There was a time when most Iowa farms had small edge areas – fence rows, tree groves, corners and other areas of the farm – that were not worth the effort to actively raise crops on.

These edges provided space where bees and bugs, frogs and eagles, deer and turkeys, pheasants and many other species could thrive.

Now, farmers and landowners are increasingly seeing value in wildlife and wild spaces, and figuring out ways to purposely bring back some of those edges.

In this four-part video series – "Bringing Back the Edges: Creating Wildlife Habitat on Farms" – you’ll learn how Practical Farmers of Iowa members are bringing wildlife habitat back to all different kinds of farms, from large corn and soybean operations to cattle farms and small vegetable farms.  

After a long hiatus, the PFI podcast – "On-Farm: Conversations With Practical Farmers"– is finally coming back.

Stayed tuned to Practical News to find out when more episodes of "On-Farm" are ready to be downloaded! Until then, to tide you over, PFI member Gina Nichols has produced a podcast episode that is one-of-a-kind.

With a desire to prolong availability of spring-planted spinach into summer – a period when bolting and subsequent yield reduction is more likely to occur – Hannah Breckbill, Emily Fagan and Kate Edwards sought to determine if planting methods and variety would influence yield.

Learn what they found in this research report, "Spinach Variety and Seeding Method Trial," conducted through PFI's Cooperators' Program.

Learning and networking with other farmers helps you build a network you can turn to for support during your beginning years of farming. PFI hosts a number of field days and workshops, and each SIP graduate attends a minimum of four of these events each year.

Applications are due on Tuesday, Oct. 12. If you are ready to learn more and build your network, consider applying to our Savings Incentive Program!

Jon Judson of Diversity Farm near Dedham, Iowa, has been selling native prairie seeds and starts for decades.

The farm is a native seed and plant business that dedicates around 150 acres of the 360-acre operation to prairie and prairie seed production.

Este taller lo ayudará a determinar su propósito en la agricultura, determinar qué productos desean a producir y conectarse con personas que pueden ayudarlo a apoyar sus objetivos agrícolas.

There's only one more week to register for "Discovering Resilience: A Legal Workshop for Farmers and Ranchers."

Practical Farmers and Farm Commons are teaming up to offer a legal workshop just for farmers and ranchers. The workshop starts on Oct. 19 and includes five sessions.

Because of our partnership with Farm Commons, we are able to offer the workshop at a discounted rate of $49, which includes a one-year membership and access to Farm Commons’ guides, webinars, resource library and more!

Join Practical Farmers of Iowa for a free outdoor screening and panel discussions of “Livestock on the Land,” a feature-length documentary that tells the story of regenerative grazing and its promise for the Iowa landscape.

The outdoor film will begin shortly after twilight. Following the film, the audience can ask questions and hear from a panel of farmers featured in the film.

Kathy Dice and Tom Wahl, Wapello, IA, were featued on the AgArts podcast: Season #1, Episode #16: Red Fern Farm

Wendy Johnson of Charles City, IA, wrote a guest column featured in the Des Moines Register: Opinion: Building a perennial farm is hard, but our world needs more of them

Practical Farmers of Iowa was mentioned in Illinois Ag Connection: Illinois, DiverseCornBelt Project to Help Diversify Ag Resiliency

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