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Cover crops can enhance soil health by capturing nutrients, slowing erosion, and reducing the need for herbicides. Growers face many different decisions in the field, and the latest edition of the “Cover Crops Field Guide” will assist in some of those choices...

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Agriculture and natural resources have a lot in common and Kaycie Waters, the newly named natural resources field specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, looks forward to exploring the ways the two intersect. Waters, who grew up in a farm family from Arizona, began her role with extension natural resources on Sept. 24.

AMES, Iowa – As deer hunters head to the woods this fall, they are again reminded to be vigilant and active participants in the state’s efforts to fight chronic wasting disease.

A new study underway by economists at Iowa State University aims to better understand nutrient impacts through the lens of local recreation and tourism, with a focus on assessing the economic impacts of water quality improvement on rural and lower-income communities.

It might be confusing to some how someone who studied soil science could end up being focused on water quality, but for Iowans it’s likely that the connection is more straightforward. Even though the majority of Iowans are classified as urban residents (64%), the vast majority of Iowa’s land use is agricultural (93%). This means that when a raindrop falls from the sky, it’s more likely to interact with agricultural land than any other land use.

Trees hold an incredible power, that being their ability to fix carbon from the atmosphere via photosynthesis and use it to produce a tangible product – wood. Wood is one of the most simplistic, yet complex materials on Earth, and wood products may be durable for centuries (i.e., long-term carbon storage) if kept under proper moisture and temperature conditions.

Iowa is a major producer of grain, meat, dairy, eggs, and other major agricultural commodities.

Woodland owners and those with an interest in forestry can network and improve their knowledge during several field days planned this fall across the state. A half-dozen events will be held in September and October, offered by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and state and local partners...

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Among the hundreds of wildlife species found in Iowa, few are so common that we can assert with relative confidence that each night, every person in Iowa would find themselves only a mile or two away from one. Perhaps deer rise to this level of ubiquity. Perhaps pigeons or mourning doves too. But one species that is certainly on this short list is also one of the most polarizing wildlife species found in the state – the coyote.

Due to recent high temperatures and dry conditions, stocking farm ponds can be difficult to do this time of the year. However, several measures can be taken to increase your success...

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A new trailer named “Marsh Madness” combines sight, sound, and science to engage Iowa audiences about the values of the state’s wetland ecosystems. The artfully designed trailer is the latest addition to a fleet of four Conservation Stations developed and operated by Iowa Learning Farms and the Water Rocks! conservation education programs at Iowa State University...

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A new study indicates that insects like honey bees in many cases can do a better job of pollinating soybeans than the plants can do on their own. The findings suggest growing soybeans near pollinator habitat might lead to better yields, said Lisa Schulte Moore, a professor of natural resource ecology and management at Iowa State University and a co-author of the study.

When youth have the opportunity to learn something new in Iowa 4-H, sometimes it’s hard to predict where the opportunity will take them. In the case of Ananya Balaji and Shreya Srinath of Story County, a project in one 4-H program led to a win at the State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa...

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New research on monarchs by Iowa State University scientists offers important insights to those trying to boost populations by planting habitat close to corn and soybean fields. The research indicates maximum increases in Iowa monarch populations are expected if habitat is established near crop fields, assuming that Integrated Pest Management recommendations are used and insecticide spray drift management practices are followed...

The derecho that swept across Iowa and the Midwest in August of 2020 caused extensive damage to forests and woodlots – but not all of it was negative. Billy Beck, assistant professor and extension forestry specialist at Iowa State University, has put together a series of YouTube videos that explain how woodland owners can recover, and make their forests more resilient than before...

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The diversity and breadth of Iowa’s natural environment is captured in a new series of publications by Iowa State University Extension and Outreach and the Iowa Association of Naturalists. “Iowa’s Nature Series” is a collection of 10 publications covering topics such as landforms and geology, forests, prairies, aquatics, vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and influential voices for Iowa’s nature...

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a demonstration is worth a million words at least!  I am reminded of this as we are brushing off the winter dirt from the Conservation Station Fleet and beginning to plan for summer 2021 outreach. The summer of 2020 was the first time since we launched our first trailer that we didn’t have a trailer rolling somewhere in Iowa. It might be the first summer we haven’t been to at least one county fair.

The World Wildlife Fund, Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve released its 2020-2021 overwintering monarch population report on February 25, 2021. Adult monarch butterflies covered approximately five acres of forest canopy in Mexico, an area about two acres smaller than last year.

In January 1921 George Washington Carver traveled from Tuskegee, Alabama, across the Jim Crow south and into the segregated nation’s capital. He was there to extol the value of southern farmers’ peanuts as the House Ways and Means Committee considered tariffs on imports. Crowd-pleasing presentations like the one he gave that day, and on many more days all across the south, earned Carver the moniker “The Peanut Man.”

Farmers and landowners across the state work regularly with their local Natural Resource Conservation Service and Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) professionals to plan and construct conservation practices or discuss cost-share options to try new management practices. Watershed coordinators are also located within many SWCD offices and valuable resources for farmers within specific watersheds to help address conservation and water quality concerns.