seven other nearby watersheds.

Agricultural conservation practices in Iowa watersheds: comparing actual implementation with practice potential.

As part of the solution to reduce the size of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxia, the state of Iowa has created the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (INRS) to reduce total nitrogen and phosphorous loads by 45% by 2035. A major component of the strategy is implementation of conservation practices to reduce loads of non-point source pollution from agricultural lands. To identify potential locations for conservation practices in Iowa watersheds, the Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) is being used.