For decades, Iowa State University’s 13 Research and Demonstrations Farms around the state have contributed to improving farming practices and are now turning their focus to methods that address growing environmental concerns. Later this year, the farms will be implementing water quality processes such as a wood chip denitrification basin, new bioreactor research and expanding existing programs. Matt Schabel, superintendent at ISU’s Northern Research Farm near Kanawha, says, “The majority of our fields without trials are planted with cover crops. We also have planted milkweed for monarch butterfly conservation and for pollinator habitat. All these practices add benefits to the land, environment and cropping system.” Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy was developed in 2008 by ISU, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Department of Natural Resources to address environmental concerns, and ISU’s farms have contributed to farmer use of cover crops, extended crop rotations and 18 other approaches.
