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Des Moines tries cooperation to reduce farm runoff

Jason Ribbens, precision agronomy specialist at Landus, takes a soil sample at Water Works Park, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Des Moines Water Works has for years engaged in a bitter struggle to clean up drinking water that comes from rivers teeming with agricultural pollutants, resorting to filing lawsuits, proposing legislation and even public shaming to force farmers to reduce runoff from their fields. None of it worked, so now they are trying another approach -- inviting farmers to learn the latest techniques for reducing pollution at riverfront plots of corn and soybeans in the sprawling park where the utility filters the city's drinking water. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Jessica Barnett, of Des Moines Water Works, left, and Landus soil expert Dan Bjorkland, right, speak during a Plots in the Park media event, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Des Moines Water Works has for years engaged in a bitter struggle to clean up drinking water that comes from rivers teeming with agricultural pollutants, resorting to filing lawsuits, proposing legislation and even public shaming to force farmers to reduce runoff from their fields. None of it worked, so now they are trying another approach -- inviting farmers to learn the latest techniques for reducing pollution at riverfront plots of corn and soybeans in the sprawling park where the utility filters the city's drinking water. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Landus CEO Matt Carstens speaks during a Plots in the Park media event, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Des Moines Water Works has for years engaged in a bitter struggle to clean up drinking water that comes from rivers teeming with agricultural pollutants, resorting to filing lawsuits, proposing legislation and even public shaming to force farmers to reduce runoff from their fields. None of it worked, so now they are trying another approach -- inviting farmers to learn the latest techniques for reducing pollution at riverfront plots of corn and soybeans in the sprawling park where the utility filters the city's drinking water. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Des Moines Water Works CEO Ted Corrigan speaks during a Plots in the Park media event, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Des Moines Water Works has for years engaged in a bitter struggle to clean up drinking water that comes from rivers teeming with agricultural pollutants, resorting to filing lawsuits, proposing legislation and even public shaming to force farmers to reduce runoff from their fields. None of it worked, so now they are trying another approach -- inviting farmers to learn the latest techniques for reducing pollution at riverfront plots of corn and soybeans in the sprawling park where the utility filters the city's drinking water. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) A corn plant grows in a plot at Water Works Park, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Des Moines Water Works has for years engaged in a bitter struggle to clean up drinking water that comes from rivers teeming with agricultural pollutants, resorting to filing lawsuits, proposing legislation and even public shaming to force farmers to reduce runoff from their fields. None of it worked, so now they are trying another approach -- inviting farmers to learn the latest techniques for reducing pollution at riverfront plots of corn and soybeans in the sprawling park where the utility filters the city's drinking water. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) Jason Ribbens, precision agronomy specialist at Landus, holds a soil sample at Water Works Park, Tuesday, May 24, 2022, in Des Moines, Iowa. Des Moines Water Works has for years engaged in a bitter struggle to clean up drinking water that comes from rivers teeming with agricultural pollutants, resorting to filing lawsuits, proposing legislation and even public shaming to force farmers to reduce runoff from their fields. None of it worked, so now they are trying another approach -- inviting farmers to learn the latest techniques for reducing pollution at riverfront plots of corn and soybeans in the sprawling park where the utility filters the city's drinking water. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
Des Moines tries cooperation to reduce farm runoff