Join Us for an Event Near You!

We have a full slate of events coming up and hope to see you at one near you! From in-field practices like cover crops and strip-till to practices looking at reducing nitrate coming from tile drainage systems like bioreactors and a Smart Agricultural Drainage System using a robot to measure nitrate concentration, we have an event for you.

Please RSVP to ilf@iastate.edu or call 515-294-5429.

Cover Crop and Precision Planting Field Day
May 30, 2024 | 5:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Location
Brandon McHugh Farm – Bin Site
1667 Racine Trail
Woodbine, IA 51579

Smart Agricultural Drainage Systems Workshop
June 4, 2024 | 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Location
Borlaug Learning Center
3327 290th St
Nashua, IA 50658

Smart Agricultural Drainage Systems Workshop
June 5, 2024 | 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Location
Northwest Research Farm
6320 500th Street
Sutherland, IA 51058

Smart Agricultural Drainage Systems Workshop
For Conservation Professionals and Crop Advisors
June 6, 2024 | 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Location
ISU Field Extension Education Laboratory (FEEL) Farm
1928 240th St
Boone, IA 50036

Strip-Till and Bioreactor Field Day
June 11, 2024 | 10:30am – 12:30pm
Location
Kristi Heffelmeier Farm
14745 Hammond Ave
Buckingham, IA 50612

Conservation On Tap
June 13, 2024 | 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Location
Confluence Brewing Company
1235 Thomas Beck Rd
Des Moines, IA 50315
In partnership with Des Moines Water Works

Pollinator and CRP Field Day
June 27, 2024 | 10:30am – 12:30pm
Location
Pete Tollenaere Farm
2497 Kelp Ave
Fairfield, IA 52556
In partnership with Pathfinders RC&D, Iowa DNR & National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

March 2024 Webinar Rewind

You get a webinar! And you get a webinar! EVERYBODY GETS A WEBINAR!

Does Tile Drainage Pay if You Only Get 20 inches of Precipitation?: Learn about the impacts of tile installed at a research plot in Northern Minnesota that receives very little precipitation. In short, adding the tile did improve growing conditions and had very little or no yield impact in the dry years.

Winter Cover Crop Effects on the Optimum N Rate of Corn Across Multi-state Field Experiments: It is no surprise that managing nitrogen is difficult. Dr. Hanna Poffenbarger discusses how different cover crop mixes affect nitrogen availability. Mixing a legume in with cereal rye is proven to improve nutrient cycling, reducing the need to add more fertilizer each year.

Grazing Cattle on Covers: If you have cattle, cover crops, or both, this is the webinar for you! Patrick Wall discusses different cover crops species best suited for grazing, when to graze, and other resources needed like a water source. Most importantly, Wall emphasized having a plan and remaining flexible.

Motivating Conservation Action in the Upper Midwest: Linking Attention, Communications, and Land Management Decisions: What role do communications play in conservation practice adoption? Learn all about how farmers and landowners hear about different practices and if they are influenced to make changes.

Blast from the Past: March 2, 2022 – Women’s Farm Organizations: Protecting Status Quo or Transforming Agriculture?: Women are often overlooked in agriculture. This webinar is a great look at how organizations, not just for women but for any excluded group, can create structural change and opportunities for more people in the agricultural world.

If you were wondering, yes I do feel like Oprah telling you about all these awesome webinars.

–Alena Whitaker

Farming with the Future in Mind

Todd Coffelt is an Iowa Learning Farms farmer partner from Leon, Iowa. There he raises beef cattle with his two brothers, Chris and Paul, on their family farm in Decatur County. Todd classifies them all as weekend farmers and they have put in a lot of weekends over the years setting up a rotational grazing system across multiple pasture paddocks. They also maintain a few acres in a corn-soybean rotation and save all of the corn to feed the cows and finish the calves. The Coffelts are passionate about keeping the farm they grew up on an active farm and take great pride in their cattle herd. “It’s a hobby farm, but it’s not just a hobby,” said Todd.

For twenty-five years Todd and his brothers have been raising cattle on the hills of southern Iowa. Many changes have been made to the pasture since the three brothers started farming, the main one – setting up a 21–28-day rotational grazing system. Initially, the pastures were all one big area as their dad had removed fences years prior. As a result, the Coffelts were dealing with soil health, forage health, and water quality issues – as well as cattle hopping fences.

“We started with 4 paddocks, then went up to 5, and now we’re at 7 because it works,” said Todd. Managing the pasture is much more than moving the cattle between paddocks. The Coffelts have also installed cattle waterers that hook up to the tile lines from the ponds that are in the pasture. The ponds are fenced to keep the cattle from entering. As a backup, the waterers are also connected to rural water. This ensures that every paddock has a water source. Todd said, “You can’t graze if you don’t have water. For all seven paddocks to be used you need water, dependable water.”

“We’re really focused on forage health. Rotational grazing is awesome, but additional management like a cutting to get rid of weeds is needed sometimes,” said Todd. It is constantly a learning process for Todd, but he enjoys working with his brothers to find solutions. The goal with their whole system is for it to not only work this year, but many years to come. “The animal health is better, the forage health is better, but it’s a process and it doesn’t stop,” said Todd.

Another way Todd and his brothers have added efficiency to their operation is by switching to a fall calving season and shortening the breeding window to 60 days. After four years of this approach, they have an 87% birth rate. If a cow misses the window, they set up a second breeding window for spring. “We have a healthy herd, healthy bulls, and we’re utilizing the resources better than they’ve ever been,” said Todd.

“We’ve learned a lot from conservation professionals, ag retailers, and neighbors over the years and we’ve in turn been able to share our knowledge with others,” said Todd. Sharing information and learning from others starts a conversation. “People have experience with what you’re trying to do, you’re never the first one to do it,” said Todd.

–Alena Whitaker

The Coolest Drainage Plots in the US

Across much of the agricultural Midwest, tile drainage has been widely utilized for decades to facilitate crop production in areas where wetness limits crop productivity. However, as you journey north to the Red River Basin of northwest Minnesota, you’ll encounter a landscape where tile drainage is largely in its infancy.

The most recent episode of the Iowa Learning Farms Conservation Webinar Series takes us up north to the University of Minnesota-Crookston to some of the newest AND coolest drainage plots in the US (literally … their average annual temperature is 40°F)!  With average annual precipitation of 23” and such a short growing season, is tile drainage worth it?

Dr. Lindsay Pease, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Nutrient and Water Management, explores numerous facets of this question in her recent talk Does Tile Drainage Pay if You Only Get 20 inches of Precipitation?.

Pease’s drainage plots were established in Fall 2019 – with drained and undrained plots side-by-side. Their current crop rotation includes wheat and soybean. 

With four full seasons of crop production now under their belts, tile drainage was found to—

• Boost crop yields in wet years (little/no yield impact in dry years)
• Allow production to be more consistent year-to-year
• Result in drier soybeans in the drained plots (potential to harvest earlier)
• Move nitrogen down deeper in the soil profile

Check out Pease’s full presentation, Does Tile Drainage Pay if You Only Get 20 inches of Precipitation?, for further details on this research—and for all the dog people out there, you can look forward to several appearances by this most delightful Corgi field research assistant!

To catch up on any other webinars in the ILF Conservation Webinar series, all past presentations are archived on the ILF Webinars page for your viewing pleasure.

–Ann Staudt

Drainage Tile Economics in Dry and Wet Years

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, March 6, featuring Lindsay Pease, Ph.D., assistant professor and extension specialist in Nutrient and Water Management, University of Minnesota –  Northwest Research and Outreach Center. Pease’s work evaluates the performance of agricultural best management practices in one of the coolest agricultural regions of the U.S.: the Red River Valley of the North.

In the webinar, “Does Tile Drainage Pay if You Only Get 20 inches of Precipitation?,” Pease will highlight both economic and environmental performance and impacts of tile drainage systems in areas with severe drought conditions. She will report on outcomes and observations from a new subsurface tile drainage system that was installed at the Northwest Research & Outreach Center in Crookston, Minnesota, in the fall of 2019. Pease will also share tracked data from this system since its installation. Years in which the region experienced one year of heavy rainfall and three years of drought – all at 20 inches of annual precipitation or less.

“Installation of a subsurface drainage system is a major investment,” said Pease. “With several years of drought on the books, farmers may wonder whether this investment is worth the upfront cost. The Red River Valley of the North’s short growing season and low annual precipitation makes it an excellent test case for whether or not you can expect a return when dealing with extreme conditions. I hope that participants in this webinar will take away a new perspective on farming in extreme conditions that will help them plan ahead and manage proactively under extreme conditions.”

Webinar participants are encouraged to ask questions of the presenters. People from all backgrounds and areas of interest are encouraged to join.

Webinar Access Instructions

To participate in the live webinar, shortly before noon CST March 6:

Click this URL, or type this web address into your internet browser: https://iastate.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xtAwWXycQZW8iwtNLz34GA#/registration

Or, go to https://iastate.zoom.us/join and enter webinar ID: 999 3709 5398

Or join from a dial-in phone line:

Dial: +1 646 876 9923

Meeting ID: 999 3709 5398

The webinar will also be recorded and archived on the ILF website, so that it can be watched at any time. Archived webinars are available at https://www.iowalearningfarms.org/webinars For a list of upcoming webinars visit https://www.iowalearningfarms.org/events-1

A Certified Crop Adviser board-approved continuing education unit (CEU) has been applied for. Those who participate in the live webinar are eligible. Information about how to apply to receive the credit will be provided at the end of the live webinar.

Increasing Efficiency with Conservation

Paul Kassel farms in Clay County and was an ISU Extension Field Agronomist in Northwest Iowa for many years before retiring in 2021. Living just 20 miles from the farm where he grew up, Paul grows corn, no-till soybeans, and puts a cover crop on in the fall to overwinter. His father was a Soil and Water District Commissioner who instilled Paul’s conservation ethic early. Paul added to his introductory conservation education by attending Iowa State University, where he received his undergraduate and master’s degrees in agronomy.

In 1995, Paul harvested his first crop while renting from a landlord who approved trialing no-till soybeans. Paul later purchased that farm from his landlord and since has added more acres to his operation. “Switching to conservation practices like no-till was for ease of operation,” said Paul. “The speed of spring planting is faster and weed control is easier to manage. As an added perk, I haven’t seen any yield penalty.”

Paul is not the first person to have implemented no-till and estimates that over half of soybeans grown in his area are no-till soybeans. He has been able to see how conservation works, whether at a field day interacting with a farmer trying a new practice or seeing a neighbor’s field while driving down the road. Just 20 minutes away, the majority of farmers disc in the fall after corn. “There isn’t a big difference in soil types or slopes, it’s just the norm in that area to disc,” said Paul. “Being able to see practices and knowing the people that make them work makes a difference.”

Over the years, Paul has added tile drainage to many acres to ensure the fields aren’t too wet. With this comes his concern for water quality as nitrate, either from manure or chemical fertilizers, can enter local water sources and continue downstream. To help combat this, Paul has been applying a cover crop to his fields in the fall. While he has struggled with establishment in recent years because of how little precipitation has occurred, he noted “To me cover crops planted after corn stalks going into a soybean crop is so easy to do; I just wish it was more successful. Being so busy in the fall, sometimes we don’t get done with harvest until November and then it’s too late.” Adding, “If you don’t get the growth, you don’t get the benefits.”

“As acreages get bigger, the need to be more efficient rises. A way to do it is with less tillage and new technology,” said Paul. Exploring the machinery and technology changes occurring in agriculture is an interest of Paul’s. He believes that new technologies will lead to better care of the land. In 2017, he upgraded to equipment with yield mapping capabilities which allows him to track cost per acre. “I’m given peace of mind knowing I’m doing all this and still profitable,” explained Paul.  

Being involved in agriculture for many years, Paul has seen numerous changes but contends that farming hasn’t changed too much. He still watches and waits for the crop to grow, manages problems as they arise, and works to protect soil health and water quality while remaining profitable.

–Alena Whitaker

January 2024 Webinar Rewind

We kicked off the webinar series for 2024 with a bang! 5 awesome webinars that I think you should all tune in and watch if you haven’t had the chance.

How do we Best Define and Promote Soil Health?: Carbon sequestration, it’s talked about a lot, but what does it look like for soils in Iowa? What does soil health even mean? Join for a lively discussion from Dr. Mike Castellano and be sure to watch through the questions and answers section.

Managing Saturated Buffers in a Flat Field: Impacts on Flow and Nitrate Load Treatment: When farming in a flat field, drainage is key to prevent standing water. Nitrate leaving the field is still a concern, so ISU graduate student Gabe Johnson has been researching ways to implement saturated buffers in areas with little slope. That way the landowner gets the benefit of contributing to nitrate reduction without flooding their crops.

Tile-Drainage Decision Tool Helps Manage Agricultural Land and Reduce Nitrogen Pollution: Breaking down watersheds to smaller delivery scale size areas of land to model nitrogen pollution. Delivery scale means the area of land before a stream, think you and your neighbors’ fields. Dr. Chaoqun (Crystal) Lu talks about how they got the information for building their model to reduce nitrogen pollution while maintaining current crop production levels.

Engaging Farms in Conservation Leadership: Peer-to-peer support networks for farmers interested in conservation. Learn from Dr. Amanda Gumbert about a variety of approaches to facilitate farmers educating farmers across the Mississippi River Basin.

Community Approaches to Pesticide Resistance Management: Pesticide Resistance is growing, there are currently 17 unique resistant weeds just here in Iowa. Farmers agree that they don’t want the government involved to require farmers to use a plan to manage weeds, but they are open to farmer-led organizations with the goal of reducing pests. Tune in to hear quotes from farmers Dr. Katherine Dentzman has interviewed in Iowa and across the nation.

Blast from the Past: January 5, 2022 – Root Causes of Manure Spills: 15 Years of Oops, Oh Crap! And ‘How the Heck Did That Happen???’: Manure spills, they happen, either because of storage overflow, runoff from open feedlots, improper application to fields, equipment failure, and the smallest amount are deliberate. As a result of more reporting and a clear system for reporting, manure management has improved. Check out the full recording with Dr. Kevin Erb  to hear more about how to prevent accidental spills and mitigate environmental damage.

–Alena Whitaker

Modeling at Different Scales for Nitrogen Pollution Reduction

Last week Dr. Chaoqun (Crystal) Lu presented a webinar titled, Tile-drainage Decision Tool Helps Manage Agricultural Land and Reduce Nitrogen Pollution. In this webinar, Dr. Lu not only explained the why behind the tool, but also showed many results of nitrogen pollution from variations in land cover and management, including tile-drainage.  

Dr. Lu discussed modeling a small scale of a 30 x 30-meter plot compared to a delivery scale sized area of land compared to a much larger watershed scale area of land. The reason being, when a scale changes, new information is available to be considered. The main goal is to reduce nitrogen pollution all while at a minimum sustaining current crop production levels.  

Join us for our next webinar, Wednesday, January 24 with Dr. Amanda Gumbert from the University of Kentucky, discussing Engaging Farms in Conservation Leadership. Tune into any of our previous webinars found in our archives to learn about cover crops, edge-of-field practices, wildlife, and much more! 

–Alena Whitaker  

Tile-drainage Decision Tools for Nitrogen Pollution Reduction

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Jan. 17, featuring Chaoqun Lu, associate professor in ecosystem ecology, Iowa State University. Lu’s research utilizes data and a modeling approach to understand and quantify how land and ecosystems respond to change in climate, land use and human activities. She also studies how ecosystem dynamics feed back into the climate system and human society.

In the webinar, “Tile-drainage Decision Tool Helps Manage Agricultural Land and Reduce Nitrogen Pollution,” Lu will provide an update on a new decision support approach that can help farmers predict and optimize nutrient reduction practices. She will discuss current nitrogen application practices which often surpass crop demands, land management practices aimed at reducing nitrogen pollution leaving farm fields, and the challenges facing those who are making operational and management decisions. Lu will also share current efforts to test and improve a model operating at a resolution of 30 x 30 meters utilizing long-term catchment-level water quality monitoring data from central Iowa. And she addresses the role of quantitative assessment in balancing agricultural production and environmental impact goals.

“We are hopeful that we will deliver a quantitative assessment and prediction tool offering a holistic view that enables the agricultural enterprise to sustain or improve crop production without harming the environment and protect the environment without harming crop yields,” said Lu. “Quantification of nitrogen pollution is challenging as it involves fluctuations in weather and human activities. Development and refinement of tools to address this challenge will take a team effort and long-term collaboration between field and modeling work to help build predictive accuracy.”

Webinar participants are encouraged to ask questions of the presenters. People from all backgrounds and areas of interest are encouraged to join.

Webinar Access Instructions

To participate in the live webinar, shortly before noon CST Jan. 17, 2024:

Click this URL, or type this web address into your internet browser: https://iastate.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xtAwWXycQZW8iwtNLz34GA#/registration

Or, go to https://iastate.zoom.us/join and enter webinar ID: 999 3709 5398

Or join from a dial-in phone line:

Dial: +1 646 876 9923

Meeting ID: 999 3709 5398

The webinar will also be recorded and archived on the ILF website, so that it can be watched at any time. Archived webinars are available at https://www.iowalearningfarms.org/webinars For a list of upcoming webinars visit https://www.iowalearningfarms.org/events-1

A Certified Crop Adviser board-approved continuing education unit (CEU) has been applied for. Those who participate in the live webinar are eligible. Information about how to apply to receive the credit will be provided at the end of the live webinar.

Are Saturated Buffers Effective in Flat Fields?

When it comes to water quality issues related to agriculture, the first thing that often comes to mind is nitrate. With roughly half of Iowa’s farm land being tile drained, it’s important to understand how we can utilize nitrate reducing practices across all landscapes. In our most recent webinar, Managing Saturated Buffers in a Flat Field: Impacts on Flow and Nitrate Load Treatment, we hear from Gabe Johnson on how practices like saturated buffers can be used on even the flattest landscapes. 

Over time, researchers have found that saturated buffers do well at removing nitrate from water when properly designed and sited. They have also found limitations, one being that saturated buffers in flat fields are not ideal Through his study at the Tesdell farm, Johnson has been better able to understand the management practices needed to make this system work on flat fields. Because these fields are flat, a heightened water table can have a negative impact on crops. Where some farmers can “set it and forget it”, those with flat fields must always keep drainage in mind. 

By learning management needs and monitoring the quality of water leaving the field, Johnson is looking to make saturated buffers an option for all landscapes. To learn more about saturated buffers in flat areas, check out this week’s webinar here. Also, tune in next week to hear from Chaoqun Lu on Developing a Decision Support Tool to Manage Tile-Drained Agricultural Landscape and Reduce Nitrogen Pollution and check out past webinars in our archives.

-Mitch Harting