Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig and the Iowa Nutrient Research & Education Council have announced a new three-year nitrogen soil sampling project aimed at helping farmers fine-tune fertilizer use while improving water quality.
The project will focus on fields upstream from the Des Moines metro, where testing for residual nitrogen can provide field-level data to guide application decisions. Officials say soil sampling can reduce input costs and limit excess nitrogen runoff.
Naig said farmers are facing tight margins due to low commodity prices and high fertilizer costs, making data-driven decisions more important. INREC Executive Director Ben Gleason added that the program gives producers more precise information based on their own fields.
The first phase begins this spring, with enrollment open in Boone, Calhoun, Greene, Hamilton and Webster counties. The program will expand later this year.
SoilView will conduct sampling and testing, with anonymized data shared with Iowa State University to support ongoing nitrogen research.
