Chad Ingels, a watershed specialist for ISU Extension and Outreach, helps farmers organize and secure funding for watershed groups. He also provides technical expertise and education on agronomic practices and environmental performance measures the farmers want to implement. But he doesn’t tell them what to do. The farmers lead the effort.
A decade of this grassroots activity is having a positive impact on Iowa’s environment, and getting noticed in Washington, D.C. In mid-March, Ingels participated in the White House Rural Council’s Working Lands and Healthy Watersheds roundtable. People from across the country shared their experience in effectively and efficiently investing resources to improve water quality in rural areas.