Iowa Learning Farm

DES MOINES –Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today highlighted the important conservation work that has been achieved in Iowa during the last 70 years as part of Iowa Soil and Water Conservation Week. Governor Culver has issued a proclamation recognizing November 22-28, 2009 as Soil and Water Conservation Week. Read the full story

$4 Million from state bonding plan to support new water quality wetland effort designed to address Gulf of Mexico 'Dead Zone'

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will use $4 million available through the state bonding plan to support the construction of demonstration wetlands for the new Iowa Drainage and Wetland Landscape Systems Initiative. Northey made the announcement during the tour of an existing wetland by the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force. Read the full story

Task force focused on hypoxia in Gulf of Mexico to meet in Iowa
September 23 and 24

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today announced that the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship will be hosting a meeting of the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force in the Des Moines area on September 23 and 24. More than 100 federal and state government officials and organization representatives are expected to participate in the task force meeting. Read the full story

Statewide partnership launches campaign to help farmers
save time, money and soil

SPENCER – Residue matters. A new campaign aims to show Iowans why, informing farmers about the importance of what’s left over after harvest. Call it stover, residue, cobs or stalks – crop residue plays an important role in building soil quality, reducing soil erosion, improving water quality, saving time and increasing long-term profitability.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey kicked off the “Residue Matters” campaign during the opening day of the Clay County Fair. He urged northwest Iowa producers to consider the value of residue as they make management and tillage decisions. While it is relatively inexpensive to improve residue management, there are many decisions to make. Read the full story

Perennial prairies and row crops can work well together

PRAIRIE CITY, Iowa -- The old cliché ‘Can we have our cake and eat it too?’ was the focus of a field day at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge near Prairie City on September 2. Cindy Cambardella, USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment opened with this statement, which serves as an analogy to the research being conducted at the Refuge by Iowa State University. The event was sponsored by the Leopold Center and Iowa Learning Farm with support from the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. Read the full story

Farmer Leads Spike in Neighborhood Conservation Practices

Northeast Butler County is home to a neighborhood of farms well protected by conservation measures. District Conservationist Lawrence Green credits farmer Rick Juchems as the cause. He says because Juchems leads by example, the area around Juchems' farms are a hot spot of conservation activity. Read the full story

26-Year-Old Farmer Builds Successful Operation with No-Till

"Nate may only be 26-years-old, but he farms like a conservation veteran," says long-time Sioux County District Conservationist Greg Marek. Nate Ronsiek, a young Hawarden farmer, works with Marek, a USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) employee, to address resource concerns on his land. Read the full story

Iowa Learning Farm offers new videos

A new video series “A Culture of Conservation” is now available from the Iowa Learning Farm. The series of five short videos explores the relationship humans have with soil and water and offers ways for everyone to have an active role in protecting and preserving the Earth’s natural resources. Beginning in December, every Iowa Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) office and all Iowa State Extension offices will have a copy of the video series. Curriculum will be developed for middle and high schools, and community colleges for use in the classroom by fall 2009. To request “A Culture of Conservation Video Series” DVD, contact the Iowa Learning Farm, email: ilf@iastate.edu. Read the full story

New Bioeconomy Project Underway

The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Iowa Learning Farm are coordinating a three-year project that focuses on cellulosic biomass management. Iowa State University was a recipient of a federally-funded Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) through Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in June of 2007. The grant, “Stewardship in the Bioeconomy: An Iowa Market-Based Model,” supports development of a profitable and environmentally-sound model for market-based pricing and procuring of biomass for cellulosic ethanol as well as residue management and removal. Read the full story

Operation Strip-till gets rolling

A couple of north central Iowa men put their heads together and created an opportunity for farmers interested in trying strip-tillage on their farms. Iowa Learning Farm cooperator Dave Nelson, owner of Brokaw Supply Company, and Doug Seltz, a Webster County Soil and Water District commissioner, conceived a way for area producers to get their toes wet in the strip-tilling world without taking the full plunge. They’re calling it “Operation Strip Till.” Read the full story

Introducing ILF Conservationists

“We all need to be aware of the gift that we have in the farms of Iowa. We need to maintain them and build them back to where they were.” Dave Ruden, Dubuque, is an Iowa Learning Farm (ILF) Conservationist who believes in the importance of our natural resources.

Ruden, farm manager for the Melleray Abbey located south of Dubuque, is one of 10 people across Iowa who are helping with the ILF project by serving as an ILF Conservationist. These spokespeople are champions of the conservation cause. They are community leaders and role models who practice, understand, and are willing to speak out about the need for a renewed commitment to a Culture of Conservation. Read the full story