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

Recent Resources

Posts tagged water quality

Field Day Archive: Smart Agricultural Drainage: Tools to sense tile health and nitrate hot spots

Field Day Archive: Smart Agricultural Drainage: Tools to sense tile health and nitrate hot spots

Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water ConservationLiz RipleyDecember 19, 2024water quality, tile drainage, smart ag drainage

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.

Conservation, Water Conservation, Edge of FieldLiz RipleyNovember 14, 2024water quality, wetlands

September 11, 2024: Nitrate Leaching: Impacts of Rain after Dry Conditions

September 11, 2024: Nitrate Leaching: Impacts of Rain after Dry Conditions

With Matt Helmers

Conservation, Webinars, Water ConservationAnn StaudtSeptember 11, 2024drainage, water infiltration, climate, nitrogen use, water quality, nitrate, nitrogen cycling, drought

August 14, 2024: Phosphorus Exchanges Between a River and Its Floodplain

August 14, 2024: Phosphorus Exchanges Between a River and Its Floodplain

With Pete Moore

Conservation, Webinars, Water ConservationAlena WhitakerAugust 15, 2024water quality, floodplain, phosphorus, river

August 7, 2024: Visualizing Drainage Needs Under a Potential Future Climate

August 7, 2024: Visualizing Drainage Needs Under a Potential Future Climate

With Elizabeth Schwab

Conservation, Webinars, Soil Conservation, Water ConservationLiz RipleyAugust 7, 2024climate, drainage, water quality

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.

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

Field Day Archive: Ag Drainage Well Closure Project with IDALS

Field Day Archive: Ag Drainage Well Closure Project with IDALS

Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water ConservationLiz RipleyMay 2, 2024water quality, Ag Drainage Well

May 1, 2024: Urban Wetlands 101

May 1, 2024: Urban Wetlands 101

With John Swanson

Conservation, Webinars, Water Conservation, Edge of FieldAlena WhitakerMay 1, 2024wetlands, water quality, flood mitigation, urban conservation

Field Day Archive: Woodchips and Water Quality: Exploring Species and Chipping Methods to Maximize Bioreactor Efficiency

Field Day Archive: Woodchips and Water Quality: Exploring Species and Chipping Methods to Maximize Bioreactor Efficiency

Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water Conservation, Edge of FieldAlena WhitakerFebruary 9, 2024water quality, forestry, bioreactors, woodchips

January 24, 2024: Engaging Farms in Conservation Leadership

January 24, 2024: Engaging Farms in Conservation Leadership

With Amanda Gumbert

Webinars, Conservation, Water ConservationAlena WhitakerJanuary 24, 2024nitrogen, Mississippi River, water quality, conservation, farmers

Field Day Archive: Pasturing Oxbows: Optimizing Benefits to the Farm, Water and Wildlife

Field Day Archive: Pasturing Oxbows: Optimizing Benefits to the Farm, Water and Wildlife

Field Day Archive, Conservation, Water Conservation, Soil Conservation, Edge of Field, LivestockAlena WhitakerJanuary 18, 2024livestock, grazing, wetlands, oxbow, native grasses, perennial, water quality

January 17, 2024: Tile-drainage Decision Tool Helps Manage Agricultural Land and Reduce Nitrogen Pollution

January 17, 2024: Tile-drainage Decision Tool Helps Manage Agricultural Land and Reduce Nitrogen Pollution

With Chaoqun (Crystal) Lu

Webinars, Conservation, Water ConservationAlena WhitakerJanuary 17, 2024nitrogen, water quality, Mississippi River, tile drainage

January 10, 2024: Managing Saturated Buffers in a Flat Field: Impacts on Flow and Nitrate Load Treatment

January 10, 2024: Managing Saturated Buffers in a Flat Field: Impacts on Flow and Nitrate Load Treatment

With Gabe Johnson

Webinars, Conservation, Edge of Field, Water ConservationAlena WhitakerJanuary 10, 2024nitrogen, whole farm conservation, saturated buffers, water quality, edge of field

December 20, 2023: Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program: Certifying that Minnesota's Farms and Waters can Prosper Together

December 20, 2023: Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program: Certifying that Minnesota's Farms and Waters can Prosper Together

With Brad J. Jordahl Redlin

Webinars, Conservation, Conservation Crops, Soil Conservation, Water ConservationAlena WhitakerDecember 21, 2023water quality, whole farm conservation, Minnesota Dept of Agriculture, soil health

November 22, 2023: Impact of 100 Years of Agricultural Practice Changes on Sediment and Nutrient Loss from One Farm in Osceola County, IA

November 22, 2023: Impact of 100 Years of Agricultural Practice Changes on Sediment and Nutrient Loss from One Farm in Osceola County, IA

With Matt Helmers

Webinars, Conservation, Conservation Crops, Water Conservation, Soil ConservationLiz RipleyNovember 22, 2023soil, soil erosion, water quality, nutrient loss

November 15, 2023: Perennial and Winter Annual Crops for Economic and Environmental Benefit

November 15, 2023: Perennial and Winter Annual Crops for Economic and Environmental Benefit

With Matt Leavitt

Webinars, Conservation, Conservation Crops, Water Conservation, Soil ConservationLiz RipleyNovember 15, 2023soil, soil erosion, water quality, perennial, perennial cover, Kernza, small grain