Events Archive

Wednesday, May 5, 2021 - 12:00pm

Succeeding with small grain, soybean relay intercropping in Iowa is the topic of an Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon on Wednesday, May 5.

Small grain, soybean relay intercropping is the next step after using small grains for cover crops. Mark Licht, assistant professor in agronomy and cropping systems specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, will explain this practice and its benefits.

Wednesday, April 28, 2021 - 12:00pm

Research being done on where pheasants nest and how to better manage those areas for optimal nesting is the topic of an Iowa Learning Farms webinar April 28 at noon.

Thursday, April 15, 2021 - 1:00pm

Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, and Conservation Learning Group (CLG), is hosting a free virtual field day discussing spring cover crop management tips and the impact of cover crops on water quality as part of the Conservation Learning Labs project on April 15 at 1 p.m. CDT.

Wednesday, April 7, 2021 - 12:00pm

Iowa Learning Farms and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will host a webinar on Wednesday, April 7 at noon with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.

Wednesday, March 31, 2021 - 12:00pm

Soil erosion and how to control it is the topic of the Iowa Learning Farms webinar on Wednesday, March 31 at noon. Soil erosion negatively affects soil productively, water quality, economics, and food security. These impacts will be amplified as a less friendly climate evolves, making soil conservation today critical for a food-secure tomorrow.

To participate in the live webinar, shortly before noon on March 31:

Thursday, March 18, 2021 - 1:00pm

Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, and Conservation Learning Group (CLG), is hosting a free virtual field day highlighting the stream stabilization efforts in the East and West Nishnabotna Watersheds to improve water quality and reduce flooding on Thursday, March 18 at 1 p.m. CST.

Wednesday, March 17, 2021 - 12:00pm

The Iowa Learning Farms webinar on Wednesday, March 17 at noon, will focus on how to incorporate conservation practices into a farm lease agreement.  

Charles Brown, a farm management specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, will discuss the importance of conservation practices and what landowners should include in their lease to protect their farmland. Participants will learn how costs may be shared for certain conservation practices. 

Thursday, March 4, 2021 - 1:00pm

Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with the Iowa Nutrient Research Center and Conservation Learning Group, is hosting a free virtual field day featuring the efforts in the Clear Creek Watershed to improve water quality and quantity issues on Thursday, March 4 at 1 p.m. CST.

Thursday, February 18, 2021 - 1:00pm

Iowa Learning Farms is hosting a free virtual field day discussing the utilization of perennial biomass and prairie for renewable natural gas generation using digesters on Thursday, February 18 at 1 p.m. CST. Join for a live discussion with Matt Helmers, Iowa Nutrient Research Center Director, and Dan Ciolkosz, Penn State Agricultural and Biological Engineering associate research professor.

Wednesday, February 17, 2021 - 12:00pm

The Iowa Learning Farms webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 17, will highlight research being done on the nutrient retention capacity of newly restored wetlands in Ontario, Canada. Wetlands have been identified as natural infrastructure to help protect downstream water quality.

Wednesday, February 10, 2021 - 12:00pm

Learn more about Iowa’s aquatic wildlife diversity during the Iowa Learning Farms webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 10.

Wednesday, February 10, 2021 - 12:00pm to 1:00pm

Boone River riparian forest, Hamilton County, IowaJoin Dr. Billy Beck and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach-Cedar County for the 2/10/21 Noon Hour Power! This free, virtual presentation will focus on the overall value that forests and forestry provide to Iowa's water quality efforts.

Thursday, February 4, 2021 - 1:00pm

 Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with the Iowa Nutrient Research Center and Conservation Learning Group, is hosting a free virtual field day on the challenges of improving water quality and quantity management in the karst topography of the Upper Iowa Watershed on Thursday, Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. CST.

Thursday, January 21, 2021 - 1:00pm

Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, and Conservation Learning Group, is hosting a free virtual field day on returning oxbows on Iowa’s landscape on Thursday, Jan. 21 at 1 p.m. CST.

Wednesday, January 20, 2021 - 12:00pm

How bioreactors are being used to address water quality issues around the world is the topic of an Iowa Learning Farms webinar on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at noon. Denitrifying woodchip bioreactors are promoted in the Midwest to clean nitrate from tile drainage, but did you know that they are also being tested around the world for a variety of applications?

Thursday, January 14, 2021 - 1:00pm

Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with the Iowa Nutrient Research Center and Conservation Learning Group, is hosting a free wetland virtual field day on growing miscanthus in Iowa on Thursday, Jan. 14 at 1 p.m. Join for a live conversation with Emily Heaton, Iowa State University agronomy professor and extension biomass crop specialist. 

Wednesday, January 13, 2021 - 12:00pm

Iowa Learning Farms will hold a webinar on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at noon, that will provide information on pollinators, the threats they face, opportunities for establishing high-quality habitat for pollinators, and how to get projects started.

Thursday, January 7, 2021 - 6:00pm to 7:00pm

During this live virtual seminar Billy Beck, ISU Extension Forestry Specialist, will talk about forestry basics and the benefits of trees to farming enterprises. This event is free. To register please call or email Michaela Van De Berg at 515-382-6551, mvandb@iastate.edu 

Free tree seedlings will be available for participants from select central-Iowa counties.

Wednesday, December 16, 2020 - 12:00pm

Iowa Learning Farms will hold a webinar on Wednesday, Dec. 16 at noon on integrating perennial groundcover into row crop systems. Perennial groundcover systems couple a high-yielding annual row crop with a perennial grass groundcover, such as bluegrass or fescue. In this low tillage system, the groundcover reduces soil erosion, builds soil carbon and soil health, increases water infiltration, and reduces nutrient export — making the overall system more resilient in a cost-effective manner.

Thursday, December 10, 2020 - 1:00pm

Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, and Conservation Learning Group (CLG), is hosting a free wetland virtual field day on Thursday, Dec. 10 at 1 p.m. The virtual field day will highlight public and private partnerships working together to implement wetlands to reduce flooding and improve water quality in the Middle Cedar Watershed and beyond.

Wednesday, December 9, 2020 - 12:00pm

Learn more about the economics behind adopting conservation practices to mitigate water quality concerns during the Iowa Learning Farms webinar on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at noon. Wendong Zhang, assistant professor and extension economist at Iowa State University, will present new survey results on how Iowans value reductions in harmful algal blooms in Iowa waterways, and the economic costs to induce farmers to adopt conservation practices.

Wednesday, November 25, 2020 - 12:00pm

Jacqueline Comito | Program Director, Iowa Learning Farms and Water Rocks!

“I used to think that top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and climate change. I thought that thirty years of good science could address these problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy, and to deal with these we need a cultural and spiritual transformation. And we scientists don’t know how to do that.”

Gus Speth, Feb 13, 2015
Co-founder, Natural Resources Defense Council

Tuesday, November 24, 2020 - 1:00pm

Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, and Conservation Learning Group (CLG), is hosting a free virtual field day with Mark Thompson, Webster County farmer who is making cover crops and strip-tillage work in the Des Moines Lobe on Tuesday, November 24th at 1 p.m. CST.

Wednesday, November 18, 2020 - 12:00pm

Today at 12:00pm Iowa Learning Farms will host a webinar about urban water management and low impact development.  

Thursday, November 5, 2020 - 1:00pm

Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, and Conservation Learning Group (CLG), is hosting a free virtual field day exploring impacts of cover crops, tillage and nitrogen-inhibitors on crop performance and water quality on Thursday, November 5th at 1 p.m. CST.

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