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Landus plans to bring in about 500 farmers through the summer to examine the plots and learn how they can confidently scale back their use of fertilizer, with more advanced monitoring and by planting cover crops that grow alongside the main crop and naturally infuse the soil with nitrate.

Corrigan also credited Landus for acknowledging that large-scale agriculture needs to take a lead in cleaning up Iowa’s waterways.

Or as Matt Carstens, the president and CEO of Landus, put it: “This is an unlikely partnership.”

Dan Bjorkland, a soil expert at Landus, said he’s especially hopeful the company’s efforts will encourage more planting of cover crops, now used by less than 10% of Iowa farmers despite the clear benefits in preventing erosion and creating healthy soil.

That history makes the deal between Landus, the state’s largest farmer-owned grain cooperative, and Water Works all the more surprising.