EDITOR’S NOTE: This press release has been updated from a version published September 15, 2021 to include a recording of the webinar.
AMES, Iowa — The Iowa Learning Farms conservation webinar recorded Sep. 22 at noon features Peter O’Brien, research agronomist, USDA Agricultural Research Service. O’Brien conducts research on using multiple management tools to increase cropping system sustainability and resiliency in Midwestern states.
In the webinar, “Relay-Cropping Winter Camelina with Soybean in Central Iowa – Potential Benefits and Lessons Learned,” O’Brien discusses system management, crop yield findings, water quality impacts and greenhouse gas emissions, from a relay-cropping system whereby soybean was planted into growing winter camelina, an overwintering oilseed crop. He outlines the goal to produce three harvestable crops in two years, and discuss the progress toward that goal.
“Relay-cropping is a relatively new concept for most Midwestern farmers, and I am pleased to be able to share what we’ve learned with this system, and how it might be applied in practice on farms throughout the region,” said O’Brien. “Adding an overwintering crop has the potential to increase overall production while protecting the soil when corn and soybean are not actively growing. I hope participants come away with an understanding of what relay-cropping is, and how it may be a tool to diversify productivity in corn-soybean cropping systems, potentially making them more adaptable to changing environmental conditions.”
Iowa Learning Farms – September 22, 2021 from ISU CALS ONLINE on Vimeo.
About Iowa Learning Farms:
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, EPA Section 319 Grant Program and GROWMARK, Inc.
— Iowa Learning Farms
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