Washington Iowa Soil and Water Conservation District

03/13/2026

Are you interested in installing a Windbreak? Here is an opportunity to learn a little more about the practice.

02/20/2026

Yet another awesome chance to work with our local producers and with water quality! Make sure you get your resume and cover letter turned in by the 4th of March!

02/08/2026

Don't forget to report to your local FSA once you have completed your management practice.

It's that time of year again when people are ready to burn off their CRP fields, crop fields, and timber brush. BEFORE you light them, please call Keokuk County Dispatch at 641-622-2727 or Washington County Dispatch at 319-653-2107 to report your controlled burn. These are the non-emergency phone numbers.

Our dispatchers will record the location of your burn and your contact information. If someone calls in an uncontrolled fire near your location, this saves us from sending out valuable fire department resources.

When you have safely COMPLETED your burn, give dispatch a call again so they can clear you from the list.

As always, stay safe!

01/09/2026

Do you enjoy Conservation and serving your local farm community?! We have an opportunity to join our Louisa team with IDALS. Please follow this link for details

Thank you for your interest in job opportunities with the State of Iowa. You can now apply online by clicking on the job title you are interested in and clicking on the "Apply" link. If there is no "Apply" link, please see the job description for instructions on how to apply. 

10/28/2025

Have you planted your cover crops? Got invoices, germination test, and seed tag in hand? Come see Maggie at the Washington County ISU Extension office! We are accepting cover crop documents for payment for Fall 2025!

10/02/2025

During the government shutdown this meeting will be moved to Dallmeyer Hall at 2223 250th St, washington IA.

The Washington Soil and Water Conservation District will hold a meeting on October 9th at 7:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the USDA office located at 1621 East Washington Street in Washington. The tentative agenda

09/30/2025

Another opportunity to learn about improving water quality and soil health provided by Iowa Learning Farms

09/16/2025

Allen Brush, West Fork Crooked Creek-Long Creek watershed Coordinator, presented watershed, edge of field practice and cost-share information to the participants in the Iowa State University Extension Master Conservationist program for Iowa and Keokuk Counties. The evening program was held at the wetland owned by the Denny Lyle Family northwest of Keota. Details of the wetland (construction, size, drainage area, etc.) was provided by Denny Lyle and a tour followed the discussions.

09/08/2025

Allen Brush, West Fork Crooked Creek-Long Creek Watershed coordinator presented information about the denitrifying bioreactor that was installed in June at the SE Iowa Research Farm at Crawfordsville. Edge of Field practice cost share information was also provided to area producers. Michelle Soupir, ISU Agricultural Biosystems Engineer professor, presented information about research her lab is working on to identify alternate carbon sources for bioreactors. These topics were part of the agenda for the Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm Fall Field Day on September 4. The weather was perfect and there were 49 attendees at the event

08/05/2025

WFCC Watershed Coordinator, Allen Brush, and Conservation Assistant, Maggie Hodson, attended ISU Strip-Till Field Day on July 30 to answer questions about available programs.

07/14/2025

Iowa Learning Farms will host an establishing and maintaining prairie field day near Washington IA. Another opportunity for our farmers, landowners, and fellow conservation employees.

06/26/2025

This week we had a bioreactor installed at the farm.

If you've never heard of a bioreactor, it is an excavated pit that gets filled with woodchips. As water from a tile line passes through the woodchips, denitrifying bacteria convert nitrates in the tile water into N2 gas.

This is an example of an edge of field practice that can be used to help improve water quality/reduce nitrates.

It was great working with the Washington County Soil and Water Conservation District on this project.

📷Photo credit: Allen Brush