Researchers at Iowa State University (ISU) are joining seven other university research teams to study the benefits to crops and waterways from storing water from farm draining systems, they announced this month. This project is funded with a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA). …Continue reading “Iowa State University to study benefits of farm water storage”
Iowa State University is partnering with researchers at seven other land-grant universities to examine the economic and environmental benefits and costs of storing water from farm drainage systems for crops to use later and to reduce nitrate-nitrogen loss into waterways. The project, led by Purdue University, began this month and is funded by a $5 …Continue reading “Iowa State University studying water storage to benefit crops, waterways”
The role of farm production Much of Iowa’s nitrogen — and nitrates — are in the soil organically. Iowa has about 10,000 pounds of organic nitrogen per acre, according to Iowa State University professors Matt Helmers and Michael Castellano. “To get a sense of scale, a farmer might apply 150 to 200 pounds of nitrogen …Continue reading “Data shows nitrates higher but improving in Iowa rivers”
The state is at a fork in the road when it comes to agriculture and water quality, says Sean McMahon, executive director of the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance. Speaking at the recent Iowa Soybean Research Conference in Ames, McMahon said growing pressure exists to make progress on water quality. Many people are calling for regulation …Continue reading “Best way to avoid regulation is to show progress on water quality goals”
The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture has awarded grants to 17 innovative research and demonstration projects that promise to move agricultural production toward greater sustainability while improving Iowa’s soil and water resources. The research will provide new knowledge on soil health, specifically how phosphorus moves under different cropping systems and how certain changes deep below …Continue reading “CoE faculty grants funded by Leopold Center”
The first year that prairie strips were strategically planted in corn and soybean fields near the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, they worked to reduce loss of nutrients that can impair water quality, says Matt Helmers, an agricultural and biosystems engineer at Iowa State University. “Things like plant diversity — the diversity of the prairie …Continue reading “Helmers: Prairie strips can reduce nutrient loss”
It’s hard to imagine maintaining the current food system without Iowa. Yet that state — symbolic of both the unparalleled richness of our continent’s agricultural potential and the mess we’ve made of it — has undergone a transformation almost as profound as the land on which cities have been built. A state that was once …Continue reading “STRIPS: A Sustainable Solution for the Corn Belt”
Conservation and production goals are often pitted against each other, but one project is showing how the two objectives need not be mutually exclusive. “The science is showing us that we can have both,” says Iowa State University researcher Lisa Schulte Moore. That’s great news for farmers because, as Gary Van Ryswyk says, “Anybody who …Continue reading “New videos focus on prairie strips as an emerging conservation practice”
The 15th annual Drainage Research Forum will be Nov. 18 at the Iowa State University Alumni Center on campus. Registration is at 8 a.m. and the program runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The forum provides results and updates on drainage research and farm projects by university and agency research leaders. It is jointly …Continue reading “15th annual Drainage Research Forum is Nov. 18”
Matthew Helmers (’95 civil engineering), associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, led the team that assessed nitrogen issues for the science assessment. “Our agricultural systems are important in Iowa but evaluating ways we can reduce downstream export of nutrients also is important,” Helmers says. “My interest is seeing agricultural systems implemented that are economically …Continue reading “River to river, water quality work found on many fronts”
Exhibits at the ISU tent at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Aug. 26-28, will contain information related to best management practices for improving water quality and pest resistance, and information about ISU’s involvement in protecting crops against pest resistance and state efforts to improve water quality. Demonstration plots outside the tent will offer a …Continue reading “Talk about water quality and pest resistance management at Iowa State’s Farm Progress Show Exhibit”
A new monitoring effort of the Black Hawk Lake watershed by Iowa State University researchers will answer some lingering questions regarding the long-term impact of land management practices on water quality. Michelle Lynn Soupir, an associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, said the five-year duration of the study will allow the research team to …Continue reading “ABE faculty to lead monitoring of Black Hawk Lake watershed”
From July 13 to July 16, the hallways in Elings Hall and Sukup Hall were a little vacant. This was due to many in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering attending the 2014 ASABE (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers) annual international meeting in Montreal. Faculty, staff and students were in attendance, and several were recognized …Continue reading “ABE recognized for achievement and advancement at annual conference”
Water quality researchers and extension specialists at Iowa State University have joined with scientists at 11 other land-grant universities in the Mississippi River watershed and the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Hypoxia Task Force in a formal partnership to strengthen efforts to reduce the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Matthew Helmers, professor of …Continue reading “Helmers to represent ISU in new federal collaboration to address hypoxia in the gulf”
Iowa researchers are completing a nutrient reduction science assessment that will guide efforts to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus that are getting into the Mississippi River and contributing to Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. Matt Helmers, an agricultural and biosystems engineering associate professor at Iowa State University, and Dean Lemke, natural resources engineer with the Iowa Department …Continue reading “Nutrient reduction science assessment to provide roadmap for farmers”
