208 Main St
Roland, IA 50236
USA
Strip-Tillage and Water Quality Field Day at the Roland Community Center
Iowa Learning Farms, along with Natural Resources Conservation Service and Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, will host a cover crop, strip-tillage and water quality field day. The free event is open to the public and includes a complimentary meal. Reservations are suggested to ensure adequate space and food.
Brian Sampson, a Story County farmer, will discuss his transition to strip-tillage and addition of cover crops. Also, he will talk about his experience with the conservation planning process with the NRCS and with Iowa Learning Farms. Further, Sampson grows corn and soybeans and manages a feeder cattle operation. As a participant in the Conservation Learning Lab project, he has as a result seeded cover crops and implemented strip-tillage on over 40 percent of the nearby research watershed acres.
The field day agenda will continue with Matt Helmers, Iowa State University professor and extension ag and biosystems engineer. He will be highlighting the research behind the Conservation Learning Lab project. Helmers will lead a discussion of conservation practices that can help improve soil health and water quality. ISU Extension and Outreach cropping specialist Mark Licht will lead a discussion on improving soil health with practices that reduce soil erosion.
Water Quality and Soil Health Solutions
Currently, Iowa is in the early years of implementing the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (NRS). This is a science-based plan that will take decades to accomplish. It can take more than one in-field or edge-of-field practice to reach nutrient reduction goals as experience and research has shown. In tile-drained landscapes, nitrate is a key focus. As a result, the combination of practices needed to reduce nitrate loss may include cover crops, adaptive management of nutrient application rates and timing, along with practices like bioreactors or saturated buffers.
Held at the Roland Community Center, 208 Main Street, Roland, will be the field day. Guys with Grills BBQ will prepare the complementary meal. Furthermore, the event is free and open to the public. Also, reservations are suggested to ensure adequate space and food.
For more information about Iowa Learning Farms, visit their website.
