AMES – Iowa Learning Farms and Practical Farmers of Iowa will co-sponsor a cover crops “open house” field day with Natural Resource Conservation Service of Lyon and Sioux counties, Iowa State University Extension field agronomist Joel DeJong and farmer Floyd Jansma on Sept. 30, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The field day includes a complimentary lunch. The event is free and open to the public.

Practical Farmers of Iowa cover crop expert Sarah Carlson will be at the open house along with DeJong and Jansma. Attendees can get answers to questions about yield response of corn and soybeans following fall-seeded winter rye and other cereal grain cover crops, nitrogen fertilizer needs of corn planted after fall-seeded winter rye, and soil quality improvements related to cover crop use.

NRCS district conservationists Keith Edwards and Greg Marek will be on hand to talk about cost-share programs for cover crops.

The field at the open house site was broadcast seeded with winter rye on Sept. 13.

The field day site is on the Sioux/Lyon County line road, 270th Street, 12 miles south of the intersection of Iowa Highway 9 and U.S. highway 75 in Rock Rapids, and then one mile west – or – five miles north of U.S. Highway 75 and U.S. Highway 18 interchange, west ofHull and then west one mile.

For additional information contact Lyon County NRCS at (712) 472-4021 or Sioux County NRCS at (712) 737-2253.

Practical Farmers of Iowa and Iowa Learning Farms have formed a cover crop management working group with 10 farmer cooperators across the state, demonstrating corn and soybean yield response to fall-seeded cereal grain cover crops fall-seeded before or after combine harvest of the previous crop.

Iowa Learning Farms are building a culture of conservation, encouraging adoption of residue management and conservation practices.

Farmers, researchers and ILF staff are working together to identify and implement the best in-field management practices that increase water and soil quality while remaining profitable.

Iowa Learning Farms is a partnership between the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, ISU Extension, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa NRCS, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources and USEPA (section 319); in cooperation with conservation districts of Iowa and the Iowa Farm Bureau.

Founded in 1985, Practical Farmers of Iowa is an open, supportive and diverse organization of farmers and friends of farmers, advancing profitable, ecologically sound and community-enhancing approaches to agriculture through farmer-to-farmer networking, farmer-led investigation and information sharing.