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

Webinar Toolkit

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.

Webinar Toolkit

Recent Resources

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

Oxbow Restoration Toolkit

Oxbow Restoration Toolkit

Learn about the oxbow wetland restoration process with this toolkit.

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.

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.

Soil Conservation, Conservation Crops, Water ConservationLiz RipleyNovember 28, 2022redefining the field edge, prairie, profitability

Redefining the Field Edge: Improving Farm Profitability with Strategically Placed Prairie

Redefining the Field Edge: Improving Farm Profitability with Strategically Placed Prairie

What 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.

Soil Conservation, Conservation Crops, Water ConservationLiz RipleyAugust 22, 2022redefining the field edge, prairie, profitability

Whole Farm Conservation Best Practices Manual

Whole Farm Conservation Best Practices Manual

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.

Conservation, Edge of Field, Water Conservation, Soil ConservationLiz RipleyJuly 6, 2022

Oxbow Restoration - Iowa Watershed Approach

Oxbow Restoration - Iowa Watershed Approach

Restoring oxbows can be a low cost way to improve water quality. Learn more in this publication from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

Edge of FieldLiz RipleyJuly 6, 2022structures

Grade Stabilization Structures - Iowa Watershed Approach

Information on grade stabilization structures from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

Edge of FieldErin RollenhagenJuly 6, 2022structures

Water and Sediment Control Basins - Iowa Watershed Approach

Water and Sediment Control Basins - Iowa Watershed Approach

Learn about sediment control basins in this 2-page report from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

Edge of FieldErin RollenhagenJuly 6, 2022structures

Farm Ponds - Iowa Watershed Approach

Farm Ponds - Iowa Watershed Approach

Learn about the role farm ponds play in water quality in this quick read 2-page PDF.

Edge of FieldLiz RipleyJuly 6, 2022structures

Conservation Buffers and Water Quality

Conservation Buffers and Water Quality

Learn about how conservation buffers affect water quality in this 4-page report by Iowa State University.

Edge of FieldLiz RipleyJuly 6, 2022structures

Questions and Answers about Saturated Buffers for the Midwest

Questions and Answers about Saturated Buffers for the Midwest

Learn about saturated buffers from a panel of experts in this in-depth publication.

Edge of FieldLiz RipleyJuly 6, 2022saturated buffers

Cleaning Iowa’s Waters with Saturated Buffers

Cleaning Iowa’s Waters with Saturated Buffers

Learn about cleaning Iowa’s waters with saturated buffers in this Iowa State University Extension publication.

Edge of FieldLiz RipleyJuly 6, 2022saturated buffers

Infographic: Iowa Watershed Approach - Wetlands

Infographic: Iowa Watershed Approach - Wetlands

Learn more about wetlands in this informative infographic from Iowa State University Extension.

Edge of FieldLiz RipleyJuly 6, 2022wetlands

Infographic: Wetlands Implementation

Infographic: Wetlands Implementation

Learn about the unique aspects of wetlands in this infographic.

Edge of FieldLiz RipleyJuly 6, 2022wetlands

Applying Woodchip Bioreactors for Improved Water Quality

Applying Woodchip Bioreactors for Improved Water Quality

Learn how woodchip bioreactors work to reduce nitrates and improve water quality.

Edge of FieldLiz RipleyJuly 6, 2022bioreactors