Iowa Learning Farms will host a Strip-till and Cover Crops for Nutrient Management field day on Tuesday, June 17 at the farm of Mark Thompson near Badger, Iowa from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Topics that will be discussed include the use of strip-tillage and cover crops as conservation farming techniques, and how these methods reduce water impairment and pollution. The event is free-of-charge and open to the public, and dinner will be provided.

Strip-till systems were developed several decades ago and are now widely used in the coastal plains region of the southeastern United States for crops such as cotton, corn, and peanuts as a means to break up the naturally settling and consolidating subsoil layers that are routinely formed in this area.

A move to strip-tilling corn with a homemade unit was an efficient path to consistent yields for Illinois farmer Charlie Durdan.

Cereal rye cover crops added to a corn-soybean rotation seem to have little negative effect on yield, according to a five-year study conducted by Iowa Learning Farms and Practical Farmers of Iowa.

Check out the latest cover crop seeds offerings from some of the industry's leading suppliers.

Planting cereal rye as a cover crop provides numerous short- and long-term agronomic and environmental benefits. Although inconsistent, under certain situations the yield of corn planted into the residue of a rye cover crop may be reduced.

During this webinar event held Tuesday, April 8th, 2014, Walton, Ind., no-tiller Cameron Mills shared timely tips for getting complete control and desiccation of annual ryegrass prior to planting.

Most producers would prefer to spread manure on their fields in spring and summer when the crops are going to get the most use out of it. Although the Department of Environmental Protection discourages winter manure application, there are circumstances when manure has to be applied in the winter, such as when wet fall weather kept field conditions unsuitable and the lack of a large enough storage structure to hold the manure until spring.

For Ontario farmer Blake Vince, taking a leap with strip-till practices helped him improve corn yields, preserve soil moisture and reduce expenditures on high-dollar fuel and fertilizer.

Cover crops are planted in the fall and stay on fields over the winter, covering the ground with foliage and holding soil in place with their roots.