As President Donald Trump has promised deregulation, experts share what that means for water quality and where regulations already fall short.
Farmer and former Iowa Corn Growers Association President Tim Recker has dramatically changed his farm, going no-till and adding wetlands. To him, regulations only hinder farmers' ability to adopt more sustainable practices. Host Ben Kieffer speaks with Recker, as well as a professor and water quality proponent Silvia Secchi who gives a history of The Clean Water Act and argues regulations don't go far enough.
Also, Nina Elkadi, an investigative reporter, shares her reporting on water quality issues, including the fight to protect Bloody Run Creek from agriculture runoff. Then, Melissa Miller, the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative project director, speaks about the complexities of nutrient application on farms and the work they are doing to make this application more accurate.
Guests:
- Tim Recker, corn and soybean farmer in northeast Iowa, previous president of the Iowa Corn Growers Association
- Nina Elkadi, investigative reporter, Sentient Media
- Silvia Secchi, professor of geographical and sustainability sciences, University of Iowa
- Melissa Miller, project director, Iowa Nitrogen Initiative
