Iowa Learning Farms will host a webinar on Wednesday, August 19 at noon about the connection between soil health and environmental quality in a cover crop and no-till research site.

This research connects many important topics in the environment and agriculture: soil health, greenhouse gas emissions, and water quality. It is important to know how a given conservation practice impacts all three of these measures of sustainability. Morgan Davis, Assistant Professor at The University of Missouri School of Natural Resources, and Emily Waring, Graduate Research Assistant in Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University, utilized a long-term cover crop and no-tillage research site to examine these connections between soil health and environmental quality. They measured nitrate leaching, soil health indicators, and greenhouse gas emissions to examine the tradeoffs and benefits of stacking cover crop and no-till conservation practices.

“Cover crops and no-tillage are multi-beneficial, improving water quality and soil health metrics,” said Davis and Waring about the results of their research. Davis is a soil biogeochemist who studies nutrient and energy cycling in the context of ecological sustainability. Waring’s research evaluates conservation practices and their impact on subsurface (tile) drainage water quality.

To participate in the live webinar, shortly before 12:00 pm CDT on August 19:
Click this URL, or type this web address into your internet browser: https://iastate.zoom.us/j/364284172

Or, go to https://iastate.zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID: 364 284 172
Or, join from a dial-in phone line:
Dial: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 876 9923
Meeting ID: 364 284 172
The webinar will also be recorded and archived on the ILF website, so that it can be watched at any time. Archived webinars are available at https://www.iowalearningfarms.org/page/webinars.