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.

Let’s talk about the birds and the bees … With the idea for prairie strips born at Iowa State University, and now studied extensively here and elsewhere, this unique conservation practice that offers a multitude of benefits, including habitat for birds, bees, and butterflies, was the focus of the most recent edition of the ILF Conservation Webinar Series. Intuitively, adding prairie into crop fields should mean more insects and more birds.

Since the late 1800s, Jeff Pleggenkuhle’s family has been farming in rural Fayette County. As a child, Jeff began helping around the farm and later took over the operation. Much like the farm has changed since it began, so has the land. Working to benefit the land while maintaining productivity, Jeff began practicing no-till on some of his acres in the 1990s.

On behalf of the Iowa Learning Farms team, thank you to all of our hosts, speakers, and partners for a great return to a full field day season. This year, we hosted 28 in-person events and 4 virtual field days! The topics included cover crops, grazing, relay intercropping, soil health, no-till, bioreactors, wetlands, water quality, grazing, perennial vegetation…

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Dec. 10, featuring Matt Stephenson, research data manager, Iowa State University. Stephenson’s research focuses on the habitat quality of prairie strips and other on-farm habitat for breeding birds, mammals, reptiles and insects. He serves as the research data manager at Iowa State University’s Bioeconomy Institute helping researchers manage datasets related to sustainable agriculture and the bioeconomy.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Dec. 10, featuring Matt Stephenson, research data manager, Iowa State University. Stephenson’s research focuses on the habitat quality of prairie strips and other on-farm habitat for breeding birds, mammals, reptiles and insects. He serves as the research data manager at Iowa State University’s Bioeconomy Institute helping researchers manage datasets related to sustainable agriculture and the bioeconomy.

In our most recent webinar, Michael Otten with Shive-Hattery, Inc., shared what goes into designing and permitting a pond. What exactly is the landowner responsible for in the planning and maintenance phases of the pond? How big can the pond be? Where can the pond be located? Find the answers to all of those questions and more in the webinar, …

In our most recent webinar, Michael Otten with Shive-Hattery, Inc., shared what goes into designing and permitting a pond. What exactly is the landowner responsible for in the planning and maintenance phases of the pond? How big can the pond be? Where can the pond be located? Find the answers to all of those questions and more in the webinar, …

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Dec. 3, featuring Michael Otten, PE, water resources engineer, Shive-Hattery, Inc. Otten is a member of the Water and Environment Market team at Shive-Hattery, providing services that range from urban stormwater management to rural watershed management. His work primarily focuses on design activities involving private ponds, lake restorations, wetlands, sediment basins, mine reclamations, and other projects in rural watersheds.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Dec. 3, featuring Michael Otten, PE, water resources engineer, Shive-Hattery, Inc. Otten is a member of the Water and Environment Market team at Shive-Hattery, providing services that range from urban stormwater management to rural watershed management. His work primarily focuses on design activities involving private ponds, lake restorations, wetlands, sediment basins, mine reclamations, and other projects in rural watersheds.

Paul Johnson, a farmer, representative, NRCS Chief, and an Iowan, devoted his life to conservation, specifically conservation on private lands. In our most recent webinar, “We Can Do Better”: Paul Johnson’s Legacy for Agriculture, Conservation, and Land Stewardship, Curt Meine discussed Paul Johnson’s life and his work.   If you work in agriculture, you might have already read some of Paul Johnson’s writings.

Paul Johnson, a farmer, representative, NRCS Chief, and an Iowan, devoted his life to conservation, specifically conservation on private lands. In our most recent webinar, “We Can Do Better”: Paul Johnson’s Legacy for Agriculture, Conservation, and Land Stewardship, Curt Meine discussed Paul Johnson’s life and his work.   If you work in agriculture, you might have already read some of Paul Johnson’s writings.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Nov. 26, featuring Curt Meine, senior fellow, Aldo Leopold Foundation & Center for Humans and Nature. Meine is a conservation biologist, environmental historian, and writer based in Sauk County, Wisconsin. He has published several books, including the award-winning biography, “Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work and The Driftless Reader.”

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Nov. 26, featuring Curt Meine, senior fellow, Aldo Leopold Foundation & Center for Humans and Nature. Meine is a conservation biologist, environmental historian, and writer based in Sauk County, Wisconsin. He has published several books, including the award-winning biography, “Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work and The Driftless Reader.”

Although irrigation isn't commonly implemented in Iowa corn and soybean production, research is showing the benefits it may have on not only yield, but water quality. Through drainage water recycling (DWR), farmers can store and use tile drainage water that is often carrying nitrogen, which would otherwise be sent downstream. In last week's webinar, Chris Hay, Hay Water Solutions and Spencer Pech, ISG share…

"If you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes.” A quote often attributed to Mark Twain from the late 1800’s, but in many cases still holds true today. For our relay intercropping project looking to develop best management practices and exploring the impacts on soil health and water quality, the weather has been a formidable factor in the success of the system here in Iowa.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Nov. 19, featuring Spencer Pech, civil engineer, ISG, and Chris Hay, owner and principal, Hay Water Solutions. Pech provides data-driven solutions for clients throughout the Midwest. His focus on agricultural water management is driven by a passion for providing win-win solutions to address agricultural and environmental resource concerns.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CST, Wednesday, Nov. 19, featuring Spencer Pech, civil engineer, ISG, and Chris Hay, owner and principal, Hay Water Solutions. Pech provides data-driven solutions for clients throughout the Midwest. His focus on agricultural water management is driven by a passion for providing win-win solutions to address agricultural and environmental resource concerns.

Bored with cover crops? You are not alone. The Iowa Learning Farms team has been hearing snippets of this sentiment from farmers statewide over the past few years. At the same time, data from across Iowa and the Midwest indicate that cover crop adoption is slowing down AND disadoption is pervasive. The Iowa Learning Farms team sought to better understand farmers’ and landowners’ current attitudes and perceptions towards cover crops through a statewide evaluation, distributed in January 2025.

Iowa Learning Farms farmer partner Alec Amundson never thought farming would be his career, but when his in-laws offered him and his wife, Rachel, the opportunity in 2016, they took it. Alongside Rachel’s brother, Adam, the couple is part of Green Country Farms in rural Mitchell County. In addition to the normal corn and soybean crops seen across Iowa, they grow rye and oats, as well as a diverse cover crop mix used for custom grazing.