Iowa Learning Farms
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All Resources Conservation Cover Crops Edge of Field Relay Intercropping
Resources All Resources Conservation Cover Crops Edge of Field Relay Intercropping EventsAboutPartnersReportsProjectsBlogPodcast
Iowa Learning Farms


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

View by Category
  • Conservation 54
  • Water Conservation 32
  • Cover Crops 26
  • Edge of Field 23
  • Soil Conservation 22
  • Field Day Archive 16
  • Webinars 13
  • Conservation Crops 11
  • Livestock 5
  • Conservation Chat 3
Field Day Archive: Ag Drainage Well Closure Project with IDALS
Field Day Archive: Ag Drainage Well Closure Project with IDALS
Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water ConservationLiz RipleyMay 2, 2024water quality, Ag Drainage Well
Field Day Archive: A New Direction in Cover Crops: Developing Perennial Ground Cover for Corn Systems in the Midwest
Field Day Archive: A New Direction in Cover Crops: Developing Perennial Ground Cover for Corn Systems in the Midwest
Field Day Archive, Conservation, Cover CropsAlena WhitakerMarch 22, 2024RegenPGC, perennial cover, cover crops
Field Day Archive: Relay Intercropping: Exploring Sustainable Intensification on Iowa's Landscape through Relay Intercropping
Field Day Archive: Relay Intercropping: Exploring Sustainable Intensification on Iowa's Landscape through Relay Intercropping
Field Day Archive, Conservation, Conservation CropsAlena WhitakerMarch 7, 2024relay intercropping, cereal rye
Field Day Archive: Woodchips and Water Quality: Exploring Species and Chipping Methods to Maximize Bioreactor Efficiency
Field Day Archive: Woodchips and Water Quality: Exploring Species and Chipping Methods to Maximize Bioreactor Efficiency
Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water Conservation, Edge of FieldAlena WhitakerFebruary 9, 2024water quality, forestry, bioreactors, woodchips
Oxbow Restoration Toolkit
Oxbow Restoration Toolkit

Learn about the oxbow wetland restoration process with this toolkit.

Read More
Edge of FieldAlena WhitakerFebruary 1, 2024wetlands, oxbow, restoration
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
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
Field Day Archive: Beavers: Superheroes for Water Quality?
Field Day Archive: Beavers: Superheroes for Water Quality?
Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water Conservation, Soil ConservationLiz RipleyFebruary 9, 2023water quality, nitrogen, beavers, beaver dams, sediment, riparian
Field Day Archive: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Stacked Practices – Can Modified Blind Inlets at Terrace Sites Reduce N and P Loads?
Field Day Archive: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Stacked Practices – Can Modified Blind Inlets at Terrace Sites Reduce N and P Loads?
Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water Conservation, Soil ConservationLiz RipleyJanuary 19, 2023water quality, nitrogen, drainage, tile drainage, modified blind inlet
Long Term Winter Cereal Rye Demonstration
Long Term Winter Cereal Rye Demonstration

A study looking at the impact of winter cereal rye on crop yield and soil 12 Iowa farms from 2008-2019.

Read More
Cover Crops, Soil Conservation, ConservationLiz RipleyJanuary 3, 2023soil conservation, long term rye, winter cereal rye
Field Day Archive: From Nuisance to Asset – Establishing Saturated Riparian Forest Buffers on the Landscape
Field Day Archive: From Nuisance to Asset – Establishing Saturated Riparian Forest Buffers on the Landscape
Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water Conservation, Soil ConservationLiz RipleyDecember 15, 2022water quality, nitrogen, drainage, tile drainage, saturated buffers, riparian forest saturated buffers, trees
Field Day Archive: Utilizing Drainage Water Recycling To Improve Water Quality and Manage Weather Risk
Field Day Archive: Utilizing Drainage Water Recycling To Improve Water Quality and Manage Weather Risk
Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water Conservation, Soil ConservationLiz RipleyDecember 8, 2022water quality, nitrogen, drainage, tile drainage, irrigation, drainage water recycling
Anaerobic Digesters for Renewable Natural Gas
Anaerobic Digesters for Renewable Natural Gas

Anaerobic Digesters for Renewable Natural Gas

One way farmers can participate in the shift towards more renewable energy is by building an anaerobic digester on their farm or supplying feedstock for a nearby digester.

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Soil Conservation, Conservation Crops, Water ConservationLiz RipleyNovember 28, 2022redefining the field edge, prairie, profitability
Field Day Archive: Exploring a Pumped Bioreactor System for Improved Water Quality
Field Day Archive: Exploring a Pumped Bioreactor System for Improved Water Quality
Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water Conservation, Soil ConservationLiz RipleyOctober 20, 2022water quality, nitrogen, bioreactors
Redefining the Field Edge: Improving Farm Profitability with Strategically Placed Prairie
Redefining the Field Edge: Improving Farm Profitability with Strategically Placed Prairie

What is redefining the field edge?
A land-use-change concept that alters a field’s cropping boundaries, converting some parts of the field to perennial prairie vegetation.

Read More
Soil Conservation, Conservation Crops, Water ConservationLiz RipleyAugust 22, 2022redefining the field edge, prairie, profitability
Whole Farm Conservation Best Practices Manual
Whole Farm Conservation Best Practices Manual

This publication provides best management recommendations for farmers and landowners getting started with conservation and water quality practices by helping select and incorporate in-field and edge-of-field conservation practices most appropriate to the decision maker's land and preferences.

Read More
Conservation, Edge of Field, Water Conservation, Soil ConservationLiz RipleyJuly 6, 2022
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​Iowa State University
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Phone: (515) 294-5429

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