DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa is expanding a program that pays farmers to plant buffers along waterways to reduce pollution, now including all 22 counties in the Greater Des Moines Watershed.
Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced the expansion of the Streamside Buffer Pilot Project. The program helps farmers establish perennial buffers along streams, rivers, creeks and drainage ditches to reduce nutrient runoff and soil erosion.
The pilot launched in August 2025 and initially focused on the North Raccoon, Boone, Middle Cedar and Turkey River watersheds and all of Dubuque County. Farmers and landowners in those areas can still participate…