ANPC Summit Brings Agriculture, Researchers and Regulators Together in Des Moines

On September 30 and October 1, 2026, the Agricultural Nutrient Policy Council (ANPC) brought together approximately 60 members, researchers, Iowa state agency officials, EPA Region 7 representatives, and legal and policy experts in Des Moines, Iowa. Discussions focused on issues surrounding nutrient management, water quality and agricultural research.

A clear message emerged: cooperation among agriculture, researchers and regulators is more important than ever, and so is the ability to show results. Participants agreed that measurable, well-communicated progress, including practice adoption and other intermediate measures alongside water-quality monitoring, is what keeps voluntary conservation a viable alternative to regulation. They also noted that nutrient reduction is not solely an agricultural issue, and that both point and nonpoint sources deserve evaluation.

Iowa’s Investment in Water Quality

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig highlighted the state’s significant investment in cover crops, nitrate-reducing wetlands, monitoring and other conservation practices, including a “batch and build” approach that is speeding installation of saturated buffers and wetlands. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is combining LiDAR, practice mapping, monitoring and hydrologic analysis to separate the impact of conservation from the effects of weather and land use.

Getting Nutrient Needs Right

Soil View and Iowa State University described how denser, more frequent soil sampling and residual nitrogen testing are moving recommendations toward field-specific economic optimum rates. Farmer-led trials are central to this work: the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative has conducted roughly 620 trials on more than 140 farms, and results show farmers generally apply nitrogen close to economically optimal rates, challenging the perception that they routinely overapply. Crop residue research added that the whole cropping system shapes nutrient losses.

Manure as an Opportunity

Iowa State University’s manure research explored pairing anaerobic digestion with nutrient recovery and transport, which could produce renewable natural gas, improve odor and pathogen control, and better match phosphorus and nitrogen to crop needs. Scale and economics remain the main hurdles.

Research Partnerships

ANPC has worked to strengthen relationships between agricultural organizations and researchers, an effort that began with collaborative discussions on legacy phosphorus and streambank erosion and has grown into publications, workshops and collaborations, including ongoing work with USDA-ARS. Participants saw that partnership first-hand during a tour of the USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment in Ames, where scientists shared research on legacy phosphorus, phosphorus-removal structures, nitrogen retention, integrated crop-livestock systems and more.

Federal and State Perspectives

EPA Region 7 and EPA’s Office of Water emphasized cooperative federalism, locally led solutions, sound science and voluntary conservation, with discussion spanning state nutrient-reduction strategies, Section 319 programs, TMDLs, the Hypoxia Task Force and alternative funding through the State Revolving Fund and WIFIA.

Representatives from Minnesota, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois and Iowa reported rising political attention to nutrients and groundwater. They called for locally appropriate solutions over uniform mandates, better data, continued research funding and stronger communication of conservation progress, and noted that oversubscribed conservation programs reflect both strong farmer interest and real financial barriers to adoption.

Looking Ahead

Better soil data, field-scale research and monitoring are improving nutrient decisions and agriculture’s ability to show results. Sustaining that progress will take continued investment, locally led solutions, economically viable manure and nutrient systems, and collaboration among agencies, researchers and agricultural partners, along with a steady commitment to documenting and communicating agriculture’s conservation progress.