As fall cover crops go into the ground, many farmers have questions about how to best manage cover crops and achieve benefits such as soil health and nitrate retention. Mike Castellano will share his research on how cover crops can best be managed to maximize benefits during Iowa Learning Farms’ monthly webinar on Wednesday, September 21. Castellano is the William T. Frankenberger professor of soil science and an associate professor in the department of agronomy at Iowa State University.

The webinar is free for you to tune-in, and all that is needed to participate is a computer with Internet access.

Cover crop webinar to focus on soil health and nitrate retention

COVER CROP QUESTIONS: Iowa Learning Farms will host a webinar on managing cover crops to improve soil health and retain nitrate in farm fields. The webinar is Wednesday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m. and is free and open to anyone interested in cover crop management.

“Future gains in crop production and environmental quality will require a systems approach that integrates many disciplines,” Castellano says. To achieve this vision, Castellano uses expertise in soil science and ecosystem ecology to work with a broad range of scientists, managers and policymakers. He has a PhD in soil science from Pennsylvania State University.

The Iowa Learning Farms webinars are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. To log in, go to connect.extension.iastate.edu/ilf/ at 1 p.m. on the afternoon of the webinar and log in through the “guest” option. Webinar participants can ask questions during the presentation using the chat function. The webinar will be recorded and archived on the Iowa Learning Farms website for viewing at any time at iowalearningfarms.org/page/webinars.

ILF has hosted a webinar every month since January 2011. To date, there are 68 webinars to view on a wide range of topics including soil erosion, water quality, cover crops and farmer perspectives.

Established in 2004, Iowa Learning Farms is building a Culture of Conservation, 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 ILF are Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship, Iowa State University Extension, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa Natural Resources Conservation Service and Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Conserva­tion Districts of Iowa, Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa Water Center and Practical Farmers of Iowa. For more information visit the website iowalearningfarms.org.