SEPTEMBER 2017 STEWARDSHIP ADVOCATE UPDATE

MONTHLY UPDATE FROM BEN GLEASON, IOWA CORN SUSTAINABLE PROGRAMS MANAGER

I’ve got lots of news to share, but harvest is upon, us so I’ll be brief.

- Don't forget to sign up! In November, we will be sending this monthly stewardship advocate update only to those who have signed up. We're giving away a pair of tickets to the Iowa vs. ISU men's basketball game on Dec. 7 in Ames to the 1,000th person who joins! Enroll today to stay in the know.

- The deadline for EQIP cost share is Oct. 20. Visit your local NRCS office for assistance with a variety of conservation practices.

- Before you consider fall tillage, be aware that NRCS will no longer allow tilling or farming through gullies for conservation compliance on Highly Erodible Land (HEL). Click here for more info.

- To avoid adding the monarch butterfly to the endangered species list, we need more milkweed and other flowers. We’re looking for farmers who have improved monarch habitat through CRP, dodging milkweed with the mower and reduced spraying of ditches. Email me if you’re interested in sharing your story.

FARMER TO FARMER:

LET'S TALK Soil Health Partnership

Mark Heckman, Muscatine County farmer, discusses how the Soil Health Partnership and Iowa Corn have been resources for him as he works to incorporate conservation practices on his farm.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Sept. 28: Prairie Strips Workshop, Sutherland

• Oct. 3: Forestry Field Day, Lee County

• Oct. 4: REAP Assembly, Spencer

• Oct. 5: Madison Soil & Water 75^th Anniversary, Winterset

• Oct. 5: Forestry Field Day, Allamakee County

• Oct. 5: REAP Assembly, Lehigh

• Oct. 8: Sunday at the Quarry, Waterloo

• Oct. 9: Forestry Field Day, Lake MacBride

• Oct. 10: REAP Assembly, Ventura

• Oct. 10: REAP Assembly, Chariton

• Oct. 11: REAP Assembly, Maquoketa

• Oct. 12: REAP Assembly, Shenandoah

• Oct. 12: REAP Assembly, Iowa City

• Oct. 12: Forestry Field Day, Pacific Junction

• Oct. 17: REAP Assembly, Burlington

• Oct. 18: REAP Assembly, Oskaloosa

• Oct. 18: Clear Creek Watershed Meeting, Coralville

• Oct. 19: Middle Cedar WMA Meeting, Vinton

• Oct. 19: REAP Assembly, Marshalltown

• Oct. 19: REAP Assembly, Calmar

• Oct. 19: REAP Assembly, Carroll

• Oct. 19: REAP Assembly, Afton

• Oct. 20: Cedar River Watershed Coalition, Muscatine

• Oct. 24: REAP Assembly, Neola

• Oct. 24: REAP Assembly, Waterloo

• Oct. 25 :REAP Assembly, Correctionville

LATEST INFORMATION:

• Survey: Cover Crop Acres on the Rise

• RESEARCHERS FIND CEREAL RYE IS EFFECTIVE AT REDUCING AMARANTHUS

• 15 Cost-Effective Fertilizer Tips

• Dicamba Drift: What Are the Legal Remedies?

• Central Iowa Watershed management Plan Engages Urban-Rural Collaboration

• Conservation for the Future of the Family Farm

• ISU EXTENSION RELEASES PUBLICATIONS ABOUT PRAIRIE STRIPS

• Agriculture Nominee Favors Voluntary Pollution Programs

• NUTRIENT REDUCTION STRATEGY PROGRESSES IN IOWA AND ILLINOIS

• SOIL HEALTH PRACTICES BOOST BOTTOM LINE OVER $100 PER ACRE