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 Webinars

August 23, 2023: CAFO Impacts, Costs, & Rulemaking in Iowa

August 23, 2023: CAFO Impacts, Costs, & Rulemaking in Iowa

With Alicia Vasto

Webinars, Conservation, Conservation CropsLiz RipleyAugust 23, 2023water quality

August 16, 2023: Comparing Infiltration Between Prairie Strips and Row Crop Fields Across Iowa

August 16, 2023: Comparing Infiltration Between Prairie Strips and Row Crop Fields Across Iowa

With Eric Henning

Webinars, Conservation, Conservation CropsLiz RipleyAugust 17, 2023conservation, prairie strips, prairie, infiltration, soil, water quality

August 9, 2023: How do Cover Crops Impact Residual Herbicides in Corn and Soybean?

August 9, 2023: How do Cover Crops Impact Residual Herbicides in Corn and Soybean?

With Bill Johnson

Webinars, Conservation, Conservation Crops, Cover CropsLiz RipleyAugust 9, 2023conservation, cover crop, cover crops, herbicide, weeds

August 2, 2023: Bee Health in Iowa's Agricultural Landscape

August 2, 2023: Bee Health in Iowa's Agricultural Landscape

With Randall Cass

Webinars, Conservation, Conservation CropsLiz RipleyAugust 2, 2023conservation, bees, honey bee, native bee, prairie strips

July 26, 2023: Agriculture and Climate Change in Iowa and the Midwest – Adaptation, Mitigation and Decision Making

July 26, 2023: Agriculture and Climate Change in Iowa and the Midwest – Adaptation, Mitigation and Decision Making

With Dennis Todey

Webinars, Conservation, Conservation Crops, Cover Crops, Soil ConservationLiz RipleyJuly 26, 2023conservation, climate, climate change

July 19, 2023: Designing Cropping Systems for Efficiency, Environmental Performance and More Profit

July 19, 2023: Designing Cropping Systems for Efficiency, Environmental Performance and More Profit

With Book Wilke

Webinars, Conservation, Conservation Crops, Cover Crops, Soil ConservationLiz RipleyJuly 20, 2023conservation, cover crops, extended rotations, soil, grazing

July 5, 2023: Iowa Stormwater Management Manual Tools and Updates

July 5, 2023: Iowa Stormwater Management Manual Tools and Updates

With Paul Miller

Webinars, Conservation, Water Conservation, Conservation Crops, Edge of FieldLiz RipleyJuly 5, 2023conservation, water quality, urban conservation, stormwater

June 28, 2023: In-Field and Edge-of-Field Opportunities for Nutrient Reduction at a Community College

June 28, 2023: In-Field and Edge-of-Field Opportunities for Nutrient Reduction at a Community College

With Matthew Streeter

Webinars, Conservation, Water Conservation, Conservation Crops, Edge of FieldLiz RipleyJune 28, 2023conservation, water quality, nutrient loss, edge of field

June 21, 2023: Incorporating Trees to Your Farm with Agroforestry

June 21, 2023: Incorporating Trees to Your Farm with Agroforestry

With Jenn Ripp

Webinars, Conservation, Water Conservation, Conservation CropsLiz RipleyJune 21, 2023conservation, agroforestry, forestry

June 14, 2023: Water Quality Wetlands in Iowa

June 14, 2023: Water Quality Wetlands in Iowa

With Shane Wulf

Webinars, Conservation, Water Conservation, Conservation CropsLiz RipleyJune 15, 2023conservation, nutrient loss, wetlands, water quality

June 7, 2023: Maximizing N Availability to Crops While Minimizing N Losses to the Air

June 7, 2023: Maximizing N Availability to Crops While Minimizing N Losses to the Air

With Craig Drury

Webinars, Conservation, Water Conservation, Conservation CropsLiz RipleyJune 8, 2023conservation, nutrient loss, nutrient management