Through grant-funded conservation education and implementation efforts, SWCS promotes innovative practices that foster the science of soil, water, and related natural resources management to achieve sustainability.
Recent Projects
- 1. Emerging Leaders Program
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The challenge: Early career professionals need increased support, education, and networking opportunities to better tackle their roles in an ever-changing field and to support on the ground conservation projects.
Project 1:
Our Role: SWCS partnered USDA-NRCS to host multiple cohorts of our year-long Emerging Leaders Program (ELP). Through this partnership SWCS was also able to increase participant, chapter, and partner-led events with additional funding.
Key takeaways: Hundreds of participants have completed the program and have indicated increased capacity to lead community-based projects that improve soil health, water quality, and increase farmer support.
Project 2:
Our Role: SWCS partnered with the Platform for Agriculture and Climate Transformation (PACT) to expand the ELP to connect the next generation of conservation professionals delivering Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA).
Key takeaways: SWCS has developed an Alumni Network for ELP graduates to strengthen the conservation workforce pipeline, build local and national capacity, and ensure conservation practices are effectively scales to meet resource challenges. We have also enhanced the curriculum for current participants.
- 2. Regenerative Agriculture Education
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The challenge: Technical assistance providers, farmers, and policymakers all play important roles in advancing regenerative agriculture, yet they often operate in separate systems with limited opportunities to build the trust and shared understanding needed for long-term collaboration. Strong relationships are essential for designing farmer-centered programs and accelerating adoption of regenerative practices.
Our Role: With support from the Volgenau Climate Initiative, SWCS is partnering with the Minnesota Soil Health Coalition, farmer leaders, and state policy advisors to develop the Building Trust in the Field: Regen Ag Connector Certification Project. The initiative focuses on creating relationship-centered engagement approaches, gathering insights from farmers and advisors, and developing a roadmap and training framework for a future Regen Ag Connector Certification program.
Key takeaways: This project recognizes that trust-building is foundational to successful conservation outcomes. By fostering collaboration among farmers, technical assistance providers, and policymakers, SWCS is developing practical models and training approaches that can strengthen regenerative agriculture support systems, improve farmer engagement, and inform future conservation programming and policy.
- 3. Edge-of-Field Projects
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The challenge: Much of the Midwest region is tile-drained which delivers nutrients directly to nearby water systems. Edge-of-field practices address this concern, but are fairly new and don’t always provide on-farm benefits.
Our Role: SWCS partnered with Iowa State University of Science and Technology and Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) to assist with equipping conservation professionals and farmers with tools to deliver edge-of-field practices at scale for nutrient reduction in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
Key takeaways: SWCS supports outreach development and writing a report on novel approaches and strategies for scaling edge-of-field practices in the Midwest region and beyond.
- 4. Farmer Advisor and Retailer Engagement Initiatives
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The challenge: Agricultural retailers and trusted farm advisors play a critical role in influencing conservation decisions, yet they often lack the networks, resources, and cross-sector partnerships needed to effectively scale conservation services and regenerative agriculture practices.
Project 1: Advancing Regenerative Agriculture Through Trusted Farm Advisors
Our Role: SWCS collaborated with partners to develop Advancing Regenerative Agriculture Through Trusted Farm Advisors: A Collaborative Roadmap for Action, bringing together conservation organizations, industry leaders, and technical assistance providers to identify strategies for supporting trusted advisors in advancing regenerative agriculture.
Key takeaways: The roadmap outlines actionable recommendations to strengthen advisor networks through enhanced training, partnerships, tools, and investment. This work highlights the importance of trusted relationships in accelerating conservation adoption and improving outcomes on working lands.
Project 2: Conservation at the Co-op
Our Role: SWCS partnered with the Iowa Soybean Association to build conservation capacity among agricultural retailers by convening retailers, conservation agronomists, public sector conservation professionals, and farmers to develop models for effective public-private partnerships. Through this work, SWCS identified successful partnership approaches, supported retailer-led conservation communities, and elevated policy opportunities to expand conservation services nationwide.
Key takeaways: Research and on-farm experience demonstrate that agricultural retailers are among the most trusted sources of information for producers. By strengthening collaboration between public and private sector conservation professionals, SWCS is helping build scalable conservation delivery systems that expand technical assistance, accelerate practice adoption, and inform future policy discussions supporting voluntary conservation efforts.
- 5. Collecting the Voices of Conservation Practitioners
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The challenge: Conservation practitioners—including technical assistance providers, agency staff, nonprofit professionals, researchers, educators, and private sector advisors—work directly with producers and communities to implement conservation on the ground. Their firsthand experiences provide critical insights into the barriers, opportunities, and resources needed to advance conservation outcomes, yet these perspectives are not always reflected in policy decisions and program design.
Our Role: SWCS partnered with Iowa State University to conduct Conservation Practitioner Polls in 2021 and 2024. They gathered insights from over 300 conservation professionals across six Upper Mississippi River Basin states on workforce capacity, technical assistance needs, emerging challenges, and priorities for strengthening conservation delivery systems. The surveys captured perspectives from practitioners across sectors to better understand the realities facing the conservation workforce.
Key takeaways: The polls identified ongoing needs related to workforce development, technical assistance capacity, professional support, and resources necessary to implement effective conservation programs. SWCS uses these findings to inform advocacy efforts, develop policy recommendations, guide member programming, and elevate practitioner perspectives in discussions with policymakers and conservation partners. Read the reports.