The Iowa Learning Farms (ILF) conservation webinar taking place April 9, at noon CDT will feature Ross Evelsizer, natural resources projects director, Northeast Iowa RC&D. Evelsizer works on landscape resilience planning in the major watersheds of Northeast Iowa focusing on flood mitigation and water quality improvement.

In the webinar, “Assessing the Flood Reduction Benefits of Relay Intercropping Practices in Iowa,” Evelsizer will share the results of a field study designed to assess the potential flood mitigation benefits of regenerative agricultural practices such as relay intercropping. He will share details of the ongoing study begun by the American Flood Coalition in 2021 and has been conducted in partnership with Northeast Iowa RC&D, the Iowa Flood Center and Iowa State University. Evelsizer will describe the study design and provide examples illustrating the potential of relay intercropping as a flood mitigation strategy.

“This study showed that there is a definite correlation between relay intercropping and flood impact reductions,” said Evelsizer. “The increases of water infiltration and evapotranspiration delivered through regenerative agricultural practices showed a significant impact on flood severity at field scale. We are excited about this data and are eager to share the results with the farming community.”

Participants are encouraged to ask questions of the presenters. People from all backgrounds and areas of interest are encouraged to join.