AMES, Iowa -- The Iowa Learning Farm along with the Woodbury and Plymouth Soil and Water Conservation Districts will co-host a field day at the Lewis Byers farm near Pierson, Iowa. The field day will be Thursday, June 11, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The field day will focus on cover crop usage and will include several presentations about cover crop management. Jeremy Singer, research agronomist with the National Soil Tilth Lab, will discuss cover crop establishment timing as well as planting methods and types of cover crops. Iowa State University (ISU) Extension agricultural engineer Mark Hanna will offer equipment pointers for planting crops into rye cover. There will be a discussion about the effects of winter rye on crop nutrient cycling, especially nitrogen fertilizer requirements of corn planted after rye. This will be led by ISU Extension field agronomist Joel DeJong and Jerry Sindt, Woodbury County district conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Additionally, there will be a question and answer session with Lewis Byers. He is one of four area farmers who aerial seeded winter rye last fall and then planted into the cover crop this spring. Byers will talk about the aerial seeding process, observations from this first year and future plans.
Cover crops are plants that cover the soil and supplement the growing season of annual grain crops. Adding a cover crop to a rotation has several long-term benefits such as reduction in nutrient losses, reduced soil erosion and improved soil structure. Planting cover crops in the fall after cash crop harvest helps protect the soil and recycles nutrients to subsequent crops. Typical cover crops are rye, oats, wheat, barley and triticale.
The field day includes a complimentary evening meal. The event is free and the public is invited to attend, rain or shine, but an RSVP is suggested. Please call the Woodbury NRCS/SWCD office, (712) 943-6727; or the Plymouth NRCS/SWCD office, (712) 546-8858.
The field day will be at the Byers’ farm, located at 3823 110th Street, Pierson. The farm is approximately three-fourths of a mile north of the intersection of county roads D-12 and L-25, northeast of Pierson.
Iowa Learning Farm is a partnership between the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa State University Extension, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service and Iowa Department of Natural Resources; in cooperation with Conservation Districts of Iowa and the Iowa Farm Bureau.
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