Spreading the word to help cover crops take off

A little rain right before the field day was scheduled to start didn’t scare away a large group of attendees who wanted to learn more about cover crops. Iowa Learning Farms partnered with Indian Creek Soil Health Partnership, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, and Linn County to deliver this cover crop focused field day on August 14th.

After dinner it was time to check out a plane used to aerially seed cover crops, hear cover crop tips from Rebecca Vittetoe, Iowa State University Extension Field Agronomist, see the Iowa Learning Farms rainfall simulator in action and pick the brain of farmer Jason Russell, who is making cover crops work on his farm.

Rebecca Vittetoe discusses cover crops

Vittetoe used the Iowa Learning Farms rainfall simulator to show how cover crops (and no-till) can help reduce surface runoff, prevent soil erosion and encourage more infiltration. She went on to talk about some cover crop basics and share tips for being successful when you’re first starting out using cover crops. She emphasized that it’s important to have a plan when you’re adding cover crops to your operation – you need to think how they are going to fit into your operation and what adjustments you may need to make. The tips she shared were:

1. Start small
2. Look for easy entry points (such as planting cover crops after you harvest corn silage or seed corn, or on prevent plant acres)
3. Be flexible
4. Have a Plan A, but also be sure to have a Plan B and Plan C

One of the important parts of the cover crop planning process that Vittetoe discussed was deciding how you are going to plant your cover crops. Attendees of the field day got to get up close and personal with a plane used to aerially plant cover crops and hear from pilot John Thompson of Thompson Aero. Thompson was able to answer questions about the technical aspects of aerially applying cover crops and explain the way he seeds cover crops using his plane.

John Thompson with a plane he uses to aerially seed cover crops

The evening wrapped up with the group hearing about Linn County farmer Jason Russell’s personal experiences using cover crops. Russell had some great insight to share since he’s been successfully using cover crops for years. Russell reiterated Vittetoe’s advice to start small. He talked about how he uses a mix of cereal rye and wheat for his cover crops, that since starting to use cover crops he only has to apply nitrogen fertilizer once at the beginning of the season and his termination techniques.

Jason Russell talks about incorporating cover crops into his farming operation

If you want to learn more about incorporating cover crops into your farming operation, join us at a field day near you!

–Hilary Pierce

 

Conservation Stations Crisscross Iowa to Deliver Conservation Messages

If you’ve been to an Iowa county fair or attended an Iowa State University (ISU) extension field day covering water quality, conservation, cover crops, edge of field practices or a range of other topics, there’s a good chance you’ve seen or even visited a Conservation Station operated by Water Rocks! and Iowa Learning Farms. Last summer we hit the milestone of attending all 100 county fairs in Iowa – (yes 100, Pottawattamie County holds two.) The trailers also make appearances at community events, farmer’s markets and other settings.

The Conservation Stations are traveling resource centers and classrooms, staffed by ILF and Water Rocks! team members and interns, providing water quality and conservation education and outreach activities built on a foundation of science, research and best practices. These events also provide great learning opportunities for the team to sharpen trailer pulling and backing skills.

Rain, Rain, Don’t Wash our Soil Away
The idea for the first Conservation Station was germinated in the early years of Iowa Learning Farms (ILF) – which is celebrating 15 years in 2019. The precursor was a trailer equipped with a simple rainfall simulator for demonstrating soil erosion.

It was a good start, but frankly, it was a limited demonstration and the team quickly realized that they needed a more sophisticated rainfall simulator. In addition, ILF saw the potential to expand its impact by providing a broad canvas for education through visual, interactive and multimedia displays.

“We were awarded funding to purchase and develop a larger trailer and knew how to make a better rainfall simulator,” said Jacqueline Comito, executive director of Water Rocks! and ILF program director. “We just didn’t know how to realize our vision of a traveling and flexible unit. Ann Staudt joined the team to help us, and with her fresh ideas and creativity, the Conservation Station was born.”

The trailer, dubbed the Big Conservation Station, allowed space for an improved rainfall simulator as well as a walk-through learning lab. To facilitate use in different environments such as field days, outdoor classrooms and county fairs, the trailer accommodates interchangeable displays. Inside the learning lab, visual and multimedia presentations are designed to engage audiences in conversations and to elicit questions about conservation practices.

The learning lab was updated in 2018 to incorporate mixed-media artwork and enhanced messaging with the purpose of eliciting visitors’ hopes for Iowa.

ILF faculty adviser Matthew Helmers developed the new rainfall simulator which more accurately models both surface runoff and subsurface flow or drainage in tiled environments and uses soil blocks extracted from field environments to best parallel actual soil conditions in Iowa fields.

“The complexity of the new rainfall simulator was a challenge, but it also enabled us to tell a much more realistic story that farmers in Iowa could relate to,” noted Staudt.

A smaller trailer referred to as Conservation Station 3 was built specifically for outdoor classrooms and other youth activities. Along with a rainfall simulator, it is also equipped with the space to carry enough tables and chairs for students as well as a full complement of displays and activity resources.

Edge of Field Practice Demonstrations Expand Education Opportunities
In 2018, the original rainfall simulator trailer (which we called the Lil’ CS) was redesigned to become the Conservation Station on the Edge, addressing best practices for nutrient mitigation at the edge of tile-drained fields. Equipped with working saturated buffer and bioreactor models, this trailer takes the story of nutrient reduction to a deeper level. The demonstration stations allow the audience to see what happens within structures –that when implemented in a field are completely underground and out of sight.

Each Conservation Station includes interactive demonstrations that appeal to all backgrounds, ages and walks of life. Games such as the Poo Toss tend to appeal to youngsters but provide tangible lessons about waste runoff that pertains to everyone –whether they live on a farm or in a city. The Watershed Game is another highly visual interactive game that helps make the concepts of a watershed and how pollution moves with water easy to grasp.

“The Conservation Stations are filling a tremendous need by providing easy-to-understand information about water quality, conservation, agricultural best practices, and other topics of importance to all Iowans,” concluded Staudt. “We intend to continue to share this knowledge as frequently and in as many venues as we can.”

Find out where to see a Conservation Station near you
The Conservation Stations are used April through October. Check out the Water Rocks! website to request a visit (requests for summer events are being accepted now!).  In most circumstances, a Conservation Station can join an event at no cost, due to the generous funding received from our partners.

The Future Looks Bright

Back in late February, I made a decision to join the Water Rocks! team for the summer. Little did I know that decision would take me to every corner of the state, meeting countless new faces. I knew this summer was going to be an adventure but I had never guessed that it would be on such a great magnitude.

My name’s Wyatt Kaldenberg, a pretty standard farm boy from Southern Iowa. I grew up being surrounded by agriculture, on the family farm and got very familiar with the ins and outs of farm life. I soon realized it was difficult to get people not involved in agriculture to become interested in it. I think that’s what has surprised me most about this internship, people’s willingness to explore agriculture.Last week I was at an event in Eastern Iowa, with the Conservation Station. The Conservation Station is a trailer that features a Rainfall Simulator out the back, as well as an Enviroscape watershed model. At this event I was stationed at the Rainfall Simulator and answering questions from the occasional passerby.  A family of five stopped by the simulator. The dad told me that he had grown up on a farm but he had chosen not to farm as a career. Being in the same boat myself, we soon struck up a great conversation.

We talked about the importance of soil conservation and improving water quality. His three kids soon became interested in the rainfall simulator and started asking some questions themselves. “Why does that look like chocolate milk?,” one kid asked while pointing to the runoff from the intense tillage tray. I explained that working the soil could make it loose and how it could easily get washed away from the field if there was a big rainstorm. The answer satisfied her question and I told her that her and her siblings could learn more if they went to the side of the trailer and checked out the Enviroscape, or as we call it, the Watershed Game. The dad then said to me, “I want my kids to know about this stuff; a lot of people don’t realize how important it is.” I agreed and we talked for another minute or so before he thanked me for my time talking and joined his kids and wife at the Enviroscape.

Wyatt had the opportunity to present the Rainfall Simulator to both Lieutenant Governor Adam Gregg (L) and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig (R) at county fairs this summer!

Although I just described one conversation I’ve had while on this internship, this is not an unusual encounter. People from all over Iowa, agriculture background or not, want to learn more about how they can help maintain Iowa’s beauty. It’s nice to be able to tell them that no matter if they’ve lived on a farm their whole life or just seen cows from the interstate, they can help make a difference. I’m so ecstatic that I’m a part of a team that gets to spread that message. The future looks bright, Iowa.

–Wyatt Kaldenberg

Wyatt Kaldenberg, originally from Indianola, is participating in the 2018 Water Resources Internship Program. Kaldenberg grew up on a family farm and has served as an Assistant Commissioner with the Warren Co. Soil and Water Conservation District. In the fall, he will be starting his junior year at Iowa State University, majoring in Finance and Management with a minor in Ag Business.

Hitting 100 County Fairs in Iowa – We Did It!

Schools out, the crops are growing, and it’s July. Fair season is here.

First, let’s dispense with the confusion. Iowa has ninety-nine counties, but one-hundred county fairs. It’s a story for another time, but Pottawattamie County holds two. Since 2007, Iowa Learning Farms has been providing conservation education at county fairs across Iowa. In 2010, together with Water Rocks!, we set the goal to attend the fairs in every Iowa county. It took multiple seasons, but we achieved that objective at the Jones County Fair on July 19, 2018. Along the way, we’ve entertained and provided conservation outreach and education to tens of thousands of Iowans through one hundred seventy-four fair visits.

With three Conservation Station trailers and dedicated Water Rocks! and Iowa Learning Farms teams, some creative scheduling, and tricky logistics, we were at twenty-eight fairs in 2017, and are on track for twenty-six this summer.

Attending fairs in all ninety-nine counties doesn’t seem much of a feat until you consider that they all take place during the same few weeks each summer. Coordinating and scheduling the teams and equipment, working with tremendous local representatives at each stop, and responding to rain-outs, flat tires, and other hiccups, is a hectic but fulfilling job. At the end of the season, everyone involved gives a sigh of relief and accomplishment, and then looks forward to field days, workshops, and Water Rocks! school programs that fill up the rest of the year.

While we’re crisscrossing the state attending fairs, what should visitors expect from Water Rocks! and Iowa Learning Farms? A unique combination of information about conservation, farming techniques, and fun. Conservation is a choice that every Iowan must make for themselves, and we are dedicated to putting science-based information into the hands and heads of people of every age and background. Building a Culture of Conservation in Iowa is the core principle of the organizations.

Where else, but at the Conservation Station, can kids win prizes by picking up dog poo (fake) and tossing it into targets? And along the way, learn about animal waste from domesticated pets and livestock, that can pollute the rivers and streams that are a great source of recreation and drinking water throughout the state. The lessons resonate with the parents and grandparents too. We see it in their faces as they lean in to encourage the kids.

The approach encompasses multiple media to capture a visitor’s interest, regardless of their age or background. We use music, art, games, and scientific displays to tune the Culture of Conservation message to everyone.

The Conservation Station trailers incorporate art and science to demonstrate how no-till and cover crop techniques benefit the broader ecosystem through controlling nutrient loss and erosion.

Our new Conservation Station On The Edge trailer also includes working bioreactor and saturated buffer demonstrations that help farmers visualize how these might work on their farms. These structures, which work below the surface and out of view, have proven to reduce nitrate levels by as much as seventy percent.

This year, the Big Conservation Station’s walk-through learning lab has been outfitted with all new artwork depicting the past, present, and potential future of Iowa’s farming practices and environment. Through this original artwork, we solicit visitors to contemplate the future they hope for Iowa, and share those dreams through their own artistic contributions.

Throughout Iowa we’ve been welcomed and welcomed back. And when we return to a fair to see the same smiling faces ready to hear more about conservation, we know that we’re making progress on our mission. We’re excited to get back to each county as soon and as often as possible.

Come out to see the Conservation Stations and Water Rocks! at the following fairs this summer:

• July 20, Tama County
• July 20, Decatur County
• July 21, Poweshiek County
• July 21, Henry County
• July 23, Jasper County
• July 24, Story County
• July 25, Wayne County
• July 26, Monroe County
• July 26, Des Moines County
• July 27, Fayette County
• July 27, Crawford County
• July 28, Hancock County
• August 3, Clayton County
• August 4, Mitchell County

We’ll see you at the Fair!

–Liz Juchems

 

About Water Rocks! and Iowa Learning Farms:

Water Rocks! is a unique, award-winning statewide water education program that fosters the interplay of knowledge, caring and engagement among Iowa’s youth.

Established in 2004, Iowa Learning Farms (ILF) is building a Culture of Conservation by encouraging adoption of conservation practices. Farmers, researchers and ILF team members are working together to identify and implement the best management practices that improve water quality and soil health while remaining profitable.

Partners of Water Rocks! and Iowa Learning Farms include Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Iowa Department of Natural Resources (USEPA Section 319), Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

Request the Conservation Station for Your 2018 Summer Event Today!

If you have a summer camp, county fair, farmers market or other community event in need of unique and educational entertainment, look no further than the Conservation Station. We are currently accepting requests for community events in June and July 2018. Get your requests in by Wednesday, March 21 for priority consideration!

The Conservation Station brings with it a multitude of activities that educate and inspire children, adults and families to think deeper about the world around them. Our rainfall simulator demonstrates the impacts of land management choices on water quality. Our hands-on, interactive activities and games emphasize that, if everyone does their part, we can all make a difference in water quality in Iowa and beyond.

Do you want to include the Conservation Station at your community event? Request the Conservation Station for your event this summer! Get your requests in by Wednesday, March 21 for priority consideration!

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–Julie Winter

Little Conservation Station Available for FREE Check-out this Summer!

Would your organization or multi-day event benefit from having one of our Conservation Station trailers on-site? Then we have some great news for you!

Our Little Conservation Station trailer (Lil CS) is available for check-out this summer! But wait, we have even better news. Checking out our Lil CS is FREE! All you need to do is complete the online request form to make your request. Once approved, you will need to come to Iowa State University to pick it up, and return it after your event.

Our Lil CS trailer comes equipped with a rainfall simulator that demonstrates the impacts of land management choices on erosion and water quality.  We provide you with a detailed, illustrated instruction manual on hitching up the trailer, set up procedures, useful talking points for the rainfall simulator, and tear down instructions, to assure your success with the entire process. Check out more information about our Conservation Station fleet by visiting our Conservation Station webpage.

Get Your Requests in for the Conservation Station Today!

If you have a summer camp, county fair, farmers market or other community event in need of unique and educational entertainment, look no further than the Conservation Station. We are currently accepting requests for community events in June, July and August 2017.

The Conservation Station brings with it a multitude of activities that educate and inspire children, adults and families to think deeper about the world around them. Our rainfall simulator demonstrates the impacts of land management choices on water quality. Our hands-on, interactive activities and games emphasize that, if everyone does their part, we can all make a difference in water quality in Iowa and beyond.

Do you want to include the Conservation Station in your summer camp, county fair, farmers market or other community event? Request the Conservation Station for your event this summer!

2016 Highlights: Summer Events Across Iowa 

–Julie Whitson

Conservation, Water Quality, Dog Poo, and Rock Walls… recapping my experiences at county fairs!

This guest blog post was written by Jessica Rehmann, a high school intern with the Water Rocks! team.  Jessica is beginning her senior year at Ames High School this fall, where she is actively involved with music (playing saxophone in band/jazz band), athletics (cross country/ track), and more. And no, you are not seeing double… Emily Rehmann (previous blogger and summer intern) and Jessica Rehmann are identical twins!

As a summer intern with Water Rocks! and Iowa Learning Farms, I have been traveling around the state with the Conservation Station to many county fairs. Our goal is to educate fair attendees about water quality and watersheds with the Enviroscape model, the Rainfall Simulator, the Learning Lab trailer posters and videos, and the Poo Toss game. We also sometimes have free popcorn for the people who visit our station! I have enjoyed teaching kids (and adults!) about the Enviroscape and Poo Toss game.

Teaching the Enviroscape at the Dallas County Fair!

With the Enviroscape model, we want to help people see the effects of pollution and rainfall within a watershed. Because the Enviroscape is a three-dimensional model of a watershed, we start by discussing what a watershed is. To make the point that a watershed is an area of land where all the water drains to a common point, I ask kids to make a cup with their hands to represent the watershed and a landscape (or as fellow intern Megan calls it, a “handscape”). We choose places on our “handscape” for our homes, the fairgrounds, and maybe a store. Next we pretend-rain on our hands and determine where the water would go. The kids realize that in their watershed, the water that rains on their houses and the water that rains on the fair would all go to one place, the lowest point on the landscape. In the Enviroscape watershed, they guess that the common point that water drains to is the lake.

An overhead view of the Enviroscape watershed model, clean and ready for teaching.

Next, we add pollution to the watershed. I invite the kids to take a tour through the watershed first to get an idea of where pollution could be. The model includes a neighborhood, forest, factory, roads, vehicles, construction site, golf course, farm, pasture, rivers, and lake. We add loose soil (the biggest polluter of water in Iowa), fertilizer, pesticides/herbicides, oil, and manure to the watershed. The kids will often guess what the powders representing the pollutants are, and they are surprisingly accurate, especially with the lime Kool-Aid representing fertilizer!

Megan Koppenhafer, fellow intern, adding loose soil to the watershed, with an eager repeat visitor (in stripes), at the Audubon County Fair.

Jessica Rehmann adding oil to the landscape (Brian Stout looks on) at the Dallas Co. Fair.

After we have added pollutants to the watershed, the kids summon their inner rain clouds and make a big rainstorm on the Enviroscape with squirt bottles. As the rain hits the ground, it carries the pollutants with it as everything runs downhill to the lake. The kids are often surprised that all the pollutants run into the lake and cause the lake to become disgusting and polluted. They declare that they would not like to drink or swim in the water and that the plants and animals in and around the lake would not be happy.

Making it rain on the Enviroscape with Megan (above) and Jessica (lower right)! The lake on the top left is definitely polluted (see clean lake picture above to compare).

Then we discuss what we could do differently to help the water in the watershed stay cleaner. The kids can often come up with fixing leaky cars and boats, using less fertilizers and pesticides, and picking up after dogs. I also explain checking the forecast for no rain before applying fertilizers and pesticides, planting buffer strips along fields, using cover crops, planting plants on loose soil, and more.

Jessica Rehmann demonstrating where a buffer strip could go and how it would work.

After learning what they can do to help the watershed, Conservation Station visitors get to play the Poo Toss game. In the Poo Toss game, kids learn to properly dispose of dog waste in order to reduce nutrients and bacteria from getting into water. Once they bag the waste, they can toss it into waste buckets to win prizes. The kids enjoy playing the game and like to see other parts of the Conservation Station or come back and do the same activities again! A couple kids kept coming back with more friends to replay the Poo Toss, or see the Enviroscape and Rainfall Simulator!

Kids trying their hand at the Poo Toss to win prizes from the treasure chest with intern Megan Koppenhafer and staffer Ben Schrag.

While the Enviroscape and Poo Toss were the main activities I was involved with, the Conservation Station offers multiple other learning opportunities, as well. The Rainfall Simulator includes parcels of land that show different land management practices, including no tillage, minimum/conservation tillage, intense tillage, cover crops, urban environment (pavement), and a green roof. A rain machine mists the trays, and there are jars below to collect the surface runoff as well as water that infiltrates (soaks into the land). The jars show the amount and the cleanliness of the water that comes from each plot. Inside the Conservation Station trailer, people can walk through the Learning Lab and check out fun Water Rocks! videos and posters about conservation practices and water quality.

Top: Brian Stout presents the rainfall simulator lesson to a group of kids and adults – we talk to people of all ages at county fairs! Below: Kids checking out videos and posters in the Learning Lab, inside the Big Conservation Station trailer.

We invited one enthusiastic girl (in pink) to help teach the Rainfall Simulator (with the help of staffer Ann Staudt) to her cousin, which she excitedly did at the Dallas County Fair.

In the quieter moments of the fairs (to be expected with some smaller counties and extreme heat), I enjoyed watching a mud run, walking around the fairgrounds, climbing a rock wall, and meeting Cy!

Ben Schrag (left) and Jessica Rehmann (right) scale the rock wall at the Audubon County Fair!

Cy visits the Conservation Station – two thumbs up for conservation!

I hadn’t been to any small county fairs before, so it was an interesting experience to see what they had to offer. I had a great time traveling the state with the Conservation Station and teaching about water quality!

The sun sets after a good day at the Dallas County Fair.

–Jessica Rehmann

ILF hosts visitor from the north

On Thursday, June 27, ILF hosted a special visitor to campus – Mitchell Timmerman, Nutrient Management Specialist with the Manitoba (CA) Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives.  

Timmerman has been in communication with the ILF team for the past year and a half to discuss the possibility of building a Canadian version of the rainfall simulator/Conservation Station.  We have provided his team with numerous photographs of the rainfall simulator as well as links to our YouTube videos, but there’s nothing quite like seeing it up close and in person!   Timmerman accepted our invitation to visit the ISU campus and spend the full day visiting with our team about the design of our Conservation Station fleet, evaluation of our outreach programs, and taking hundreds of photos of the inner workings of the trailer fleet.

It was very interesting to hear from Mr. Timmerman about the similarities and differences, as well as challenges and opportunities, related to agricultural production in Manitoba compared to Iowa.    Their cropping systems include several different kinds of beans (soybeans, field beans and edible beans – although he wasn’t exactly sure how to explain the differences!), canola, flax, sunflowers, and more.

Southern Manitoba, where Timmerman is located, is in the heart of the Lake Winnipeg watershed.  Lake Winnipeg has experienced high levels of nutrient loading and frequent algal blooms in previous years.   They face some of the same challenges we do here in the Upper Midwest, in terms of it being a very large watershed with a diversity of land management practices and agricultural production, like the Mississippi River Basin.

Spring snowmelt (shown above) is also a big challenge, and Timmerman’s MAFRI group has designed a portable snowmelt demonstration to help demonstrate the impacts of snowmelt on sediment and nutrient transport.

We wish them best of luck in designing and building their own rainfall simulator, and we were happy to share what we’ve learned  in building and traveling with our fleet of three Conservation Station trailers.

On a closing note, Happy Canada Day to our neighbors to the north!