The Iowa Pork Producers Association and the Iowa Nutrient Research and Education Council will partner with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship on a “batch and build” water quality project in targeted Iowa watersheds. The first phase of the Pig Farmer Water Quality Partnership Program, which is in place through June 30, 2026, will initially focus within the priority watersheds of the Boone River and North Raccoon River. As the project grows, the goal is to expand into other targeted watersheds, according to a press release. By working with pork producers and other farmers and landowners who use manure as fertilizer, the plan is to install edge-of-field practices such as bioreactors and saturated buffers using the “batch and build” model. The model installs batches of conservation practices on multiple farms at once, allowing a faster acceleration of water quality progress. Bioreactors and saturated buffers help filter and denitrify water as it leaves the farm field and before it enters waterways. The project’s first-year goal is to install 65 structures.