Conservation Agronomists
The Conservation Agronomist Network
Originally created as a project coordinator for an ACWA watershed project, the Conservation Agronomist position emerged to serve as a liaison between ag retailers and their customers — farmers and landowners. The conservation agronomist, or CA, focuses on practices that preserve soil health and improve water quality while working alongside retail field agronomists for the benefit of the farmer.
The Conservation Agronomist Network was established in 2021 with experts in these positions employed through ag retailers, Iowa Soybean Association and ACWA. No matter who they work for, the goal of the position is the same — to help farmers and landowners navigate the installation of conservation practices on the landscape, whether it is adding a cover crop to their rotation, refining their nutrient management plans, or installing a bioreactor, saturated buffer, a targeted wetland or restore an oxbow.
There are more than a dozen conservation agronomists in Iowa, and the number continues to grow as ag retailers become more engaged in water quality improvement in Iowa. The conservation agronomist model will help Iowa’s efforts to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus loading into waterbodies that flow to the Gulf of Mexico, supporting the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy and the federal Gulf Hypoxia plan. For more information about the Conservation Agronomy model, go to the Making Retail Conservation Real page.
