Iowa Governor Visits Smith Farm on Conservation Tour

Iowa Governor Terry Branstad visited the Tim Smith Farm on May 4, 2016 as part of on ongoing tour to learn about soil conservation practices and strategies that are being used by environmentally concerned farmers to improve soil health and mitigate the effects of agriculture on water quality in the state. The video above was produced by Joe Murphy of the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), and includes interviews with Governor Branstad, Kirk Leeds (CEO of ISA), and Smith, as well as scenes of conservation practices on several different farms. The ISA web site also features a recent article on Smith's work.

Previous Common Curator posts about conservation practices on the Smith farm include: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; Iowa Soil Conservation Farmer of the Year; Cover Crops Reduce Nitrogen Run-Off, Improve Water Quality; and The Boone River Watershed: Why Strip-Till and Cover Crops Matter.

Cover Crops Reduce Nitrogen Run-off, Improve Water Quality

This short video features the Smith farm in north-central Iowa, and was produced by the Iowa Farm Bureau, which is working to improve conservation practices among farmers.

For a related post, see The Boone River Watershed: Why Strip-Till and Cover Crops Matter.

The Boone River Watershed: Why Strip-Till and Cover Crops Matter

This short video features the Smith farm in north-central Iowa, and was produced by the Nature Conservancy, which is working to improve conservation practices among farmers. The organization notes that, "For farmers in Iowa's Boone River watershed, the change to strip-till and cover crops can make sense both economically and environmentally."

For further information about the initiatives sponsored by the Nature Conservancy and its partners in Iowa, as well as other recent videos such as "Restoring Ox Bows on the Boone River" and "How Bioreactors Are Making a Difference in the Boone River Watershed," visit the Nature Conservancy's web site. An index of project areas in Iowa can be found here.

International Women's Day 2012

March 8, 2012 marks the 101st anniversary of International Women's Day. First celebrated on March 19, 1911 by more than one million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland after a proposal by Clara Zetkin [1857-1933] in 1910 at the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, International Women's Day is now observed in many nations throughout the world.

The United Nations first began celebrating March 8 as International Women's Day during International Women's Year in 1975, and in 1977 approved a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace for member states.

The UN's theme for International Women's Day 2012 is "Empower Rural Women--End Hunger and Poverty." The video above, produced by UN Women, is entitled, "Columbia: Wayuu Gold, Fighting for Access to Fresh Water," and details the campaign led by Griselda Polanco to obtain a secure water supply for her village. In 2006, Griselda's sister, Orsinia Polanco, was the first indigenous woman elected to the Columbian Congress, and she has worked tirelessly to make access to water a fundamental right for all Columbians, including the Wayuu and other indigenous peoples.