AMES, Iowa — Iowa Learning Farms will host a webinar on Wednesday, May 15 at 12 p.m. about cover crops and their impact on water quality and crop yields.
The webinar will discuss the impact of different cover crop species on water quality, measured via lysimeters, and cash crop yield at six Iowa State University research farms. Before corn, the single species used is oats and the mixture contains oats, hairy vetch and radish. Before soybeans, the single species used is rye and the mixture contains rye, rapeseed and radish. Emily Waring, graduate research assistant at Iowa State, will present the current results from the research project.
“This research investigates which cover crop species are the most effective across the state of Iowa, and takes into consideration environmental quality and economic viability,” said Waring. Waring is a PhD student working with the Agricultural Water Management group; her research promotes environmental quality within agriculture through cover crops by measuring soil physical properties and subsurface drainage water quality.
A Cover Crop Adviser board approved continuing education unit is available for those who are able to watch the live webinar. Information for submitting your CCA/CPAg/CPSS/CPSC number to earn credit will be provided at the end of the presentation.
To watch, go to www.iowalearningfarms.org/page/webinars and click the link to join the webinar shortly before 12 p.m. on May 15, to download the Zoom software and log in option. The webinar will be recorded and archived on the ILF website for watching at any time at https://www.iowalearningfarms.org/page/webinars.