Iowa Learning Farms (ILF) will host a timely virtual field day on Wednesday, Sep. 23, at 1 p.m. CT. The event, which is available at no cost, will feature a live discussion with Mike Castellano, William T. Frankenberger Professor of soil science at Iowa State University, and Justin Glisan, State Climatologist of Iowa, moderated by Matt Helmers, Iowa Nutrient Research Center Director.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Sep. 16, featuring Liz Stahl, extension educator – crops, and Anna Cates, associate professor and extension specialist, University of Minnesota. Stahl’s education and research efforts include corn and soybean management with a focus on weed management, pesticide safety, integrated pest management and cover crops. Cates’ research focuses on soil organic matter and cropping systems, as well as environmental and agronomic outcomes of conservation.

The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy calls for a 45% reduction in nitrogen (263 million pounds) to shrink the size of the deadzone in the gulf. In the most recent ILF webinar, Chris Hay poses the question, "What if we estimate nitrogen reduction in pounds?".  By looking at bioreactors' ability to remove nitrogen (N) by pounds we can answer site-level questions. Like, which installations are underperforming?

Nicole Vernon has been a part of her family’s Jones County operation all of her life. When the opportunity arose for her to purchase her own farm in 2016, she jumped at the chance. Alongside her parents, Jeff and Shielly Monck, and her husband, Jon, Nicole has since taken strides to expand her operation while improving the quality of Iowa’s natural resources.

As we conclude the third year of our relay intercropping demonstration project, cereal rye grain production continued to show variability across sites, reinforcing the importance of multi-year evaluations to better understand crop performance under diverse environmental conditions. Data collected from six farmer partners across the state provide insight into rye yield trends in a relay intercropping system from 2024 through 2026 and illustrate the influence of weather and site-specific conditions on grain production.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Sep. 9, featuring Chris Hay, owner and principal of Hay Water Solutions. Hay’s work focuses on agricultural subsurface drainage and water quality. With more than three decades of cross-sector experience, he helps move conservation drainage practices – such as bioreactors, saturated buffers, controlled drainage and drainage water recycling – from research into tools that farmers and practitioners can actually use.

Our latest webinar featured Jonathan D. Norton, a Ph.D. candidate in environmental science at Iowa State University, who shared exciting research on the role restored wetlands play in both nutrient reduction and greenhouse gas dynamics. While wetlands are widely recognized for their ability to remove nitrate from agricultural water through denitrification, Jonathan highlighted an important challenge: when denitrification is incomplete, it can produce nitrous oxide (N₂O), a potent greenhouse gas.

Hot off the presses! We have published the On-Farm Forestry Field Guide for Iowa, which is available at no cost. The guide covers tree-centric topics and provides detailed advice on approaches to forest management. It also highlights on-farm benefits ranging from windbreaks and erosion control to crop trees and high-value timber production. Billy Beck, assistant professor and extension forestry specialist at Iowa State, collaborated with Iowa Learning Farms to prepare the guide for use by farmers and landowners.

With help from a $1 million federal grant, Iowa State University, in collaboration with Iowa Learning Farms, is developing the Watershed Innovation Farm – a demonstration site for showcasing nature-based water-quality measures such as saturated buffers, bioreactors and wetlands. This exciting new project was recently highlighted by ISU News and Iowa Capitol Dispatch, as the Watershed Innovation Farm aims to appeal to a variety of audiences, from farmers and industry leaders to teachers and conservation officials.

Nutrient reduction approaches around the world will be the focus of the Fall 2026 Water Quality Research Seminar series hosted by the Iowa Nutrient Research Center. The sessions will feature scientists who have been leaders in developing, improving, and tracking the progress of nutrient reduction practices in Latvia, Denmark, New Zealand, and the United States. The first three sessions in the series will be held virtually on the second Wednesday of each month, September through November, …

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Sep. 2, featuring Jonathan D. Norton, environmental science Ph.D. candidate, Iowa State University. Norton studies wetland biogeochemistry and nitrous oxide (N2O) dynamics in tile-drained agricultural landscapes. His research aims to quantify dissolved N2O transported from agricultural catchments, investigate spatial and temporal patterns of wetland N2O emissions and estimate in situ N2O production using a mass balance approach to better understand the sources and fate of N2O in restored wetlands.

Despite having multiple positive impacts on land and water resources, conservation practices often face challenges when it comes to adoption. Seeing this challenge, Jenny Seifert, watershed outreach specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension, set out to help farmers overcome concerns of implementing conservation on their land. In her webinar, “Replicable Farmer Outreach Approaches to Increase Conservation Practice Adoption”

Water Rocks! classroom visits bring high energy, high impact science lessons from Iowa State University straight to your school—at no cost. With topics ranging from water and wetlands to pollinators and ecosystems, Water Rocks! classroom visits pack a punch!  Our online lottery system is now open for Fall 2026 classroom visits. Submit your request by noon on Wednesday, Sept. 2 to get in the lottery for a fall classroom visit with Water Rocks!.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Aug. 26, featuring Jenny Seifert, watershed outreach specialist, University of Wisconsin-Madison Division of Extension. Seifert connects, coordinates and communicates for multi-state projects that cultivate leadership, knowledge exchange and behavior change for watershed protection, working primarily in the Mississippi River Basin. Her expertise is in behavior change communications, particularly as it relates to conservation and sustainability.

How often are you walking your beans and scouting for aphids? Do you currently pay someone to do that? In our most recent webinar, Hyewon Lee, PhD Candidate at Iowa State University and Dr. Sophie Lee at Rutgers University discussed integrated pest management (IPM) options for soybean aphids, including drone technology. Learn more by watching the full webinar, When Does Scouting Pay?

Art is all around us. It makes us feel and think. It can bring up memories and encourage future actions. Lately, I’ve been paying attention to art with a conservation theme. Songs, pictures, murals, and books are great sources of inspiration for planting native grasses or reducing soil erosion. Can fiber art, or crafts, also encourage conservation? Let’s talk about it. 

Katherine Kral-O'Brien | Iowa State University Assistant Professor Iowans can replace traditional, sod-forming grass lawns with native plants to create multiple benefits. Native plants generally require less maintenance, help reduce soil erosion and nutrient transport, and (my favorite) help wildlife like birds and pollinators. However, creating these areas in your yard and garden can sometimes seem daunting, especially if you see someone else with a beautiful looking yard that exemplifies what you want!

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Aug. 12, featuring Hyewon Lee, Ph.D. candidate, Iowa State University, and Seowoo Lee, Ph.D., assistant professor and extension specialist in farm viability, Rutgers University. Hyewon Lee is a Ph.D. candidate in economics studying agricultural and environmental decision-making, including information acquisition, pesticide use, conservation practices and farmland valuation.

Three crops in two years: A promising conservation-focused cropping system for Iowa, offering agronomic, economic, and environmental benefits—or too good to be true? Here at Iowa Learning Farms, we’ve invested a good amount of time the past three years evaluating relay intercropping across the state of Iowa. We are actively studying the relay intercropping system’s potential to produce three harvestable crops over the course of a two-year period (small grains and soybeans growing side-by-side, and corn the following year):

Today’s guest blog post comes from Pooja Timilsina. Timilsina is starting her second year as a Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management at Iowa State University. Nitrate loading into waterways remains one of Iowa’s greatest water quality challenges, given the state's extensive subsurface tile drainage system. One of the emerging edge-of-field conservation practices that intercepts this water and converts nitrate to nitrogen gas before it mixes with downstream water is the denitrifying woodchip bioreactor.

We hope you can join us at one of our upcoming events! Please RSVP to [email protected] or call 515-294-5429. Cover Crop Field DayAugust 26 |  5:00-7:00pmBoettcher Family Farms1200 215th AveSpirit Lake, IA 51360RSVP: [email protected] or 515-294-5429RSVP by August 19 Prairie Establishment and Management Field DayAugust 27| 10:30am-12:30pmGilbert Franklin Community Room105 SE 2nd Street…

Water Rocks! hosted its 20th Water Rocks! Summit in June 2026, providing educators from Iowa schools, Meskwaki Nation—Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and ISU Extension and Outreach with tools, techniques and strategies for helping their students learn about water and water quality. Since 2014 the Water Rocks! Summit workshops have provided some…

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Aug. 12, featuring Mark Licht, associate professor and extension cropping system specialist, Iowa State University. Licht’s extension, research and teaching program is focused on how to holistically manage Iowa cropping systems to achieve productivity, profitability and environmental goals. His research is centered around varied aspects of soybean, corn and cover crop management.

Fall is quickly approaching, and with it comes the season of manure application and cover crop establishment. While the two may seem unrelated, manure and cover crops can actually work hand in hand to improve soil health and water quality, while maximizing nutrient benefits. In last week’s webinar as part of the Beyond the Basics: Advanced Cover Crop Series, Dan Andersen, professor and extension specialist with Iowa State University, joined Matt Helmers in a discussion on the relationship between cover crops and manure.

Where does your drinking water come from? For many Iowan’s, the answer to this question is right below their feet. Just like those sourcing their drinking water from above ground surfaces, the quality of ground water plays a critical role in maintaining healthy lives. In an effort to educate and connect private well owners with professionals, the Private Well Stewardship Program…