AMES, Iowa — Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with the Iowa Nutrient Research Center and Conservation Learning Group, is hosting a free virtual field day on Friday, April 24th at 1pm CST. The event will include video footage from the field and live interaction with Marshall County farmer Wade Dooley as he shows changes he is making within the family farming operation to adjust to changing markets and climate.
Dooley is truly farming for the future, with an emphasis on making his family farm resilient in the changing climate and finding systems that allow him to learn, adapt and get excited to try again next year. For Dooley this means making big changes: moving away from row crops to CRP acres, raising cover crops for seed, extending his rotations and growing a grass-fed cow-calf operation.
“It is important to find a system that allows you to do what you enjoy, but that will also be a successful and profitable business,” noted Dooley. “One of my main goals is to grow food – vegetables, fruit and meat – in order to feed our neighbors here in Iowa.”
Make plans to join us and chat with Wade on how he’s making these changes with his family on their farm and how you can implement similar practices in your own system.
To participate in the live field day, shortly before 1:00 pm CST on April 24, click this URL, or type this web address into your internet browser: https://iastate.zoom.us/s/
Or, join from a dial-in phone line:
Dial: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 876 9923
Meeting ID: 315 189 792
The field day will be recorded and archived on the ILF website, so that it can be watched at any time. The archive is available at https://www.iowalearningfarms.
A Certified Crop Adviser board-approved continuing education unit (CEU) has been applied for, for those who are able to participate in the live webinar. Information about how to apply to receive the credit (if approved) will be provided at the end of the live field day.
Established in 2004, Iowa Learning Farms is building a Culture of Conservation by encouraging adoption of conservation practices. Farmers, researchers and ILF team members are working together to identify and implement the best management practices that improve water quality and soil health while remaining profitable. Partners of Iowa Learning Farms include the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach,Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Iowa Department of Natural Resources (USEPA section 319) and GROWMARK, Inc.
— Iowa Learning Farms
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