2024 Annual Conference
CONFERENCE DATES
Day 1: August 19th, 2024
Day 2: August 20th, 2024
LOCATION
The Gateway Hotel and Conference Center
2100 Green Hills Drive Ames, IA 50014
2024 Annual Conference Agenda
Sunday, August 18, 2024
Noon Registration Table Opens
3:00 pm CDI Board Meeting
Monday, August 19, 2024
8:00 am Registration and Credentials Tables Open
Exhibits Open – Silent Auction Items Accepted
9:00 am Guest Tour Departs
Welcome from CDI and SSCWQC
Welcome from Secretary of Ag Mike Naig
CDI Business Meeting
12:30 pm Lunch and Awards Presentation
1:30 pm Afternoon session – Presentation by Justin Glisan, State of Iowa Climatologist: “Resiliency: Intersection of Water Quality, Soil Health & Changing Weather”
2:00 pm Ice Cream Social served by CDI Board – Break and Exhibits
3:00 pm Conservation Potpourri Moderated by Joe Hayes, CDI Communications Coordinator
- “Leveraging Partnerships to Drive Conservation Adoption—Iowa Soybean Association’s RCPPs” presented by Ben Porepp, ISA Agronomist
- “Cattle and Working Lands RCPP in Northwest Iowa” presented by Colton Barnes, Project Coordinator and John Nitz, NW Iowa Farmer
- 5 Year Plans—Highlighting Four SWCDs: Cedar, East Pott, Sioux, Winneshiek
- What’s on Commissioners’ Minds? Questions from commissioners—Open Discussion
4:30 pm Social Hour, Exhibits, Silent Auction
5: 30 pm Awards Banquet – Speaker Mitchell Hora, Continuum AG: “Embracing Regenerative Agriculture: Proactive Strategies”
Tuesday, August 20, 2024
7:00 am Breakfast Buffet – Discussion with specific Regional Directors
7:45 am Visit Exhibits
8:30 am Panel Discussion – Partners: IDALS, NRCS, FSA, IDNR
10:00 am “Enriching Commissioner’s Knowledge: Legal Primer for Commissioners’ Roles & Responsibilities” presented by Eric Dirth, State of Iowa Assistant Attorney General
11:00 am Concurrent Breakout Sessions
- Watershed Structures (PL 566)
- A Future Look at Ethanol Industry and What it Means to Iowa Farmers
- Lessons Learned Working with Underserved Urban Farmers and Gardeners
12:00 pm Lunch and District Awards
1:15 pm Annual Conference Wrap-up