A New Playbook for Iowa Farming: Diversity, Dignity, & Water | AgEmerge Podcast 197 with Chris Jones
Iowa’s fight over water quality is no longer academic. Monte Bottens sits down with Chris Jones—a research scientist, author, water-quality expert, and candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture—to examine how nitrate pollution, agricultural policy, public health, and rural decline are shaping the future of farming.
Chris has spent more than 40 years advocating for clean water and sustainable agricultural practices. He managed the water-quality testing laboratory at Des Moines Water Works for eight years, helping oversee operations at one of the world’s largest nitrate-removal facilities. He later worked as an environmental scientist at the Iowa Soybean Association, where he helped establish some of the state’s first independent water-quality monitoring systems.
At the University of Iowa, Chris worked as a research engineer and helped develop Iowa’s first real-time public water-quality sensor network, giving the public unprecedented access to information about the condition of the state’s rivers and streams. He is also the author of The Swine Republic: Struggles With the Truth About Agriculture and Water Quality, selected by the Library of Congress to represent Iowa at the 2024 National Book Festival. In 2024, he helped found Driftless Water Defenders, a grassroots organization protecting the waters of northeast Iowa’s Driftless Area.
During their conversation, Monte and Chris explore the forces behind polluted rivers and stressed water systems—from tile drainage across the Des Moines Lobe to the timing and rate of nitrogen and manure applications. Chris explains how fall fertilizer applications, concentrated livestock production, CAFO placement, and wet soils influence what appears in rivers months later. He also discusses why cover crops may provide their greatest water-quality benefits during the spring.
Chris Jones Online:
https://www.facebook.com/chrisjones4ia
https://www.instagram.com/chrisjones4ia
https://www.youtube.com/@chrisjones4IA
Purchase The Swine Republic book: https://icecubepress.com/2026/06/06/the-swine-republic-2/
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why nitrate pollution in Des Moines matters to nearly one in five Iowans
How tile drainage, wet soils, and decades of corn-soybean production contribute to nitrate loss
Why changing fertilizer timing could reduce field-level nitrate loss by 20% to 50%
How cover crops, pasture, oats, and diversified livestock systems can support cleaner water and stronger farm income
Why incentives alone may not be enough—and why some regulation may be unavoidable
How local food systems could create opportunities for young farmers and strengthen rural communities
Chris makes the case for agricultural policy focused on measurable outcomes rather than prescribed inputs—healthier soil, safer water, stronger rural communities, and better opportunities for farmers building a future beyond a two-crop system shaped by large companies and shrinking margins.
Timestamps:
02:15 - Chris Jones explains his run for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture
06:20 - Why water quality is suddenly a major Iowa issue
09:17 - How the Des Moines water system faces nitrate pressure
13:07 - How tile drainage carries nitrate from fields to streams
16:20 - Why nitrate loss is driven by weather, soils, and mineralization
18:48 - Fertilizer timing, spring application, and on-farm logistics
20:55 - Manure timing, full pits, and why fall application happens
23:53 - Rate, timing, and distribution as the real nutrient challenge
28:04 - What cover crops can and cannot do for nitrate reduction
31:13 - Spring versus fall manure timing and nitrate loss reduction
34:28 - Why fall anhydrous often means more total nitrogen applied
36:58 - Changing the decision framework with carrots and sticks
39:16 - Why diversification, not just regulation, may be the long-term fix
42:23 - Rural population loss, town decline, and the need for better outcomes
43:30 - Meat processors, livestock diversity, and rebuilding local economies
44:56 - Oats, food hubs, and creating a third crop for Iowa
49:27 - Soil health as the underlying system behind better water quality
53:03 - Why the burden should not fall only on farmers
54:35 - Getting 50% of Iowa school food from Iowa farms
59:09 - Food hubs, small-acre farming, and opportunities for young growers
61:12 - Dignity, consolidation, and what agriculture has taken away
63:12 - Five policy changes Jones says Iowa should pursue
69:22 - What consumers and city residents can do to help
73:32 - Help for beginning farmers and access to land
75:57 - What Jones is hearing from people around Iowa
77:51 - Why the timing is right for change in Iowa agriculture
