Statewide, Iowa — The two candidates running to be Iowa’s secretary of agriculture for the next four years disagree on how to advance voluntary efforts to improve water quality in the state.
Republican Mike Naig has been Ag Secretary since the spring of 2018 and he’s seeking a second full term in the office.
Naig says over the past 10 years, the state’s voluntary Nutrient Reduction Strategy has been showing farmers the value of new conservation practices.
Naig says research is showing farmers the value of cover crops and buffer zones along waterways. John Norwood, the Democratic challenger, is a Polk County Soil and Water Commissioner.
Norwood says well over half of Iowa farmland is owned by people who aren’t actively farming it and federal incentives should encourage landowners to adopt more conservation practices.
The candidates made their comments recently on Iowa Press on Iowa PBS. The state’s voluntary Nutrient Reduction Strategy was announced nearly a decade ago, to reduce harmful runoff into Iowa lakes and rivers. An Iowa State University dashboard to gauge progress toward the strategy’s goals was posted online a year ago, but has not been updated this year.
