Improving Dairy Water Quality
Iowa’s Dairy Center, located in Calmar, IA, is a cooperative research and education center supported by Iowa Dairy and Agriculture Foundation, Midwest Dairy, and Northeast Iowa Community College.
At the dairy, folks like David Lawstuen and Brodie Bushman are testing innovative, yet practical ways to improve dairy sustainability. In this video, Dave and Brodie talk about ways they’ve improved water quality using grassed waterways, a new retention pond, and cover crops. By controlling erosion, they’ve improved water quality for the whole watershed.
Dig deeper: Find more information about conservation and water quality practices to improve your dairy below.
- “Best Management Practices for Diffuse Nutrient Pollution: Wicked Problems Across Urban and Agricultural Watersheds” by Lintern et al, 2020.
- “A review of the effectiveness of vegetated buffers to mitigate pesticide and nutrient transport into surface waters from agricultural areas” by Prosser et al, 2020.
- “Evaluation of Nutrient Retention Basins for Treating Drainage from Agricultural Landscapes” by Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
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