Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced Wednesday that the Water Quality Initiative (WQI) project in Mahaska County is expanding into Jasper and Marion Counties while also adding a new phase.

The next phase of this project will continue to emphasize the use of in-field conservation practices, and will also include an added focus on the installation of edge-of-field practices. Through the WQI, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship is investing approximately $388,017 in the next phase of this project. Naig says that area farmers should contact their county conservation office to be included in the project. 

“What we’d encourage folks to do is to get into your county conservation office and talk to somebody about the project. And what it means is, we’re going to be bringing targeted resources and more folks to come out and get this work done in this particular area. So, at the end, it means more opportunities to scale up and accelerate our work around protecting soil and water.”

Hear more about the project from Mike Naig on an upcoming In Touch with South Central Iowa.