A February 11 webinar, open to the public through Iowa State University, will explore results of the Climate and Corn-based Cropping Systems Coordinated Agricultural Project. Researchers have been working on this major Corn Belt wide project since 2011 and have documented 130 findings, some of which will be explored during the webinar.

CORN FARMING: A major USDA-funded research project involving ISU and other universities is focused on farming practices and their potential for making corn-based agriculture more resilient. Practices include reducing soil and nutrient loss, retaining carbon in soil and ensuring crop and soil productivity.

The five-year USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture research project is nearing completion. It is led by Lois Wright Morton, a professor of sociology at ISU. In 2011, Morton convened 140 researchers from 10 land-grant universities in the Corn Belt, along with researchers from USDA’s Ag Research Service, to begin a study of farmers’ perceptions and farm management practices.

The various practices have potential to provide resilience in times of drought, reduce soil and nutrient losses under saturated soil conditions, decrease field nitrogen losses, retain carbon in the soil and ensure crop and soil productivity. The researchers collected measurements at 35 field sites with diverse landscapes and soils, and from surveys of thousands of Midwest farmers, entering all data into one database for the team’s use.

Fact sheets, videos and project publications available
The project’s extension educators worked to ensure the findings could be used by farmers, crop advisers, teachers and students of agriculture and other extension educators, during project years and beyond. More than 60 fact sheets, videos and other project publications are available at http://store.extension.iastate.edu/Topic/Crops/Climate-and-Agriculture. 

In 2016, project researchers will continue cross-disciplinary integration of the data and publish recommendations focused on combining various practices for optimum results. 

You are encouraged to tune-in to February 11 webinar
The live, Adobe Connect webinar will take place Feb. 11 from 1 to 3 p.m. (Central time) at http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/sustainablecorn/. For audio call (888) 450-5996; passcode 424492#. The recording (visual and audio) will be available afterwards, at www.sustainablecorn.org. Topics include tillage and drainage water management, cover crops and farmer adaptation to the impacts of climate change. Certified Crop Advisers, Certified Professional Agronomists, and Certified Professional Soil Scientists can receive CEUs for attending the webinar. 

For more information about the webinar and the project, go to www.sustainablecorn.org.