Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with Humboldt County Soil and Water Conservation District, will host a strip-till, cover crop, and relay intercropping field day on Wednesday, November 20, from 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at Jay Lynch’s farm near Gilmore City. The free event is open to farmers and landowners and includes a complimentary meal.

Cover crops offer many benefits to farmers and landowners, including reduced soil erosion, weed suppression potential, reduced nitrogen and phosphorus loads entering water bodies, and increased organic matter in the soil. When paired with strip-tillage, additional benefits include increased water infiltration and reduced erosion during heavy rain events. The field day will also explore the emerging practice of relay intercropping a small grain in the soybean phase of the rotation to be able to grow three crops in two years.

Host Jay Lynch began adopting a no-till/strip-till system about 15 years ago on his family’s Century Farm and has discovered that the key to higher yield potential, enhanced soil tilth, and effective conservation revolves around soil health. Along with the many conservation benefits of strip-till, its time-saving advantages appeal to Jay Lynch, "Strip-till means I don’t have to worry about fieldwork in the spring," he said. "It frees me up to deliver seed and then jump in the planter and go."

The Lynch family started using cover crops in 2012 on 140 acres of prevented-plant land. Since then, cereal rye has become the main cover crop in the Lynch’s area. For the last 4 years they have grown cereal rye for use as cover crop seed for their farm and use oats after rye harvest to help keep the ground covered.

The field day will also feature Humboldt County farmer Doug Adams discussing his experiences with relay intercropping on his farm and Mike Bourland, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Senior Environmental Engineer, providing an update on the closure of the last agricultural drainage wells and construction of the wetland mitigation bank near Gilmore City.

The field day will be held in a heated shop at the Lynch Farm, 809 SE D Ave, Gilmore City, IA 50541. The farm is located about 0.5 miles east of Gilmore City on the north side of the road. Field day signs will mark the driveway.

The event is free and open to farmers and landowners, though we require reservations to ensure adequate space and food. For reasonable accommodations and to RSVP, please contact Liz Ripley at 515-294-5429 or ilf@iastate.edu by November 13. Attendees will be entered in a drawing for ISU Prairie Strips honey.