We would love to see you at one of our upcoming events. Please RSVP to Liz Ripley at 515-294-5429 or email [email protected] to reserve your seat today! October 21, 2025: Forestry On Tap5:30-7:00pmWilson's Orchard & Farm4823 Dingleberry Rd NE #1Iowa City, IA 52240 November 4, 2025: Cover Crop and Water Quality Field Day12:00-2:00pmDrost Farm…

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Oct. 8, featuring Wendong Zhang, associate professor, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University. Zhang is an agricultural and environmental economist and a former Iowa State University professor. His research and interests include farmland markets, the interplay of agriculture and the environment and U.S.-China agricultural trade.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Oct. 8, featuring Wendong Zhang, associate professor, Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University. Zhang is an agricultural and environmental economist and a former Iowa State University professor. His research and interests include farmland markets, the interplay of agriculture and the environment and U.S.-China agricultural trade.

In Iowa, and other states in the Midwest, woodchip bioreactors are used to remove nitrates from agricultural drainage water. In other parts of the world, woodchip bioreactors are used to remove nitrates from a variety of sources. Check out our most recent webinar with Dr. Laura Christianson, I Know What You Did Last Summer...A Scandinavian Bioreactor Tour! to learn how bioreactors are similar between the two locales and how they are different.

No-till, cover crops, and cattle—those are the three pillars that have helped Smith Family Farms achieve profitability and environmental sustainability. Farming in Dubuque County, Jack Smith alongside his sons Nick and Ted, understand their responsibility as they work the fragile landscape of Iowa’s driftless region. Though the hills are known for their erodibility, the Smiths have taken steps to eliminate soil loss, which has helped boost crop yields and the productivity of their cattle herd. 

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Oct. 1, featuring Laura Christianson, agricultural engineer. Christianson has been conducting research and outreach for some 15 years, with experience in the areas of tile drainage, nitrate leaching and agricultural conservation practices. She is particularly known for her engineering expertise with denitrifying woodchip bioreactors and has collaborated globally on projects featuring this simple engineering technology.

If, like me, you are wondering what mitigation banking is and why it is done, this is the webinar for you! Jake Wilson, Shive-Hattery, discussed all things mitigation banking including why, how, who, and most importantly how long. Learn more in the webinar, From Impact to Improvement: How Mitigation Banking Supports Iowa’s Aquatic Resources.  Streams and wetlands are important for many, many reasons including habitat, carbon sequestration, and flood prevention.

Of all the evaluation methods Water Rocks! utilizes, one of the most rewarding is that of the students through hand-written thank-you notes. Check out some of the notes received by the exceptional students that WR! visited in the 2024-25 school year. Find more thank-you notes in the full 2024-25 WR! Annual Report. 2024-25 funding for Water Rocks! was provided by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (United States Environmental Protection Agency/Section 319 of the Clean Water Act) and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

Though many people have helped Iowa Learning Farms grow over the past 21 years, the program’s farmer partners have played an especially important part. By hosting field days, taking part in research, and acting as advocates for conservation in their communities, these role models have helped shape ILF into the one-of-a-kind program it is today. As a member of the ILF team, one of my tasks is to interview our farmer partners to learn more about their conservation history and how they to benefit the land and water around them.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Sep. 24, featuring Jake Wilson, PWS, environmental scientist, Shive-Hattery. A certified professional wetland scientist (PWS), Wilson collaborates regularly with state and federal agencies—including the United States Army Corps of Engineers—to design and permit projects that meet and exceed regulatory and ecological standards. His background in landscape architecture supports the successful development of projects that are both functional and sustainable.

What does it take for cover crops to improve soil health? As Dr. Sabrina Ruis explained in our most recent webinar, there are many interconnected factors at play when it comes to improving the soil properties like microbial biomass and organic matter that are often used as indicators of soil health. Topping the inverted pyramid of influence is biomass production, followed closely by how long the cover crops have been implemented with substantial growth.

Dr. Sara Winnike McMillan | Iowa State University ProfessorAgricultural & Biosystems Engineering After a heavy rain, Iowa’s network of drainage ditches goes to work. Water infiltrates into the soil, flows to subsurface tile drains beneath farm fields and then into open ditches downstream. Together, this drainage network lowers water tables, maintains unsaturated soil conditions, and moves water efficiently after storms.

A farm may simply be a piece of land to some, but for Gene Niewoehner, it meant much more. Situated in rural Fayette County, the Niewoehner farm offers a view into the past through its well-maintained 19th century buildings and antique farm equipment. Gene, alongside his wife, Cheryl, have worked hard to preserve the history of the farm while also putting great effort into protecting the land and water around them.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Sep. 17, featuring Sabrina Ruis, Ph.D., research soil scientist, USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment. Ruis investigates how different soil management practices (cover crops, tillage, organic farming, soil amendments) impact soil health indicators. In the webinar, “Managing Cover Crops to Achieve High Biomass and Improve Soil Health Indicators,”

PCBS or polychlorinated biphenyls, are not good to have in our environment. The main reason? They are carcinogenic! Traditionally they have been removed by dredging and properly disposing of contaminated soil or incinerating it. Both can have issues ensuring effective disposal, and both a very costly. Watch our most recent webinar, Using the Fields of Opportunities to Clean Up Forever Chemicals…

Although WR! school visits provide a starting point for young people’s journey in conservation, each lesson is further supplemented by the various educational resources offered on the WR! website, www.waterrocks.org. The wide range of resources, videos, activities, and games provide students with exciting and engaging ways to grow their knowledge of Iowa’s natural resources. Water Rocks! Video Series The WR!

Earlier this year, the Iowa Learning Farms hosted a series of pollinator and monarch habitat workshops in cooperation with the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium. Funded by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship State Soil Conservation and Water Quality Committee and Iowa Department of Natural Resources, these workshops are part of a larger social science project program designed to document the complexity of Iowa farmer and landowner perceptions and behavior associated with migratory monarch butterfly conservation.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Sep. 10, featuring David Ramotowski, Ph.D. candidate, Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Iowa. Ramotowski’s research focuses on using bacteria to clean up toxic “forever chemicals,” specifically polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the environment to protect public health. He is also a trainee with the Iowa Superfund Research Program.

Dissolved nitrous oxide (dN2O) is a greenhouse gas. It, like nitrate, can leave agricultural fields via the tile lines. How much nitrous oxide is leaving the field? Does that amount change if cover crops are used or fertilizer is applied using split application? Watch Dissolved Nitrous Oxide in Subsurface Drainage: Impacts of Nitrogen Management and Cover Crops in Illinois Corn Systems…

The 2024-25 school year again showed great demand for WR! school visits with 463 requests, demonstrating the continued demand for natural resource education across Iowa. Highlighted below are some key findings from the 2024-25 Water Rocks! Evaluation Report as we look back on a record year for water quality education in Iowa. All in, WR! delivered 212 total school visits…

As thousands of monarch butterflies make their journey south to Mexico this fall, researchers with the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium (IMCC) are calling on Iowa landowners to help document this remarkable migration. Each fall, monarchs funnel through Iowa, using trees and sheltered areas to rest in clusters before continuing their trip. "We are seeking reports from landowners if they have monarchs roosting on their property -- or from community members if they observe roosting monarchs on public lands," said Katherine Kral-O’Brien, with the IMCC.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Sep. 3, featuring Luciano Alves de Oliveira, assistant professor of water management and livestock waste management, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Oliveira’s research focuses on agricultural water management, subsurface drainage, irrigation and nutrient cycling, with emphasis on conservation practices that improve water quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Midwestern corn–soybean systems.

In last week’s webinar we were joined by Mason Burkhart, legal counsel, Iowa State University Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation, to discuss all the processes to account for when planning for a farm estate transition. You can watch the full webinar, Estate and Succession Planning for the Farm, here, and make sure to stick around for the Q&A at the end of the presentation.

Since childhood, Barbara and Stanley Johnson were both instilled with a deep respect for Iowa’s natural resources. Growing up just a few miles apart in rural Page County, the couple later married and began not only their family, but their conservation legacy. In addition to farming 300 row-crop acres along with some livestock, Barb and Stanley have created their “learning farm”.

Please join us for the Iowa Learning Farms webinar at noon CDT, Wednesday, Aug. 27, featuring Mason Burkhart, legal counsel, Iowa State University Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation. Burkhart specializes as a resource for farmers with issues related to eminent domain, easements, partition actions, trespass, nuisance, drainage, zoning, and estate and transition planning, leveraging experience from private practice in Des Moines before joining Iowa State University.