The Iowa Nutrient Research and Education Council announced Wednesday a $250,000 grant from Google that will bolster INREC initiatives to improve water quality and support Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy. According to a release, INREC worked with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and Iowa State University to develop progress measurements including the INREC survey of ag retailers to measure in-field nutrient reduction practices and the Iowa BMP Mapping Project to map structural conservation practices across the state, and both progress measurements were the first in the nation. INREC is currently supporting ISU’s nitrogen initiative to develop nitrogen management tools utilizing precision technology, farm data collection and supercomputing and modeling. “We appreciate the leadership by INREC and the investment by Google and the more than 350 other statewide public and private partners who are helping us work toward reaching the water quality and soil conservation goals outlined in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy,” Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said.