Iowa farmers are taking many different approaches in maintaining and improving soil and water quality, proving there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.

That’s the view of a panel of farmers who shared information about their efforts in soil and water conservation last week during the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation’s (IFBF) annual meeting in Des Moines.

Randy Caviness, an Adair County Farm Bureau member in Greenfield, established no-till practices on his farm as a result of the 1985 farm bill.

"It was a r­­equirement that on highly erodible soils that we establish no-till," Caviness said. "I didn’t think much of no-till at all. I thought it was the biggest joke. From what I saw, it was pretty much a complete failure."

But then Caviness tried it on his farm and...