Iowa Learning Farms Hosts No-Till and Strip-Till Field Day

AMES, Iowa — Iowa Learning Farms will host a field day at the Dana Norby farm near Osage, Iowa, on Thursday, June 21, beginning at 11 a.m. The field day will focus on no-till and strip-till conservation farming for optimum results.

Dana Norby farms with his brothers Randy and Steve. They started no-till planting soybeans on some of their acres in 1992 and by the late 1990s all their soybean acres were planted no-till. And in 2000, the brothers started strip-tilling corn acres; by 2004 all of their corn acres were planted into a strip-till seedbed. The Norby brothers will have a question and answer session regarding their successful conversion to no-till and strip-tillage. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach corn specialist Roger Elmore will speak about corn management issues and field agronomist Terry Basol will discuss current crop and pest conditions.

The field day includes a complimentary lunch provided by the Mitchell County Cattlemen. The event is free and the public is invited to attend. The field day will be held at the Norby farmstead, 1635 340th Street. From Osage travel west on Highway 9 about five miles to county road T-26; go south on T-26 two miles to 340th Street, then east about one-half mile.

Iowa Learning Farms takes a grassroots approach, offering innovative ways to help all Iowans have an active role in keeping the state’s natural resources healthy and not take them for granted. A goal of Iowa Learning Farms is to build a culture of conservation, encouraging the adoption of residue management and conservation practices. Farmers, researchers and ILF team members are working together to identify and implement the best in-field management practices that increase water and soil quality while remaining profitable.

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