A wet day greeted guests in Spring Grove, Minnesota, on Sunday. Bailey Lutz, Heidi Eger, Dayna Burtness and Nick Nguyen hosted a group of field day attendees to talk about how innovative silvopasture systems can benefit both livestock and native pollinators while helping with habitat management. 

We have updated our Small-Grain Variety Selector Tool, which uses variety trials across the Midwest to predict which oat varieties will perform best for yield, test weight and crown rust resistance in a given ZIP code.

The website is a result of a collaboration between Practical Farmers and small-grain breeders from across the US.

It’s never too early to start thinking about oat varieties for 2022 – check out the tool today!

Several recent studies in Europe and the U.S. Midwest have assessed the decomposition rates of various plant litters, teas and other household items buried in soils across a range of agricultural production systems.

In this study, Kathy Dice of Wapello, IA, investigated soil health from a range of annual and perennial plant production sites on her agroforestry farm in southeast Iowa by measuring the decomposition of green and black tea buried at those sites.

Typically a “no-visitor day” for any farm, this episode offers a real-time glimpse of Jill Beebout and her crew on their most important day of the week, CSA delivery day.

We join in as they finish harvesting herbs – the last item of the morning harvested. We follow Jill into the pack shed to see how the tomatoes, greens, beans and other vegetables are stored and staged for packing.

Join us to learn about stream restoration goals, strategies and benefits on the Little Sioux River.

Hear from Brian Cuperus and Darrick Weissenfluh about a recent stream restoration and mussel habitat enhancement project completed at the Dickinson County Conservation Board’s Horseshoe Bend property that benefits both wildlife and water quality.

Anyone is welcome to RSVP for a "Catching Up" event! To learn more about a specific event or to RSVP, email the PFI staffer indicated, or call the PFI office at (515) 232-5661.

Tuesday, August 17 | 10 a.m. – noon

Host: Dean & Judy Henry | Story County

Thinking about ways to reduce tillage in your vegetable operation? Have you heard about “no-till” or “low-till” methods and are curious to see them in action? Join fellow low-till (and low-till-curious) growers for this summer web series!

Presented in four sessions over four weeks, this series includes virtual tours, demonstrations and presentations from researchers and farmers in Iowa and Wisconsin.

Week 3: Mulch-Based No-Till Practices

Thursday, Aug. 19 | 4-5 p.m.

Presenters: Mark Quee & Jon Yagla

Week 4: Reduced-Tillage Practices at Humble Hands Harvest and Middle Way Farm

Thursday, Aug. 26 | 6-7 p.m.

Presenters: Hannah Breckbill, Emily Fagan & Jordan Scheibel

Join us Aug. 20 for the final installment of our Landowner Boot Camp series. This session will explore strategies and next steps for women landowners.

The multipart virtual boot camp shares the why, what, when and how of successful and intentional farmland management.

Learn from landowners, farmers and conservation professionals about successful strategies for implementing conservation and stewardship practices on rented farmland, and hear why responsible landownership is so important to building a better agriculture in Iowa and across the Midwest.

Workshop #4: Strategies & Next Steps for Women Landowners

Friday, Aug. 20 | Noon – 2 p.m.

Hear from farming neighbors the Andersons, the Wilcoxes and Shane Susie to learn about their goals for cover cropping, which include soil improvement, grazing forage, primary crop health and yield, and weed control.

Alison Robertson, plant pathologist with Iowa State University, will also be on hand to discuss her lab team's research on the implications for crop disease management when using cover crops. 

Mark Peterson of Stanton, IA, and Amanda Severson of Clarion, IA, were featured in a paper by Green Lands Blue Waters: Our Journey to a Transformed Agriculture through Continuous Living Cover

Eric and Ann Franzenburg of Van Horne, IA, were featured in Vinton Newspapers: Pheasant Run Farm capturing attention in third season

Eric Franzenburg of Van Horne, IA, was featured on CBS 2 Iowa News Now: Pheasant Run Sunflower Experience returns after extensive derecho loss

Brian Corkill of Galva, IL, was featured in Ag Update: Small towns scramble during labor shortage

Meredith Nunnikhoven of Oskaloosa, IA, was featured on Grist: Vox Americana: From Alaska to Louisiana, here are the voices of the new climate ‘normal'

Kellie Blair of Dayton, IA, was featured in Progressive Farmer:

Dozens of PFI members have been chosen as recipients of the Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Award, and were mentioned in a press release by Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship: 89 Families to Receive Iowa Farm Environmental Leader Awards at Iowa State Fair

Tom and Irene Frantzen of New Hampton, IA, and Matt Liebman of Ames, IA, were featured in an article written by Brian DeVore of Minneapolis that was published in Civil Eats: Hybrid Rye is Helping Farmers Fight ‘Superweeds’ Without Herbicide

Landon and Anne Plagge of Latimer, IA, were featured in the Hampton Chronicle: Plagge Farms promotes benefits of cover crops with new seed business

Sarah Carlson, strategic initiatives director for PFI, was featured on Radio Iowa: New app from Practical Farmers of Iowa helps with cover crops

Have you been featured in the media? Tell us when and where to find a link to the article, and we'll feature you in a future issue of Practical News.

Contact: tamsyn@practicalfarmers.org