OCTOBER STEWARDSHIP ADVOCATE UPDATE

Monthly Update From Ben Gleason, Iowa Corn Sustainable Programs manager

We hope your harvest is going well. As we mentioned last month, Farm Progress Show brought about a few big announcements about some great opportunities. Last month we discussed the Conservation Infrastructure Plan and this month we want to provide information about the Midwest Row Crop Collaborative:

• It is made up of a diverse group of food companies, conservation groups and ag businesses with the goal of expanding solutions to air, water and soil quality while producing enough food to feed a growing global population.

• The groups will pilot their efforts in Illinois, Nebraska and Iowa.

• The Collaborative is supporting the Soil Health Partnership's (SHP) leadership in helping farmers adopt practices that protect natural resources while potentially increasing profits. 

• New funding for the SHP provided by the Collaborative will help the Partnership expand to 100 farms two years earlier than planned.

Rapid expansion of SHP farm sites is a great opportunity for any farmer interested in evaluating the economic and environmental benefits of soil health practices like cover crops and reduced tillage. If you’re interested in participating in the SHP, click here. 

As harvest continues, the window for seeding cover crops is closing with winter hardy species like cereal rye and winter wheat as the best options. Let those cover crops grow roots to fix up compaction and muddy areas from this wet harvest. In addition, November is a good time to attend a field day to see cover crop establishment. See the upcoming events below for more information.

FARMER TO FARMER:

LET'S TALK WATER QUALITY and Doing your part

Iowa farmers Dean Meyer, Annette Sweeney and Chris Edgington discuss why they believe that water quality should be a priority for everyone and talk about the conservation practices they have in place on their farms to help ensure that they are being the best possible stewards of the land.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• CEDAR RIVER WATERSHED COALITION: PARKERSBURG, OCT. 28

• SOUTHFORK WATERSHED ALLIANCE: ALDEN, OCT. 29

• Neal Smith Wildlife Refuge Tour: Prairie City, Nov. 2

• Cover Crop Field Day: West Burlington, Nov. 3

• Cover Crop Field Day: Independence, Nov. 8

• Cover Crop Field Day: Mahaska County, Nov. 10

• Cover Crop Field Day: Lytton, Nov. 10

• Cover Crop Field Day: Dayton, Nov. 15

• Cover Crop Field Day: Nashua, Nov. 16

• Commercial Pesticide Applicator Training: local extension office, Nov. 16

• Cover Crop Field Day: Cedar Falls, Nov. 17

• Integrated Crop Management Conference: Ames, Nov. 30 – Dec. 1

LATEST INFORMATION:

• Soil Health Partnership Videos Feature Iowa Farmers

• Combining Early to Drill Rye Later

• It’s Cover Crop Week!

• Vilsack:  Iowa at “Critical Point” in Addressing Water Quality

• ILF Launches Conservation Learning Labs Project

• New Booklet Gives Farmers Strategies to Reduce Nitrogen Runoff

• Farmer-to-Farmer Making a Difference for Soil in Iowa

• Have We Been Ignoring Water Quality in Iowa?

• Tillage Practices Affect Soil Microbe Populations

• Time for Soil Rehab

• Iowans United on Water Quality Efforts

• Clean Water Act:  Report Details How Agencies Expand Authority

• How to Minimize Soil Compaction During Harvest