Jackson Drost has been a part of his family’s farm his whole life. As a baby, his father even took Jackson along with him to do work on the farm, diaper bag in hand. As he’s grown up and become an integral part of the Mahaska County operation, he appreciates not only the chance to work with his family, but the opportunity to improve the land for upcoming generations.

Iowa Learning Farms (ILF), in partnership with C-CHANGE: Grass2Gas, will host a virtual field day on Thursday, Feb. 12, at 1 p.m. CT. The event, which is available at no cost, will feature a live discussion with Carl Kurtz, a professional writer, teacher, naturalist, and photographer with over 50 years of prairie establishment and management experience. This field day aims to assist farmers, landowners, and conservation professionals with establishing and maintaining prairie perennial vegetation.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Jan. 28, featuring Kevin Kuehner, hydrologist, Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Kuehner’s work specializes in evaluating agricultural practices and water quality across multiple scales in southeast Minnesota’s karst region. In the webinar, “What Decade Are We Measuring? Improved Understanding of Groundwater Age and Nitrate Trends in Minnesota’s Karst Region,”

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Jan. 28, featuring Kevin Kuehner, hydrologist, Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Kuehner’s work specializes in evaluating agricultural practices and water quality across multiple scales in southeast Minnesota’s karst region. In the webinar, “What Decade Are We Measuring? Improved Understanding of Groundwater Age and Nitrate Trends in Minnesota’s Karst Region,”

If you regularly tune into Iowa Learning Farms Webinar, you’ve probably learned a thing or two about nitrate (NO3-) losses via leaching. Last week’s webinar was all about gaseous N losses. Specifically, nitrous oxide (N2O), which is the gas to be the most worried about. Watch How Much Do Cover Crops and Prairie Reduce N Losses (N2O & Nitrate Leaching)?

If you regularly tune into Iowa Learning Farms Webinar, you’ve probably learned a thing or two about nitrate (NO3-) losses via leaching. Last week’s webinar was all about gaseous N losses. Specifically, nitrous oxide (N2O), which is the gas to be the most worried about. Watch How Much Do Cover Crops and Prairie Reduce N Losses (N2O & Nitrate Leaching)?

The beginning of a new year always offers a great opportunity to reflect, as well as consider all the things to look forward to in the months ahead. I've learned so much over my two and half years at Iowa Learning Farms, but my desire to learn more continues to grow. For the second year in a row, I’ve had the chance to begin my year on the right foot by learning about all things conservation and sustainable agriculture at Practical Farmers of Iowa’s Annual Conference.

Nitrate concentrations in the Raccoon River are high this winter (Figure 1), drawing understandable attention from farmers, conservation partners, water utilities, and the general public. It is worth noting that nearly all the nitrate observed in the stream has been leached from our annual cropping systems. As such, we need to pursue all available solutions to reduce the concentration of nitrate leached…

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Jan. 21, featuring Marshall McDaniel, associate professor of soil-plant interactions, Iowa State University. McDaniel’s research group focuses on carbon and nutrient exchange between plants and soils, and how management and the environment affect this exchange. He uses soil health as a framework for moving toward a more profitable and regenerative agriculture.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Jan. 21, featuring Marshall McDaniel, associate professor of soil-plant interactions, Iowa State University. McDaniel’s research group focuses on carbon and nutrient exchange between plants and soils, and how management and the environment affect this exchange. He uses soil health as a framework for moving toward a more profitable and regenerative agriculture.

Over the past several years, artificial intelligence (AI) has been a hot topic. With AI becoming ever important in a variety of industries, the question arises, “what role does AI play in agriculture?” One way AI is being utilized by farmers and researchers is through pest identification. In our most recent webinar, we hear from Arti Singh, associate professor of agronomy at Iowa State University, as she discusses, …

Have an interest in the environment, conservation, and agriculture, particularly water and soil quality? We are seeking undergraduate student interns for summer 2026 who are self-motivated, detail-oriented, strong communicators, enthusiastic, and have a sense of fun! Interns’ time will be split between outreach and research, all centered around environmental issues and challenges in Iowa. Summer interns have the opportunity to:

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Jan. 14, featuring Arti Singh, associate professor of agronomy, Iowa State University. Singh works with an interdisciplinary team that is developing AI applications for agricultural uses. Recent work has included the development of digital tools including PestID, an innovative solution that improves real-time identification and management of insects, weeds and crop diseases within working landscapes using a chatbot and multi-modal datasets…

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Jan. 14, featuring Arti Singh, associate professor of agronomy, Iowa State University. Singh works with an interdisciplinary team that is developing AI applications for agricultural uses. Recent work has included the development of digital tools including PestID, an innovative solution that improves real-time identification and management of insects, weeds and crop diseases within working landscapes using a chatbot and multi-modal datasets…

Iowa Learning Farms (ILF), in partnership with C-CHANGE: Grass2Gas, will host a virtual field day on Thursday, Jan. 22, at 1 p.m. CT. The event, which is available at no cost, will feature a live discussion with Hyeonji Song, postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University. Grass2Gas is examining the production of renewable natural gas and related bioproducts through the anaerobic digestion of plant biomass and manure.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Jan. 7, featuring Rachel Drobnak, Ph.D. candidate, crop and soil sciences, Michigan State University. Drobnak’s research focuses on agricultural conservation practices that can benefit soil health and farm finances: two critical components of farm well-being and sustainability. Her work on soil health in prairie strips – zones of native perennial prairie installed in and around fields – assesses how these field areas can benefit soil organic matter dynamics and soil nematode communities.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Jan. 7, featuring Rachel Drobnak, Ph.D. candidate, crop and soil sciences, Michigan State University. Drobnak’s research focuses on agricultural conservation practices that can benefit soil health and farm finances: two critical components of farm well-being and sustainability. Her work on soil health in prairie strips – zones of native perennial prairie installed in and around fields – assesses how these field areas can benefit soil organic matter dynamics and soil nematode communities.

What is a drainage coefficient? How could increasing the drainage coefficient improve crop yield? Will it also change evapotranspiration (ET)? Learn about all of this and more from our last webinar of 2025 with Eric Henning, Hydrologic and Crop Production Impacts of Drainage District Improvements. Most of Iowa’s drainage districts were formed in the 1900s-1920s. As you can see in the picture below, most of the drainage districts are in North Central Iowa in the Des Moines Lobe region.

What is a drainage coefficient? How could increasing the drainage coefficient improve crop yield? Will it also change evapotranspiration (ET)? Learn about all of this and more from our last webinar of 2025 with Eric Henning, Hydrologic and Crop Production Impacts of Drainage District Improvements. Most of Iowa’s drainage districts were formed in the 1900s-1920s. As you can see in the picture below, most of the drainage districts are in North Central Iowa in the Des Moines Lobe region.

The Midwest Cover Crops Council's annual meeting and cover crop conference will be held in Dubuque, Iowa in February 2026. Join us in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Midwest Cover Crops Council, whose mission is to empower a network of producers, landowners, researchers, industry professionals, agencies, Extension specialists, and government stakeholders to increase cover crop adoption. The Midwest Cover Crops Council’s annual meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 10th, and will be followed by a day of cover crop education on February 11th at the Grand River Center in Dubuque, Iowa.

Yesterday, we wrapped up the 2025 Iowa Learning Farms Conservation Webinar series with our 50th webinar of the year. We had record-breaking numbers for live attendance and archival viewing. The year was filled with amazing speakers presenting a wide range of topics from cover crops to nematodes, wetlands to silvopasture, and pollinators to drainage.   182. That was our average live attendance for 2025 webinars.

Yesterday, we wrapped up the 2025 Iowa Learning Farms Conservation Webinar series with our 50th webinar of the year. We had record-breaking numbers for live attendance and archival viewing. The year was filled with amazing speakers presenting a wide range of topics from cover crops to nematodes, wetlands to silvopasture, and pollinators to drainage.   182. That was our average live attendance for 2025 webinars.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Dec. 17, featuring Eric Henning, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University. Henning’s research focuses on practices that can both minimize the water quality impacts of agricultural production and maintain economic viability. He is a part of the Iowa State University Ag Water Management group and has participated in research projects studying prairie strips, multi-purpose drainage districts and drainage water recycling.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Dec. 17, featuring Eric Henning, Ph.D. candidate, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University. Henning’s research focuses on practices that can both minimize the water quality impacts of agricultural production and maintain economic viability. He is a part of the Iowa State University Ag Water Management group and has participated in research projects studying prairie strips, multi-purpose drainage districts and drainage water recycling.