The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (NRS) was announced in 2013 with the goal of bringing cleaner water to Iowa, and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. The strategy recommends practices that have been vetted by scientists and demonstrated on working farms.

Most of these practices have been researched through the long-running competitive grants program at the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University (ISU).

Nearly 30 years ago, the Leopold Center was established with the 1987 Groundwater Protection Act, and the Center began awarding grant money for research the following year. A little more than $300,000 was allotted to fund research projects in the areas of nitrogen management, greater energy efficiency, cropping systems, integrated pest management, livestock management and the impact of agriculture...