NICC is the only Iowa community college to partner with NRCS on a program to advance innovations in agriculture

Nine colleges in the Midwest which make up the Community College Alliance for Agriculture Advancement will receive more than half a million dollars from U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service over the course of the next four years. NICC is the only college in Iowa to be selected as an alliance partner.

The main objective of the agreement is to realize a shared goal of ensuring quality education and training of field practitioners. A key component of this agreement is hands-on learning in the field, utilizing college land resources to model best practices. Faculty and students will work with NRCS field office staff to implement a conservation plan, install practices on the ground, collect data and help inform current and future producers, according to NICC vice president of learning and student success Kathy Nacos-Burds. "With the guidance of our agriculture science faculty, students will conduct applied research on land near Iowa's Dairy Center on campus. Their research includes testing for soil health and the impact of crop rotations on soil," said Nacos-Burds.

The goal is not only to accelerate the adoption of conservation practices through the education of current, two-year agriculture students, but to also disseminate information to the broader community through field days and other college events and partnerships. In addition to working together on applied research projects that advance student learning on their college farms, member institutions partner with one another to share resources, faculty expertise, curriculum and tools which will advance the future of agriculture production in this country.