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

September 4, 2024: What 100 Years of Climate Data Means for Water Resources Practitioners

September 4, 2024: What 100 Years of Climate Data Means for Water Resources Practitioners

With Sushant Mehan

Conservation, Webinars, Water ConservationAnn StaudtSeptember 6, 2024drainage, water infiltration, irrigation, climate, water stress, nitrogen use

August 28, 2024: The Impact of Water Stress and Genetics on Seed Selection and Nitrogen Use

August 28, 2024: The Impact of Water Stress and Genetics on Seed Selection and Nitrogen Use

With Chad Poole

Conservation, Webinars, Water ConservationAlena WhitakerAugust 29, 2024drainage, water infiltration, irrigation, climate, water stress, nitrogen use

August 21, 2024: Drainage Showdown: Which Pipe Style Drains Faster?

August 21, 2024: Drainage Showdown: Which Pipe Style Drains Faster?

With Ehsan Ghane

Conservation, WebinarsAlena WhitakerAugust 21, 2024drainage, tile, water infiltration

August 14, 2024: Phosphorus Exchanges Between a River and Its Floodplain

August 14, 2024: Phosphorus Exchanges Between a River and Its Floodplain

With Pete Moore

Conservation, Webinars, Water ConservationAlena WhitakerAugust 15, 2024water quality, floodplain, phosphorus, river

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

July 3, 2024: Exploring Traits and Tactics with Summer Annual Forage

July 3, 2024: Exploring Traits and Tactics with Summer Annual Forage

With Shelby Gruss

Conservation, WebinarsLiz RipleyJuly 3, 2024grazing, forage, livestock, summer annual

June 26, 2024: How Crop Insurance Ties into Relay and Double Cropping Practices

June 26, 2024: How Crop Insurance Ties into Relay and Double Cropping Practices

With Sheila Backer and Laura Held

Conservation, WebinarsAlena WhitakerJune 26, 2024relay intercropping, crop insurance, double cropping

June 19, 2024: How Can Cereal Rye Affect Nitrogen Cycling and Crop Production?

June 19, 2024: How Can Cereal Rye Affect Nitrogen Cycling and Crop Production?

With Richard Roth

Conservation, Webinars, Cover CropsAlena WhitakerJune 19, 2024cover crops, kentucky bluegrass, nitrogen cycling, cereal rye

June 12, 2024: DNR Cover Crop Seed Production Project

June 12, 2024: DNR Cover Crop Seed Production Project

With Adam Schnieders and Justin Clark

Conservation, Webinars, Cover CropsLiz RipleyJune 12, 2024cover crops, wildlife

June 5, 2024: Assessing the Impact of Perennial Groundcover and Interseeded Annual Cover Crops on Corn Yield and Drainage Water Quality

June 5, 2024: Assessing the Impact of Perennial Groundcover and Interseeded Annual Cover Crops on Corn Yield and Drainage Water Quality

With Gabrielle Myers

Conservation, Webinars, Cover CropsAlena WhitakerJune 5, 2024perennial cover, cover crops, kentucky bluegrass

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

May 22, 2024: Solid-State Anaerobic Digestion of Prairie Biomass and Beef Manure

May 22, 2024: Solid-State Anaerobic Digestion of Prairie Biomass and Beef Manure

With Abigail Schulte

Conservation, Webinars, LivestockAlena WhitakerMay 22, 2024biomass, anaerobic digestion, nutrient management