Conservation field days have been announced for the week of September 6. For more information about recently announced field days, visit here.

Recently Announced 

Cover Crops Field Day 

Wednesday, September 8 (10:30 am – 1 pm)

Cover crops continue to grow in popularity in Iowa due to their many benefits including increased soil organic matter, weed suppression potential and reduced soil erosion. Together with edge-of-field practices like bioreactors, wetlands and saturated buffers, they are key to reducing nitrate loss from agricultural land in Iowa.

The field day will feature Emily Waring, graduate student in agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State University (ISU), talking about growth of cover crop mixtures. Dr. Matt Helmers, ISU professor Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, will share information on the water quality results from over 30 years at the drainage water quality research facility. Carl Pederson, agricultural specialist with Iowa State University, will discuss cover crop management and cash crop impacts. The field day will conclude at a nearby nitrate removal wetland with Dr. William Crumpton, ISU professor of Environmental Science and wetland ecology expert.

The field day will be held at the ISU Drainage Research and Demonstration site in Gilmore City at 31325 510th Street. The workshop is free and open to the public, but RSVP is desired for planning of food. Contact Emily Waring at 402-350-0428 or email erwaring@iastate.edu.