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 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"
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.
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.
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.
These toolkits are the product of Iowa Learning Farms’ many years of planning and hosting field day events across the state of Iowa, as well as our newer Conservation On Tap gatherings. While ILF utilizes many different outreach approaches, the importance of farmer-to-farmer interactions cannot be overstated. Field days do matter!
Iowa Learning Farms (ILF) has successfully produced its Conservation Webinar Series since 2011, offering opportunities for online audiences to learn about the latest research and implementation efforts of conservation-related practices. To aid other organizations in producing webinars, ILF has created this toolkit which includes information on planning, promoting, designing, hosting, archiving, and evaluating a webinar, based on experience gained from producing and archiving hundreds of webinars.
Edge-of-field (EOF) conservation practices—established on field boundaries, outside of productive cropland—are designed to help reach Iowa’s water quality goals, especially when paired with in-field practices. The “Giving Clean Water the Edge” infographic series dives into how EOF practices work, their positions on the landscape, their impacts on water quality, and the additional co-benefits that many EOF practices offer.
Read MoreThe Reimagining Cover Crops study was designed to improve understanding of the motivations and concerns among farmers and landowners regarding cover crop implementation.
Read MoreConservation practices are crucial for sustainable agricultural production and the preservation of healthy ecosystems. These practices significantly enhance soil health, water quality, and biodiversity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Edge-of-field (EOF) practices, such as saturated buffers, bioreactors, and water quality enhancement wetlands, play a pivotal role in improving water quality by effectively reducing nutrient loads and fostering wildlife habitats.
Read MoreWidespread adoption of edge-of-field (EOF) practices—such as saturated buffers, bioreactors, and water quality enhancement wetlands—is vital to achieving the goal of 45% nutrient reduction outlined in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. However, few farmers in the state have embraced EOF practices on their land—this project investigates why.
Read MoreIowa 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.
Read MoreLearn about how humans and beavers can work together to coexist on our landscapes in both rural and urban settings.
Read MoreLearn about the oxbow wetland restoration process with this toolkit.
Read MoreA study looking at the impact of winter cereal rye on crop yield and soil 12 Iowa farms from 2008-2019.
Read MoreAnaerobic 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.
Read MoreWhat is redefining the field edge?
A land-use-change concept that alters a field’s cropping boundaries, converting some parts of the field to perennial prairie vegetation.
This publication provides best management recommendations for farmers and landowners getting started with conservation and water quality practices by helping select and incorporate in-field and edge-of-field conservation practices most appropriate to the decision maker's land and preferences.
Read MoreRestoring oxbows can be a low cost way to improve water quality. Learn more in this publication from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.
Read MoreLearn about the unique aspects of wetlands in this infographic.
Read MoreDiscussing a new conservation practice with your tenant can be challenging. To help begin the conversation, we created a new publication series with talking points and relevant research findings about specific conservation practices.
Read MoreWater Quality Matters To Us All provides insight into the attitudes and practices of agencies and stakeholders involved in protecting Iowa's water quality. Based on listening sessions between 2008-2011 with farmers, urban residents, Soil and Water Conservation District commissioners, and field staff from Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the book details the institutional, community, and individual impediments towards water conservation and curtailing nonpoint source pollution.
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