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Act now—your donation to local news ensures a brighter, more informed tomorrow. DECORAH — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig joined members of the State Soil Conservation and Water Quality Committee on Tuesday, June 17, for a visit to Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, highlighting Iowa's commitment to local conservation efforts and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the nonprofit seed bank. Naig's visit was part of his annual tour of all 99 Iowa counties and coincided with the committee's long-running summer tour, now in its 48th year. Speaking to attendees, Naig emphasized the significance of learning from past conservation work to guide future efforts. "Think of the people that came to this [place] before you… and all the work that they did to put us in a position where we can be where we are," Naig told the group. "We have to do our job now so that those who come after us are in a better spot as well." Seed Savers Exchange, the largest non-governmental seed bank in the United States, has preserved over 20,000 open-pollinated food crop varieties donated by home gardeners, farmers, and organizations over five decades. Much of its 890-acre Heritage Farm is protected under conservation easements through the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation. "We're celebrating our 50th year," Executive Director Mike Bollinger explained, "so we've been at this for a very long time…as we don't know what our food future looks like, we want to have the ability to be able to work with the greatest amount of diversity that we can." Naig praised the organization's work, calling it "an important mission… about preserving our seed heritage and history," and noted its alignment with broader state conservation and agricultural goals. During his remarks, Naig acknowledged the diversity of Iowa's landscapes and the importance of tailoring conservation strategies to local needs. "We cannot have one-size-fits-all approaches to conservation," he said. "That's why we have the soil commissioners… their opportunity is to advocate locally for what they know are the solutions." Naig also addressed current challenges facing Iowa farmers, including input costs and market uncertainty. "We've got prices that are at or below the cost of production… high inputs and low prices compress margins," he said. He stressed the importance of building domestic and international markets, including expanding access to E15 fuel and forging new trade agreements. Despite these challenges, Naig highlighted a record pace of conservation adoption in Iowa. "We can truly say there's never been more resources, more people, more focus, and more work getting done," he said. "But everybody here believes wholeheartedly, we've got a lot more work to do." The tour also included discussions with representatives from the Conservation Districts of Iowa and visits to other local conservation sites, including the Decorah Fish Hatchery. Naig is scheduled to continue his county tour with visits to Worth and Floyd counties on Wednesday, June 18. Join the community of savvy subscribers (for free)! Get the latest updates, tips, and insider information by subscribing to the free newsletter today.

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Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig Visits Seed Savers Exchange as Part of Annual Conservation Tour