Two Rivers Cooperative in Pella has been recognized by the Iowa Department of Agriculture for their efforts in assisting local farmers with water quality issues.

Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey presented Two Rivers with the Secretary’s Iowa Ag Leader Award for outstanding leadership in improving Iowa’s water quality. Jay Van Woerkom is Agronomy Sales Manager with Two Rivers tells KNIA/KRLS News that the cooperative focuses on multiple elements of assisting farmers with their needs.

“Two Rivers Cooperative has been very proactive in our thought process as to how we want to move forward with water quality issues,” he says. “We’re very proactive with the cover crop part of it, we promote nitrogen stabilizers as much as we possibly can, and try to encourage our growers to use them.”

Van Woerkom says they also promote grid sampling and variable rates technology and also work with multiple producers in the Van Zante Creek Watershed, which is part of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.