Every Iowan deserves clean, safe drinking water. That’s not negotiable. It’s fundamental to our health, our communities, and our quality of life. As Secretary of Agriculture, protecting our natural resources while keeping Iowa agriculture strong has been one of my top priorities. Those goals are not conflicting – they go hand in hand.

Let’s start with the facts. Iowa’s treated drinking water meets national safety standards, which are regularly reviewed and updated, most recently in 2024 under the Biden administration. At the same time, we know there is more work to do upstream to continue improving water quality, and we are making significant progress across our state.

Iowa is an agricultural powerhouse because we are blessed with naturally nitrogen-rich soils. Nitrogen is essential for crops to grow but can create challenges if it leaves the field and enters waterways. That’s why farmers across our state are implementing thousands of responsible farming practices that keep soil in place, reduce runoff, filter nutrients, and protect downstream water sources.

In 2024, Iowa farmers planted nearly 4 million acres of cover crops, up from fewer than 400,000 just a decade ago, a 10x increase. Cover crops hold soil and nutrients in place, improve soil health, and are a good source of forage for livestock.

Farmers are also building nitrate-reducing wetlands, which capture and treat thousands of acres of water as it leaves the field, reducing nitrate runoff by up to 90 percent. Over 150 wetlands have been constructed statewide, and our pace is accelerating; nearly three times as many wetlands have been built in the past four years compared to the previous two decades.

In addition, farmers have installed nearly 500 nitrate-filtering buffers along field edges, all of which capture and treat water before it reaches streams. Again, the pace has increased dramatically, with practices installed about five times faster in the past four years than in the previous decade.

These are measurable, science-based practices being implemented on real farms across Iowa every day — not because of mandates, but because farmers want to be part of the solution.

The State of Iowa invests nearly $100 million annually in water quality programs, including $3 million allocated to the Iowa DNR’s water quality monitoring network. The state’s water quality investment is matched by roughly $500 million in federal funding, with additional investment from private individuals and organizations. These resources help farmers adopt conservation practices and accelerate implementation of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy.

We are seeing results. Iowa has spent decades investing in soil conservation, and because of that commitment, we are close to achieving our phosphorus reduction goals. Nitrogen reduction efforts began in 2013 and are now accelerating with targeted practices, investments and partnerships, especially in priority watersheds.

And that brings me to an important point: water quality is not solely a farm issue or a city issue. It requires a system-wide approach.

Many of Iowa’s water treatment and wastewater systems were built decades ago and need modernization. Just as farmers are stepping up conservation practices, municipalities and industry must continue investing in infrastructure and nutrient removal technologies. Both sides of the system matter — from the farm to the faucet.

Unfortunately, many Democrat politicians argue the answer is more government, more red tape, and more taxes on farmers. Republicans disagree.

Mandates and one-size-fits-all regulations would raise costs dramatically for farm families, and those costs get passed on to consumers through higher prices at the grocery store and fuel pump. Heavy-handed regulation hits small and mid-sized farms hardest, squeezing them out. The result? More consolidation in agriculture, and that’s bad for our farm families, bad for beginning farmers, bad for our rural communities, and bad for consumers.

We should be strengthening family farms, not taxing and regulating them out of existence.

This debate comes down to a choice: Do we continue Iowa’s community-led, collaborative, science-based approach that is delivering progress — or do we move toward costly mandates that punish farmers and increase prices for Iowa families?

Iowa has chosen a path built on partnerships, incentives, innovation, and measurable outcomes.

That approach is working. Farmers are scaling up conservation faster than ever. Investments are increasing. Collaboration across agriculture, conservation groups, municipalities, and state agencies is stronger than it has ever been.

Progress takes time, especially when addressing challenges that developed over generations. But Iowa is moving forward — and faster than many realize.

We can and must continue to invest, innovate, and work together to protect our water while also protecting family farms and keeping food and fuel affordable.

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Republican Mike Naig is the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture.