SWCD Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners, please plan to attend your 2024 Annual Conference in Ames this coming August. Complete agenda is pending, but a highlight this year will be Monday afternoon, devoted to in-depth commissioner discussion — your concerns and questions — including Iowa SWCD partners comments and feedback.
CEO & Founder of Continuum Ag, Mitchell Hora, will be speaking at this event. You won’t want to miss this it if you live in the area.
Location:
Gateway Hotel and Conference Center – 2100 Green Hills Drive, Ames, IA
Date:
Monday, August 19
Cost:
Free for Commissioners and Assistant Commissioners. Payment is only required for guests and other non-commissioners/assistant commissioners planning to attend, due at the time of registration.
Adgenda:
Sunday, August 18, 2024
Noon Registration Table Opens
3:00 pm CDI Board Meeting
Monday, August 19, 2024
8:00 am Registration and Credentials Tables Open
Exhibits Open – Silent Auction Items Accepted
9:00 am Guest Tour Departs
Welcome from CDI and SSCWQC
Welcome from Secretary of Ag Mike Naig
CDI Business Meeting
12:30 pm Lunch and Awards Presentation
1:30 pm Afternoon session – Presentation by Justin Glisan, State of Iowa Climatologist:
“Resiliency: Intersection of Water Quality, Soil Health & Changing Weather”
2:00 pm Ice Cream Social served by CDI Board – Break and Exhibits
3:00 pm Conservation Potpourri Moderated by Joe Hayes, CDI Communications Coordinator
- “Leveraging Partnerships to Drive Conservation Adoption—Iowa Soybean Association’s RCPPs” presented by Ben Porepp, ISA Agronomist
- “Cattle and Working Lands RCPP in Northwest Iowa” presented by Colton Barnes, Project Coordinator and John Nitz, NW Iowa Farmer
- 5 Year Plans—Highlighting Four SWCDs: Cedar, East Pott, Sioux, Winneshiek
- What’s on Commissioners’ Minds? Questions from commissioners—Open Discussion
4:30 pm Social Hour, Exhibits, Silent Auction
5: 30 pm Awards Banquet – Speaker Mitchell Hora, Continuum AG:
“Embracing Regenerative Agriculture: Proactive Strategies”
Tuesday, August 20, 2024
7:00 am Breakfast Buffet – Discussion with specific Regional Directors
7:45 am Visit Exhibits
8:30 am Panel Discussion – Partners: IDALS, NRCS, FSA, IDNR
10:00 am “Enriching Commissioner’s Knowledge: Legal Primer for Commissioners’ Roles & Responsibilities” presented by Eric Dirth, State of Iowa Assistant Attorney General
11:00 am Concurrent Breakout Sessions
- Watershed Structures (PL 566)
- A Future Look at Ethanol Industry and What it Means to Iowa Farmers
- Lessons Learned Working with Underserved Urban Farmers and Gardeners
12:00 pm Lunch and District Awards
1:15 pm Annual Conference Wrap-up
