Resources

All of our resources are available from this page. You can also visit the specific pages for individual topics to get focused information on those areas.

Conservation

Conservation encompasses many areas - soil, water, and crop considerations all play a part. We offer a variety of practical resources to help you find the answers to your questions.

"How resilient are our lands here in the Midwest? What is our ability to retain productivity if we have another long drought or continual flooding? Will people still be farming in Iowa 1,500 years from now? Or even 200 years from now? The decisions we make today about our natural resources will affect agricultural production 50 years from now."
--from the video "The Work of Our Hands"

Conservation Resources

Cover Crops

Cover crops are a great way to improve soil health. Many Iowa farmers are adding cover crops to their crop rotations so soil stays covered when the fields are not growing other crops. Cover crops also improve soil organic matter and slow water runoff.

Farmers have many questions about incorporating cover crops. Most asked questions include: what kinds of plants can be used, when and how to seed and when and how to terminate. With field days and workshops, Iowa Learning Farms strives to help farmers, and other interested people, find the answers to these questions and more.

Cover Crop Resources

Edge of Field

Edge-of-field practices play a crucial role in meeting the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy goals of improving water quality through reducing nitrogen and phosphorus in Iowa's water bodies. Edge-of-field practices involve drainage water management, bioreactors, buffers, saturated buffers, denitrifying wetlands, terraces and sediment control.

Edge of Field Resources

Relay Intercropping

Relay intercropping is a multi-year, multi-species cropping system that allows for 3 harvestable crops (small grain, soybean, corn) in 2 years.

View recent webinars, blogs and publications from ongoing research farm and on-farm demonstrations.

Relay Intercropping

Field Day Toolkit

This Field Day Toolkit is the product of Iowa Learning Farms’ many years of planning and hosting field day events across the state of Iowa. While ILF utilizes many different outreach approaches, the importance of farmer-to-farmer interactions cannot be overstated. Field days do matter!

Field Day Toolkit

Recent Resources

Posts in Soil Conservation

August 7, 2024: Visualizing Drainage Needs Under a Potential Future Climate

August 7, 2024: Visualizing Drainage Needs Under a Potential Future Climate

With Elizabeth Schwab

Conservation, Webinars, Soil Conservation, Water ConservationLiz RipleyAugust 7, 2024climate, drainage, water quality

July 31, 2024: Integrating Anaerobic Digestion with Agriculture for Improved Carbon Management

July 31, 2024: Integrating Anaerobic Digestion with Agriculture for Improved Carbon Management

With Sebastian Villarino

Conservation, Webinars, Soil ConservationLiz RipleyJuly 31, 2024anaerobic digestion, soil, soil carbon, carbon

July 24, 2024: Conservation Practices through the Lens of Weather Extremes and Climate Adaptation

July 24, 2024: Conservation Practices through the Lens of Weather Extremes and Climate Adaptation

With Justin Glisan

Conservation, Webinars, Soil Conservation, Water ConservationLiz RipleyJuly 24, 2024conservation, weather, climate, cover crops

July 17, 2024: Motivational Barriers to Implementing Conservation

July 17, 2024: Motivational Barriers to Implementing Conservation

With Robyn Wilson

Conservation, Webinars, Soil Conservation, Water ConservationLiz RipleyJuly 17, 2024conservation, adoption, barriers, behavioral science

July 10, 2024: Overlooked Non-Point and Non-Ag Sources of Nutrient Losses: The Case of Streambank Erosion

July 10, 2024: Overlooked Non-Point and Non-Ag Sources of Nutrient Losses: The Case of Streambank Erosion

With Andrew Margenot

Conservation, Webinars, Soil Conservation, Water ConservationAlena WhitakerJuly 10, 2024nonpoint source, streambank stability, streambank erosion, nutrient loss

May 29, 2024: At the Edge: Riparian Management in Agroecosystems

May 29, 2024: At the Edge: Riparian Management in Agroecosystems

With Tom Isenhart

Conservation, Webinars, Edge of Field, Soil ConservationAlena WhitakerMay 29, 2024riparian buffer, saturated buffers, wildlife, erosion

April 17, 2024: Pay for Performance: Cost-share Alternative to Increase Nonpoint Source Pollution Reduction

April 17, 2024: Pay for Performance: Cost-share Alternative to Increase Nonpoint Source Pollution Reduction

With Timothy Rosen

Conservation, Webinars, Soil Conservation, Water ConservationAlena WhitakerApril 18, 2024watershed, cost share, nonpoint source, pollution

April 10, 2024: One Size Does Not Fit All: Targeting Conservation Practices to Reduce Phosphorus Loss Risk in the Lake Erie Watershed

April 10, 2024: One Size Does Not Fit All: Targeting Conservation Practices to Reduce Phosphorus Loss Risk in the Lake Erie Watershed

With Merrin Macrae

Conservation, Webinars, Soil ConservationAlena WhitakerApril 15, 2024phosphorus, watershed

February 28, 2024: Soil Conservation and Water Management - the Keys to Improving Climate Resilience

February 28, 2024: Soil Conservation and Water Management - the Keys to Improving Climate Resilience

With Rick Cruse

Conservation, Soil Conservation, WebinarsAlena WhitakerFebruary 29, 2024soil health, climate, water management

February 21, 2024: A Virtuous Cycle of Soil Organic Matter in Diversified Cropping Systems

February 21, 2024: A Virtuous Cycle of Soil Organic Matter in Diversified Cropping Systems

With Steven Hall

Conservation, Conservation Crops, Soil Conservation, WebinarsAnn StaudtFebruary 21, 2024

February 7, 2024: Partners Below Ground - Opportunities for Management of Plant-Fungal Symbioses

February 7, 2024: Partners Below Ground - Opportunities for Management of Plant-Fungal Symbioses

With Bryan Emmett

Webinars, Conservation, Soil ConservationAlena WhitakerFebruary 7, 2024fungi, soil health, AMF

Field Day Archive: Pasturing Oxbows: Optimizing Benefits to the Farm, Water and Wildlife

Field Day Archive: Pasturing Oxbows: Optimizing Benefits to the Farm, Water and Wildlife

Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water Conservation, Soil Conservation, Edge of Field, LivestockAlena WhitakerJanuary 18, 2024livestock, grazing, wetlands, oxbow, native grasses, perennial, water quality

January 3, 2024: How do we Best Define and Promote Soil Health?

January 3, 2024: How do we Best Define and Promote Soil Health?

With Mike Castellano

Webinars, Conservation, Conservation Crops, Soil ConservationAlena WhitakerJanuary 3, 2024whole farm conservation, soil health, carbon, carbon sequestration, nitrogen

December 20, 2023: Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program: Certifying that Minnesota's Farms and Waters can Prosper Together

December 20, 2023: Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program: Certifying that Minnesota's Farms and Waters can Prosper Together

With Brad J. Jordahl Redlin

Webinars, Conservation, Conservation Crops, Soil Conservation, Water ConservationAlena WhitakerDecember 21, 2023water quality, whole farm conservation, Minnesota Dept of Agriculture, soil health

Field Day Archive: A Vision for Iowa: Growing Food for People through Diversified Agriculture Systems

Field Day Archive: A Vision for Iowa: Growing Food for People through Diversified Agriculture Systems

Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water Conservation, Soil ConservationLiz RipleyDecember 15, 2023trees, diversity, diversified agricultural system, Kernza, livestock, silvopasture, grazing, perennial

December 13, 2023: Planning and Planting Prairie: Research and On-farm Experience

December 13, 2023: Planning and Planting Prairie: Research and On-farm Experience

With Laura Jackson

Webinars, Conservation, Conservation Crops, Cover Crops, Soil ConservationAlena WhitakerDecember 13, 2023prairie, prairie strips, diversity