If you have questions about putting cover crops to work on your farm, plan to attend an upcoming field day sponsored by Iowa Learning Farms. A cover crop field day will be held March 17 near Indianola in south-central Iowa. A second field day is set for March 18 near Grand Mound in eastern Iowa. A third field day will take place near Grinnell in east-central Iowa. 

Cover crops continue to grow in popularity in Iowa due to their many benefits, including reduced soil erosion, weed suppression potential, reduced nitrogen and phosphorus loads entering water bodies, and increased soil organic matter.

Fall 2019 was another difficult harvest season. With the priority on getting to the crop in the field, there was limited time to complete fall tillage. 

Cover crops and no-tillage work together to help increase water infiltration and reduce erosion during the heavy rains. These upcoming field days can equip attendees with a good termination plan and best management practices to maintain yields during the transition to a higher residue system of no-tillage and cover crops. 

Following are the three field days:

March 17 in Warren County. Iowa Learning Farms, Iowa State University Extension, the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District, and the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Iowa will host a cover crop field day from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. March 17 in Agri-Tech Aviation’s airplane hangar, 12871 Geneva St., Indianola. 

The agenda will include:

Also, an optional tour of the airplanes and hangar will be available following the program. The event is free and includes a meal. The whole family can attend, but reservations are suggested to ensure adequate space and food. For accommodations and to register, contact to Liz Ripley at 515-294-5429 or [email protected]. 

March 18 in Clinton County. Iowa Learning Farms and NRCS will host a cover crop and soil health field day from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. March 1, at the Campbell Farm, 2260 U.S. Highway 30, Grand Mound. From Grand Mound, head west on U.S. Highway 30 for 0.5 mile. The farm is located on north side of the road, and field day signs will mark the driveway to enter. The event is free, open to the family and includes complimentary meal. 

The workshop agenda will include a panel of local farmers who are using cover crops and no-till in their farming operations. Also speaking are:

March 24 in Poweshiek County. ILF, ISU Extension and Poweshiek County SWCD will host a cover crop field day from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. March 24 at Roger Van Donselaar’s Farm, 511 Sixth Ave. W, Grinnell. The event is free, is open to the whole family and includes a complimentary meal. 

The workshop agenda will include:

Weather permitting, there will be a short tour of cover crops nearby following the program. The workshop is free; reservations are suggested to ensure adequate space and food. For accommodations and to RSVP, contact Liz Ripley at 515-294-5429 or [email protected]. Iowa Learning Farms field days and workshops are supported by NRCS.

Source: ILF, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all of its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.