Ag Decision Maker
www.extension.iastate.edu/agdm
An agricultural economics and business website for farm business decisions being made today.
SWAT Literature Database for Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
www.card.iastate.edu/swat_articles
Welcome to the SWAT Journal Article Literature Database. This is an outgrowth of the “SWAT review article” that was published in Trans. ASABE in 2007, that can be accessed via the link in the i_SWAT paragraph or via a link on the SWAT homepage.
EPIC/APEX Literature Database for Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
www.card.iastate.edu/epic_apex_articles
EPIC/APEX Literature Database for Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Iowa Lakes Valuation Project
www.card.iastate.edu/lakes
In Iowa, many public lakes are adversely affected by sediment, nutrients, or other nonpoint pollution (see details from Iowa State University’s Limnology Lab). To make good policy decisions about water quality, it is important to understand the physical processes that affect water quality since water quality in turn affects visitation numbers, recreational uses of lakes, and the overall integrity of lake ecosystems. At the same time, efforts to improve water quality entail significant economic costs; thus it is critical to quantify the benefits to Iowans of water quality improvements. The information here will help Iowans and policymakers make the best decisions when weighing if and how to improve Iowa lakes.
On this Web site you will find a wide array of information for about 140 lakes in Iowa, including visitation patterns, water quality, lake usage, and the value of a lake to its local economy. Additionally, this site contains economic analysis of the benefits to Iowans and communities from improvements in water quality. The information and analysis are part of an ongoing research initiative by Iowa State University, and new information will be added as it becomes available.