2025 Annual Conference
CONFERENCE DATES
Day 1: August 25th, 2025
Day 2: August 26th, 2025
LOCATION
The Gateway Hotel and Conference Center
2100 Green Hills Drive Ames, IA 50014
RESERVE HOTEL OPTIONS
Reminder IDALS will cover the cost of hotel accommodation and scheduled meals for commissioners and assistant commissioners. Rooms can be reserved after completing online registration (above), or by clicking here:
2025 Annual Conference Agenda
Schedule is tentative
Sunday, August 24, 2025
3:00 PM Registration Table Opens
5:00 pm CDI Board Meeting
Monday, August 25, 2025
6:30 am Registration and Credentials Tables Open
Exhibits Open
Silent Auction Items Accepted
8:45 am Registration Closes
9:00 am
Guest Tour departs
9:00 am
Welcome
- Welcome – Luke Monat, Vice-Chair, State Soil Conservation and Water Quality Committee
- Welcome – Jeri Thornsberry, President, Conservation Districts of Iowa
- Pledge of Allegiance – Sherman Lundy, Black Hawk SWCD Vice-Chair and U.S. Marine (Ret.) – ,
- Welcome -Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig
9:20 am CDI Annual Business Meeting
12:00 pm Lunch and Awards Presentation
1:00 pm Farm Bill Update – Ryan Britt, NACD Legislative Committee Chair
1:30 pm What’s New With Climate Trends? – Justin Glisan, Ph.D., State Climatologist of Iowa
2:15 pm Ice Cream Social served by CDI Board, NRCS, IDALS – Break and Exhibits
2:45 pm Conservation Discussion and Presentations
- Iowa’s Nutrient Management Strategy and Streambanks – Matt Helmers, Iowa Nutrient Research Center Director and Tom Isenhart, Iowa State Water Resources
- Legal Updates for Commissioners – Eric Dirth, Iowa Assistant Attorney General
4:30 pm Social Hour, Exhibits
5: 30 pm Awards Banquet
Announcements
- 2024 NACD Poster Contest National Winner – Chen Gao (4th-6th Grade; age 9 years)
- 2024 Poster Constest Winners
- Envirothon State Winner – Decorah “Load of Carp”
Award Presentations
- CDI Scholarship Recipient – Halaina Crane, CDI scholarship recipient
- Leopold Conservation Award Finalists Announcement – Presented by Lance Irving, Sand County Foundation
Honoring Past Presidents
- Dennis Carney, CDI Immediate Past President
Key Note Address
- Reflecting on the Past, Planting our Future – Jon Hubbert, State Conservationist of Iowa
Note
- Silent Auction closes at the end of evening
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
7:00 am Breakfast Buffet
Each district will gather at tables assigned by regions for open discussion with fellow commissioners
7:45 am Visit Exhibits
8:30 am
- Welcome – Jeri Thornsberry, President, Conservation Districts of Iowa
- Pledge of Allegiance – Perrin Taylor, IDALS Southwest Field Representative and U.S. Army (Ret.)
Announcements
8:40 am
Partner Updates – What is on Commissioners’ Minds?
-
Karen Rawson, FSA
-
Curt Goettsch, FSA
-
Jerah Sheets, IDNR
-
Jon Hubbert, NRCS
-
Susan Kozak, IDALS
-
Will Myers, IDALS
9:30 am
Break – visit exhibitors
10:00 am
Workshop Session
• 10:00 – 10:25 – When STARs Align: Saving Tomorrow’s Agriculture Resources in Iowa and Polk County
o Jake Deutmeyer
o Michael James
• 10:30 – 10:55 – Understanding Nitrogen Cycle
o Richard Roth
• 11:00 – 11:25 – Selling Conservation
o Jackie Comito
• 11:30 – 11:55 – Helping Farmers Help Pollinators—Enhancing Farmer Decision Making to Improve Pollinators Outcomes
o Taryn Skinner
12:00 pm Lunch and District Awards
1:15 pm Annual Conference Wrap-up/Safe Travels
- Jeri Thornsberry, President, CDI
1:15 pm Farm Bill Programs: Small Scale and Urban Production
o Andrew Thomason, NRCS Outreach Coordinator
o Maggie Syversen, Resource Conservationist – NRCS Small Scale, Urban and Organic
o Facilitator Tim Palmer, Madison SWCD Commissioner, CDI Past President and NACD Past President