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Iowa Learning Farms


Resources

All of our resources are available from this page. You can also visit the specific pages for individual topics to get focused information on those areas.

Conservation

Conservation encompasses many areas - soil, water, and crop considerations all play a part. We offer a variety of practical resources to help you find the answers to your questions.

"How resilient are our lands here in the Midwest? What is our ability to retain productivity if we have another long drought or continual flooding? Will people still be farming in Iowa 1,500 years from now? Or even 200 years from now? The decisions we make today about our natural resources will affect agricultural production 50 years from now."

--from the video "The Work of Our Hands"

Conservation Resources

Cover Crops

Cover crops are a great way to improve soil health. Many Iowa farmers are adding cover crops to their crop rotations so soil stays covered when the fields are not growing other crops. Cover crops also improve soil organic matter and slow water runoff.

Farmers have many questions about incorporating cover crops. Most asked questions include: what kinds of plants can be used, when and how to seed and when and how to terminate. With field days and workshops, Iowa Learning Farms strives to help farmers, and other interested people, find the answers to these questions and more. 

Cover Crop Resources
 

Edge of Field

Edge-of-field practices play a crucial role in meeting the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy goals of improving water quality through reducing nitrogen and phosphorus in Iowa's water bodies. Edge-of-field practices involve drainage water management, bioreactors, buffers, saturated buffers, denitrifying wetlands, terraces and sediment control.

Edge of Field Resources

Relay Intercropping

Relay intercropping is a multi-year, multi-species cropping system that allows for 3 harvestable crops (small grain, soybean, corn) in 2 years.

View recent webinars, blogs and publications from ongoing research farm and on-farm demonstrations.

Relay Intercropping
 

Field Day Toolkit

This Field Day Toolkit is the product of Iowa Learning Farms’ many years of planning and hosting field day events across the state of Iowa. While ILF utilizes many different outreach approaches, the importance of farmer-to-farmer interactions cannot be overstated. Field days do matter!

 
Field Day Toolkit
Conservation On Tap Toolkit
 
 

Recent Resources

View by Category
  • Conservation 49
  • Water Conservation 24
  • Webinars 22
  • Edge of Field 21
  • Soil Conservation 15
  • Cover Crops 13
  • Conservation Crops 9
  • Field Day Archive 3
  • Livestock 3
March 5, 2025: Our Agricultural Microbial Neighbors
March 5, 2025: Our Agricultural Microbial Neighbors

With Adina Howe

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Conservation, Webinars, LivestockAlena WhitakerMarch 5, 2025manure, microbes, bioenergy
February 26, 2025: From the Top of the Watershed to the Bottom of the Lake: Lake Restoration in Iowa
February 26, 2025: From the Top of the Watershed to the Bottom of the Lake: Lake Restoration in Iowa

With Michelle Balmer

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Conservation, Webinars, Water ConservationAlena WhitakerFebruary 26, 2025water quality, lakes, lake restoration, watershed
February 19, 2025: What Can Beneficial Nematodes Tell Us About Soil Health?
February 19, 2025: What Can Beneficial Nematodes Tell Us About Soil Health?

With Christine Sprunger

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Conservation, Webinars, Soil ConservationAlena WhitakerFebruary 19, 2025soil health, nematodes, soil carbon, cropping systems
Field Day Archive: Can Precision Planting of Cereal Rye Mitigate Corn Seedling Disease and Yield Drag?
Field Day Archive: Can Precision Planting of Cereal Rye Mitigate Corn Seedling Disease and Yield Drag?
Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water ConservationLiz RipleyFebruary 13, 2025water quality, cover crops, cereal rye, corn
February 12, 2025: From Ruts to Roots: Strategies to Protect and Rebuild Compacted Soils
February 12, 2025: From Ruts to Roots: Strategies to Protect and Rebuild Compacted Soils

With Aaron Daigh

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Conservation, Webinars, Cover Crops, Soil ConservationAlena WhitakerFebruary 12, 2025compaction, cover crops, soil health, soil conservation, compacted soils
February 5, 2025: Expanding the Value of Ag Conservation Programs for Monarch Butterfly Recovery in Iowa
February 5, 2025: Expanding the Value of Ag Conservation Programs for Monarch Butterfly Recovery in Iowa

With Justin Meissen

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Conservation, Webinars, Edge of FieldAlena WhitakerFebruary 5, 2025monarch butterfly, butterfly, CRP, prairie, milkweed, conservation programs
January 29, 2025: Practical Robots in Conservation
January 29, 2025: Practical Robots in Conservation

With Joshua Peschel

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Conservation, WebinarsAlena WhitakerJanuary 29, 2025drone, robot, robotics
Field Day Archive: Unlocking the Potential of Saturated Grassed Waterways for Nutrient Reduction
Field Day Archive: Unlocking the Potential of Saturated Grassed Waterways for Nutrient Reduction
Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water ConservationLiz RipleyJanuary 23, 2025water quality, tile drainage, waterway, saturated waterway
January 22, 2025: Iowa's Oxbows Reborn: Bringing Life Back to One of Iowa's Vital Ecosystems
January 22, 2025: Iowa's Oxbows Reborn: Bringing Life Back to One of Iowa's Vital Ecosystems

With Andrew Rust

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Conservation, Webinars, Edge of Field, Water ConservationAlena WhitakerJanuary 22, 2025oxbow, wetlands, ecosystems, topeka shiner, fish, habitat
January 15, 2025: 2024 Relay Cropping Management & Results
January 15, 2025: 2024 Relay Cropping Management & Results

With Alex Schaffer

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Conservation, Webinars, Conservation CropsAlena WhitakerJanuary 15, 2025relay intercropping, relay cropping, soybeans, cereal rye, wheat
January 8, 2025: Exploring the Ecology of Water Quality Wetlands in Iowa
January 8, 2025: Exploring the Ecology of Water Quality Wetlands in Iowa

With Adam Janke

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Conservation, Webinars, Edge of Field, Water ConservationAlena WhitakerJanuary 9, 2025wetlands, wildlife, birds, waterfowl, marsh birds, marsh, nitrate
Iowa Wetlands
Iowa Wetlands

Iowa is home to a diverse array of wetland ecosystems that provide multiple benefits to humans and the natural world. These wetlands are essential for the survival of plants and animals adapted to life in a wet environment, including many rare and endangered species.

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Conservation, Water Conservation, Edge of FieldLiz RipleyNovember 14, 2024water quality, wetlands
A Closer Look: Beavers as Superheroes of Water Quality
A Closer Look: Beavers as Superheroes of Water Quality

Learn about how humans and beavers can work together to coexist on our landscapes in both rural and urban settings.

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Conservation, Water ConservationLiz RipleyMay 3, 2024beavers, beaver dams, water quality
Oxbow Restoration Toolkit
Oxbow Restoration Toolkit

Learn about the oxbow wetland restoration process with this toolkit.

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Edge of FieldAlena WhitakerFebruary 1, 2024wetlands, oxbow, restoration
Long Term Winter Cereal Rye Demonstration
Long Term Winter Cereal Rye Demonstration

A study looking at the impact of winter cereal rye on crop yield and soil 12 Iowa farms from 2008-2019.

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Cover Crops, Soil Conservation, ConservationLiz RipleyJanuary 3, 2023soil conservation, long term rye, winter cereal rye
Anaerobic Digesters for Renewable Natural Gas
Anaerobic Digesters for Renewable Natural Gas

Anaerobic Digesters for Renewable Natural Gas

One way farmers can participate in the shift towards more renewable energy is by building an anaerobic digester on their farm or supplying feedstock for a nearby digester.

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Soil Conservation, Conservation Crops, Water ConservationLiz RipleyNovember 28, 2022redefining the field edge, prairie, profitability
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Iowa Learning Farms
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​Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011
Phone: (515) 294-5429

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