NEVADA, Iowa – There are new opportunities to harvest corn stover near Nevada in central Iowa. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will host six meetings to address emerging opportunities related to stover harvesting for the biomass feedstock needs of local industries. These workshops are a collaborative effort between Iowa Corn Growers Association, Verbio North America and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach.

Stover harvesting can impact economic, agronomic and water quality production factors. The meetings will address many of the positives and negatives of stover harvesting and discuss how stover harvesting can be managed within corn production. Crop producers, landowners, crop consultants, agronomists, service providers and others with an interest in stover harvest and its removal from farm fields are encouraged to attend.

All workshops are the same, so participants need to attend only one location. Pre-registration is required for these two-hour workshops. Interested participants can call or mail in their registration form available online. Dates, times and locations for the workshops are as follows. To register, call the respective ISU Extension and Outreach county office for the location where you plan to attend:

• June 14 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. in Eldora; Youth Building, Hardin County Fairgrounds. Call the Hardin County office at 641-648-4850.
• June 15 from 3-5 p.m. in Webster City; Ed Prince Building, Hamilton County Fairgrounds. Call the Hamilton County office at 515-832-9597.
• June 18 from 3-5 p.m. in Ogden; Leonard Good Community Center. Call the Boone County office at 515-432-3882.
• June 21 from 3-5 p.m. in Marshalltown; Activity Building, Central Iowa Fairgrounds. Call the Marshall County office at 515-752-1551.
• June 24 from 3-5 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. in Nevada; Christy 4-H Hall, Story County Fairgrounds. Call the Story County office at 515-337-1601.

Speakers from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach include Kapil Arora, field agricultural engineer, and Patrick Hatting and Kelvin Leibold, farm management specialists. Industry speakers on the agenda include David Ertl, technology commercialization manager, and John Stoakes, district field manager, Iowa Corn Growers Association; Eric Phipps, agronomy sales manager and Justina Sheets, Logistics Operations Manager, Verbio North America.

There is no fee to attend these workshops. Registration is limited to 30 participants. COVID-19 restrictions in-place at the time of the workshops will be followed. Walk-in registration the day of the workshop will only be accepted if space is available.

— Kapil Arora, Patrick Hatting, and Kelvin Leibold, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach

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