Iowa Learning Farm

News

Read the latest Iowa Learning Farm article in Wallaces Farmer

Past issues (PDF format)...

September 2008 - EQIP helps out with cover crops

August 2008 - Not your father's tillage

July 2008 - How spring rains took their toll on Iowa soil

June 2008 - Cover crops conserve N

May 2008 - Water Quality Issues are Real
April 2008 - Rainmaker has a story to tell
March 2008 - Group picks 10 to be stewards

February 2008 - No-till planter tune-up

January 2008 - Plan a switch to less tillage

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

As harvest continues, Northey encourages farmers to watch for areas needed additional conservation practices
Crops Previously Covered Grounds Impacted by Heavy Rains Earlier this Year

DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey today reminded farmers during harvest to keep an eye out for any areas that may have experienced erosion during the heavy rains earlier this year. The heavy rains came at a time when crops had not been planted and much of the ground was bare. As a result initial reports showed that nearly 10 percent of the state’s cropland experienced heavy erosion. Read the full story

'Not Your Father's Tillage' featured at Farm Progress Show

The Iowa Learning Farm will feature strip-tillage at this year's Farm Progress Show. 'Not your father's Tillage' exhibit will include an area of strip-tilled ground and a strip-till machine. ISU Extension experts and Iowa farmers currently practicing strip-tillage will be on-hand for discussion about this conservation practice. Read the full story

Operation Strip-till field day in Webster County

Take a closer look at strip-tillage on August 6, when the Iowa Learning Farm hosts “Operation Strip-Till” at the Smeltzer Trust Demonstration Farm, rural Otho, in Webster County. The field day will begin at 3:00 p.m. and conclude by 7:30 p.m. A complimentary evening meal will be provided, courtesy of Webster County Farm Bureau and Farm News. The event will feature information about the practice of strip-tillage, including auto-steer technology, economics, and the benefits of improved soil quality. The Smeltzer farm is located one mile south of Otho on county road P-59. 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

Changing to no-tillage or a reduced tillage system

Just what is conservation tillage? Officially, conservation tillage is any tillage system that maintains at least 30 percent residue cover after planting. No-tillage is defined as a system in which the soil is not disturbed between harvest and planting and planting to harvest except for planting seeds and surface application of nutrients.

Based on these definitions, are you a practicing conservationist? If not, how do you go about taking the plunge to conservation tillage? Now that harvest is over, it is the time to gather information and to make sound decisions about whether to adopt a conservation system on your land. Read the full story

Equipment for No-till or strip-till

As spring approaches, keeping the melted snow and topsoil from heading south may take some re-thinking of your farming system. Hopefully, you have already made the decision to stop or reduce tillage and you have mapped out your plan. Maybe you have already determined the steps for ultimate water and soil conservation - in addition to tillage reduction - such as adding grass waterways and riparian buffers along your creek. 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