Location
Justin and Beth Jordan farm
1750 10th Ave/SE 97th St
Lacona, Iowa 50139
RSVP: 515-294-5429 or ilf@iastate.edu
Iowa Learning Farms will host a cover crop, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and soil health field day on Thursday, September 12, from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Justin and Beth Jordan’s farm near Lacona. The free event is open to farmers and landowners and includes a complimentary meal.
This field day aims to equip attendees with best management practices for taking a whole farm approach to conservation and soil health. Cover crops offer many benefits to farmers and landowners, including reduced soil erosion, weed suppression potential, reduced nitrogen and phosphorus loads entering water bodies, and increased organic matter in the soil. When paired with no-tillage additional benefits include increased water infiltration and reduced erosion during heavy rain events. For areas more vulnerable to erosion, using perennial vegetation prairie or CRP offers many benefits including reducing soil erosion, building soil health, improving wildlife and pollinator habitat and providing beauty to the landscape.
Host and Iowa Learning Farms farmer partners, Justin and Beth Jordan started farming in 2000. Today the Jordans raise corn, soybeans, and hay and rent pasture ground to a neighbor. Justin has built terraces and rebuild waterways and in 2007, all the acres were switched to no-till. He also started using cover crops and changed the type of fertilizer used. Another way Justin has added conservation to the farm is by rotating small areas in and out of CRP. Justin works to incorporate practices that meet his goal of zero erosion while watching the bottom line. He is cognizant of time requirements, cost of practices, and just what works best on that piece of land.
“I’m really interested in trying to farm more in touch with nature and minimize the need for things that aren’t. We want to create a place where we all work together,” said Beth and Justin, “There’s a balance between raising food, having wildlife, and preserving the prairie remnants.”
The field day will feature the rainfall simulator from the Iowa Learning Farms and walking tour of nearby prairie enrolled in CRP. Justin and Beth Jordan, farmer hosts and Nathan Rahe, Marion County NRCS District Conservationist will discuss the history of the farm and practices they have implemented as they work together through the conservation planning process to meet farm goals and reduce risk of implementing a new practice through cost-share programs. The prairie walk will be led by Russ Benedict, Central College professor of biology, who oversee the prairie management on Central’s Carlson Kuyper Field Station, near Knoxville, Iowa.
The field day will be held at the Jordan Farm, 1750 10th Ave/SE 97th St, Lacona, Iowa 50139. From head east on Hwy G 76 for 2 miles. Turn left on 240th Ave to head north for 5.3 miles. Turn right on Pershing St to head east for 1 mile. Turn south on 250th Ave for 0.5 miles. The farmstead is located on the east side of the road and field day signs will mark the driveway.
The event is free and open to farmers and landowners, though we require reservations to ensure adequate space and food. For reasonable accommodations and to RSVP, please contact Liz Ripley at 515-294-5429 or ilf@iastate.edu by September 5. Attendees will be entered in a drawing for ISU Prairie Strips honey.
Iowa Learning Farms field days and workshops are supported by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. For more information about Iowa Learning Farms, visit www.iowalearningfarms.org.