Small Farms Sustainability program at Iowa State University highlights educational opportunities, newsletters, podcasts, and relevant resources for crops and livestock producers in the state.
Managing Cover Crops Profitably explores how and why cover crops work, and provides all the information needed to build cover crops into any farming operation. Along with detailed management information on the most commonly used species—including grasses, grains, brassicas and mustards, and legumes—Managing Cover Crops Profitably offers chapters on the role of cover crops in broader topics such as crop rotations, pests and conservation tillage. It also has appendices on seed suppliers and regional experts.
The Midwest Vegetable Production Guide for Commercial Growers is a collaboration of land-grant universities from seven states. It provides vegetable production information that is valid in the participating states for the current year. This includes fertility, variety, cultural, and pest management recommendations.
Land, climate and agricultural enterprises vary considerably from one area of the state to another. To find solutions to problems in each area and to study the impacts of regional differences, the Iowa Agriculture Experiment Station puts researchers in the fields of research farms across Iowa. Farms near Ames are used for intensive studies and for teaching purposes.
The Leopold Center is a research and education center on the campus of Iowa State University created to identify and reduce negative environmental and social impacts of farming and develop new ways to farm profitably while conserving natural resources. The Center's work is focused in these initiatives - ecological systems research, marketing and food systems research, policy research and cross-cutting research that bridges all areas (water, energy, soil and alternative farming systems).
Practical Farmers of Iowa is an inclusive organization representing a diversity of farmers. Farmers in our network raise corn and soybeans, hay, livestock large and small, horticultural crops from fruits and vegetables to cut flowers and herbs, and more. Our members have conventional and organic systems; employ diverse management practices; run operations of all sizes; and come from a range of backgrounds. These farmers come together, however, because they believe in nature as the model for agriculture and they are committed to moving their operations toward sustainability.
Learn more about the Iowa Fruit & Vegetable Growers Association, locate farms near you and gain access to beneficial fruit/vegetable growers resources.
Great Plains Growers Conference (GPGC) is a combination of two great conferences: Great Plains Vegetable Conference and Mid-America Fruit Conference. The three-day conference features presentations by knowledgeable speakers from throughout the nation. The conference showcases educational information from all five states: Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota, along with vegetable specialists and growers from those states.
The Alternative Agriculture in Iowa website is designed to assist producers, processors, marketers, business owners, policy makers, researchers and the general public with information on alternatives to Iowa's traditional crops (corn and soybeans).
Our mission is to educate producers, consumers and policy makers in the research and extension activities in Organic Agriculture both on-farm and in the Universities. Organic Agriculture involves a production management system based on the ecological principles of nutrient cycling, biotic regulation of pests and biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are replaced by sunlight-based inputs, such as plant and animal residues. Premium prices for certified organic products drive the immediate economic benefits of Organic Agriculture.
The Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic provides diagnosis of plant problems (plant diseases, insect damage, and assessment of herbicide damage) and the identification of insects and weeds from the field, garden, and home. The PIDC is a joint effort between Iowa State University Extension Plant Pathology, Entomology, Horticulture, and Agronomy.
This blog provides updates on various aspects of vegetable production in Iowa and is intended to serve as a platform for communication between researchers, students, growers, extension staff, and folks interested in vegetable production.