Learning Farm showcases science-based farming

The relentless thunderstorms that flooded much of Iowa and made this month the wettest August on record have also highlighted the importance of area farmers’ conservation practices to improve soil and water quality for all Iowans.

To showcase the latest on-farm research focusing on conservation tillage, cropping systems and nutrient management, producers and Iowa State University scientists hosted an Iowa Learning Farm field day Thursday at the Smeltzer demonstration farm southeast of Otho.

‘‘We’re creating a culture of conservation, thanks to the 30 creative, daring farmers who are working with ILF projects across the state,’’ said Jerry DeWitt, coordinator of the ILF program and director of the Ames-based Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. ‘‘We’re not doing this not because we have to, but because we want to show what’s possible and create a better future for our children and grandchildren.’’

The science-based ILF takes a grassroots approach by working with farmer cooperators to demonstrate and promote innovative ways to improve soil and water quality on their land while remaining profitable. The system also offers a model for exchanging ideas among farmers, government agencies, scientists, agribusinesses and the general public.

Webster County’s Smeltzer demonstration farm, which offers a unique setting for an ILF, features a landscape suitable for showing conservation practices for both flat and rolling ground. A stream running through the farm, which drains water from 18,000 acres in the surrounding area, also helps illustrate various streambank stabilization and buffer strip techniques.

‘‘It’s an exciting time in Iowa agriculture and conservation,’’ said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, a Spirit Lake-area farmer who spoke at the field day. ‘‘We need resources and partnerships to protect the productivity of our land, and the ILF is making this happen.’’

Talking farmer to farmer

Two hundred years ago, more than 81 percent of Iowa was covered by perennial tall-grass prairie and wetland an ecological system best adapted to the region’s higher precipitation periods during the spring and fall, DeWitt noted. Since corn and soybeans use little water during the spring and fall, reduced water usage during the high precipitation periods increases the chance of runoff, which can result in the loss of soil fertility and impaired bodies of water.

‘‘Today our dominant agricultural row-crop system is a ‘leaky’ system compared to the more perennial vegetation of the past,’’ DeWitt said. ‘‘The ILF partners with farmers to find ways to work more effectively with Iowa’s natural ecology while using innovative practices to keep water, nutrients and soil where they belong.’’

Webb-area farmer Jerry Crew and ILF cooperator is conducting tests on his 600-acre farm to determine optimum nitrogen applications for corn-on-corn, no-till acres. ‘‘One of the biggest advantages of the ILF is that it’s an on-farm system,’’ said Crew, 72, who has practiced continuous no-till for the past 20 years. ‘‘Farmers listen to other farmers, and we’re sharing what we’re learning about conservation strategies that are effective and profitable.’’

To help achieve these goals, the ILF has teamed up with a number of key partners, including the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa State University Extension, Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, the Natural Resources Conversation Service and area conservation districts in Iowa. Informing the public about the work of the ILF program is also critical, DeWitt said.

‘‘The nonfarming public needs to be educated, because I don’t think they fully appreciate what farmers are doing.’’

Lessons from the field

While it’s no secret that conservation tillage practices can maintain soil productivity and minimize agriculture’s impacts on the environment, new research is revealing how powerful these conservation practices can be.

‘‘When I started farming in 1981, we still plowed some of the corn ground,’’ said Northey. ‘‘Now we’re no-till and ridge till, so a lot has changed.’’

Various studies have shown that no-till can increase soil organic matter by as much as 1 ton per acre per year, according to Iowa State University Extension. In a recent study, the loss of soil carbon as carbon dioxide/carbon equivalent reached 1.9 pounds of soil carbon per acre in the first hour and 125 pounds of soil carbon per acre in the first three weeks following moldboard plowing, compared to no-tillage with residue losses of 0.60 pounds of soil carbon per acre in the first hour and 73 pounds of soil carbon per acre in the first three weeks.

As the work of the ILF progresses, Webster County’s Patton said local project leaders would like to someday build a permanent education facility on the Smeltzer demonstration farm to help promote conservation methods that can be implemented across north central Iowa. ‘‘Since the land is in a trust, it won’t be sold. We’ll have years to help develop this farm into a classroom for conservation.’’

For more information on the Iowa Learning Farm program, log onto http://www.extension.iastate.edu/ilf/.