Polk Soil and water conservation district
Managing Soil Function Field Day
Hosted by Polk County Soil and Water Conservation District
Field Day Location:
Tesdell Century Farm
300 NW 158th Ave. SLater, IA 50244
Lunch:
Fenceline Beer Lab
107 S Main Ave. Huxley, IA 50124
Tuesday July 16th, 2024
9:30 am-1:30 pm
Lunch served at Fenceline Beer Lab, please RSVP
Fenceline Beer Lab is a micro-brewery and restaurant located in Huxley, IA. They are well known for innovative and experimental beer concoctions (including Kernza beer). In addition, they serve a wide array of burgers and fries, tasty soups and flatbread concoctions.
Find out more at: Fencelinebeerlab.com
Beer available for purchase
What to Expect
Learn the importance of soil structure in row crop agriculture systems.
Information on an alternative cropping system: Kernza
Experience soil structure and horizons firsthand in 3 different soil pits.
Understand how conservation management practices affect your soils productivity.
Learn more about prairie strips and their ecological benefits.
Who’s Coming
Dr. Lee Burras
Dr. Lee Burras is a Morrill Professor at Iowa State University. He has extensive experience in soil formation, human-induced soil transformations, and inherent soil productivity. Dr. Burras will lead an in-depth soil pit explanation, and discuss how soil forms and how various management practices affect your soil’s structure, and producivity.
Dr. Amber Anderson
Dr. Amber Anderson is a professor at Iowa State University. She is passionate about soils, sustainable agriculture, and hanging out in soil pits. Her research is focused on soil morphology and genesis. Dr. Anderson
Mary Tiedeman
Mary Tiedeman is a Soil Science Program Specialist II at Iowa State University. In this role, Mary coordinates the “Know Your Carbon Landscape” team (which includes Drs Anderson and Burras). The group’s charge: to support the USDA-NRCS in the roll-out of a new soil carbon monitoring program across the Central U.S. (CEMA-221).
Tim Youngquist
Tim is a STRIPS Farmer Liaison with Iowa State University. “STRIPS” stands for Science-based Trials of Rowcrops Integrated with Prairie Strips. Tim will share about prairie strips and their positive ecological effects.
Dr. Brandon Schlautman
Dr. Brandon Schlautman is The Land Institutes Lead Scientist for Perennial Legume Breeding. Dr. Schlautman is passionate about designing sustainable cropping systems and feeding the world. Dr. Schlautman will discuss the importance of perennial crops on soil health and will give an overview of Kernza as a new perennial crop option.
Sponsors
- Center for Rural Affairs
- DakotaBio
- Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance
- Core BioAg
- Iowa Farmers Union
The goal of Polk SWCD is to protect water quality and conserve soil resources in Iowa.
To provide leadership that helps people improve, conserve, and sustain our natural resources while educating them on the importance and practicality of maintaining our environment and quality of life.
Quick Links
Office Hours
- Monday-Friday: 8:00am - 4:30pm
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Saturday-Sunday: Closed
Closed on federal holidays
Get In Touch
Dr. Amber Anderson is a professor at Iowa State University. She is passionate about soils, sustainable agriculture, and hanging out in soil pits. Her research is focused on soilmorphology and genesis. Dr. Anderson
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