The Iowa Learning Farms conservation webinar taking place September 13 at noon will feature Nathan Nelson, professor, Kansas State University Department of Agronomy.

Nelson investigates nutrient cycling, fate, and transport in agroecosystems and develops best management practices that minimize nutrient loss and maximize nutrient use efficiency. He leads research at the Kansas Agricultural Watershed Field Laboratory, established in 2014 to investigate effects of agricultural systems on surface water quality and develop best management practices to reduce non-point source pollution from agricultural lands.

In the webinar, “Cover Crop Impacts on Surface Runoff, Sediment and Phosphorus Losses,” Nelson will provide details on how cover crops have been shown to affect surface runoff volume, intensity, sediment losses and phosphorus (P) losses from no-till corn and soybean production fields. He will also discuss how cover crops affect the form of P leaving the field with runoff. In addition, Nelson will provide insights on how management approaches for P fertilizer can be used in conjunction with cover crops to improve downstream surface water quality.

“It is crucial that all agricultural ecosystem participants make efforts to be good stewards of the land and seek to understand the connections between management practices and downstream water quality,” said Nelson. “Employing practices that no only protect water quality but also maintain and potentially improve soil health and crop productivity by keeping soil and nutrients in the fields should return value on multiple levels. It is also important to integrate multiple practices such as 4R nutrient management and cover crops to create conservation systems which can provide the best practical water quality outcomes.”

Shortly before noon CDT, click the link below or type this web address into your internet browser: https://iastate.zoom.us/j/364284172