Soil Health | NRCS Iowa
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  • Soils

    • Soil Health
    • Soil Surveys

Soil Health

  • National NRCS Soil Health Web Page
  • NRCS Soil Health Fact Sheets
  • In-Field Soil Health AssessmentUnlock the Secrets in the Soil
  • Iowa NRCS Soil Health Producer Profiles
  • Iowa Soils
  • Soil Health ABCs
  • Soil Health Nutrient Tool - Haney Test (PDF)
  • Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll - Soil Health Gaining Ground with Iowa Farmers
    • Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll Summaries

Iowa NRCS Publications

  • Iowa Soil Health Plan (PDF)
  • Conservation Choices: Soil Health Practices - Conservation practices that help improve soil health, reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and provide other natural resource benefits (PDF, 5 MB)
  • Grazing Management and Soil Health (PDF)

Cover Crops Resources

  • Estimating Cover Crop Biomass (PDF)
  • Cover Crop Guide Sheets: Cover Crops Before Corn (PDF) | Cover Crops Before Soybeans (PDF)
  • Cover Crop Recipes - Midwest Cover Crop Council
  • Cover Crop Economics
  • Cover Crops Decision Tool (SARE/ISU)
  • 2015 Cover Crop Benefits & Opportunities (PDF)
  • Cover Crops Chart (v3.0) 
  • 2016 RMA Fact Sheet - Cover Crops - Crop Year 2016 (PDF)
  • Cover Crops - Crop Insurance, Cover Crops and NRCS Cover Crop Termination Guidelines FAQ
  • Cover Crops PowerPoint Presentation (PPT, 15 MB)
  • Prevented Plant Risks and Options (PDF), June 2019
  • Cover Crops on Prevented Planting Fields, Now What? (PDF)
  • Cover Crops to Improve Soil in Prevented Planting Fields (PDF) Updated May 2019
    • Iowa State University - Corn as a Cover Crop On Prevented Planting Acres in Iowa - 2013 (PDF)
    • Iowa State University - Soybeans as a Cover Crop On Prevented Planting Acres in Iowa - 2013 (PDF)
  • NRCS Cover Crop Termination Guidelines (PDF) - June 2019, Version 4
    • Successful Cover Crop Termination with Herbicides (PDF) - Purdue Extension
  • Iowa Cover Crops Job Sheet (PDF) - April 2016
  • Iowa Agronomy Technical Note 36: Interseeding of Cover Crops (PDF)
  • Iowa Agronomy Technical Note 38: Cover Crop Management (PDF)
  • Iowa Agronomy Technical Note 39: Recommended Cover Crop Seeding Methods and Tools (PDF)
  • Iowa Learning Farms Cover Crop Research - November 2018
  • Midwest Cover Crop Council
    • Cover Crop Selector Tool
  • Value of Soil Health (PDF)
  • Iowa Learning Farms Cover Crop Resources
  • Cover Crops - Toxic Plants for Grazing (PDF)
  • Evaluation of Selected Cool Season Cover Crop Varieties in Northeast Missouri - Elsberry Plant Materials Center - July 2020 (PDF)

2016-20 Soil Health Articles

  • "Yes, you can make soil!", Wallaces Farmer, Jan. 21, 2020
  • "3 ways cover crops can reduce need for fertilizer", Delta Farm Press, Oct. 25, 2019
  • "Soil Age, Mineral Composition Determines Whether Carbon is Stored or Released", No-Till Farmer, Oct. 22, 2019
  • "Optimum Planting Times to Establish Cover Crops Following Corn", No-Till Farmer, Sept. 23, 2019
  • "When Do Cover Crops Pay? New USDA-SARE Report Addresses the Question for Row Crop Farmers", (Brianna Burke), The Crop Farmer, June 20, 2019
  • "Worms: Harbingers of Healthy Soil", (Ann Staudt), Wallaces Farmer, May 23, 2019
  • "Terminating Cover Crops" (Meaghan Anderson, ISU Extension Field Agronomist), Wallaces Farmer, April 22, 2019
  • "Five Tips for Terminating Spring Cover Crops", Wallaces Farmer, April 12, 2019
  • "Cover Crops and Livestock Bring Life to No-till Farm", No-Till Farmer, April 1, 2019
  • "Put Cover Crops on the Calendar", by Lynn Betts, Progressive Farmer, March 8, 2019
  • "Taming the Waterhemp Beast with Cover Crops", Practical Farmers of Iowa, Feb. 14, 2019
  • "Big Food Takes Soil Health Seriously", Successful Farming, Jan. 23, 2019
  • "15 Things You Didn't Know About Soil", Mother Nature Network, Dec. 5, 2018
  • "Five-Year Cover Crop Mixtures Study", Iowa Learning Farms, Nov. 6, 2018
  • "Soil Penalties for Over-Tillage", Corn + Soybean Digest, Oct. 16, 2018
  • "Making the Most of Your Most Valuable Asset is Goal of 4R Plus", Wallaces Farmer June 15, 2018
  • "Tips For Managing Cover Crops for Spring 2018", Wallaces Farmer, May 2, 2018
  • "Mobile App Now Available for Cover Crop Field Guide", No-Till Farmer, April 17, 2018
  • "Crop Rotation, Grazing Rebuilds Soil", No-Till Farmer, March 7, 2018
  • "Soil Health Practices for Mitigating Natural Disasters", USDA Blog, Feb. 28, 2018
  • "Cover Crop Acres Grow But Rate of Growth Declines in 2017", Farm Equipment, February 2018
  • "Spring-seeded Cover Crops," offsite link image     by Alisha Bower, Wallaces Farmer, Nov. 22, 2017
  • "The Economics of Soil Health," offsite link image     by Mahdi Al-Kaisi, Wallaces Farmer, June 6, 2017
  • "No-till Beats Tight Clay Soils," offsite link image     by Lynn Betts, Corn + Soybean Digest, Nov. 1, 2016
  • "An Economic Perspective on Soil Health," by Maria Bowman, Steven Wallander, and Lori Lynch, Amber Waves, Sept. 6, 2016
  • "Costs and Benefits of Cover Crops: An Example with Cereal Rye," offsite link image     by Gary Schnitkey, Jonathan Coppess, and Nick Paulson, Dept. of Agricultural and Consumer Sciences, University of Illinois, July 6, 2016
  • "Cover Crops Build Soil," offsite link image     by Raylene Nickel, agriculture.com, June 16, 2016

Webinars

  • Nutrient Cycling - Mike Hubbs - December 2018
  • Iowa NRCS/Iowa State University Soil Health Webinar - Aug. 24, 2016
  • North Dakota District Conservationist Jay Fuhrer & Farmer Jerry Doan - June 24, 2014

Videos

  • Soil Health Principles - Jay Fuhrer, North Dakota NRCS Soil Health Specialist
  • Integrating Grazing and Cover Crops - Jerry Doan, North Dakota Farmer
  • Managing Diverse Cover Crops - David Brandt, Ohio Farmer
  • Cereal Rye Cover Crops Emerge During/After Soybean Harvest - October 2014
  • Soil Health and Climate Change - Iowa State University's Jerry Hatfield - January 2015
  • Grazing Cover Crops for Soil Health - Crawford County
  • Glomalin: Soil's Sticky Secret
  • Dave Brandt - Ohio Farmer Talks About Soil Health to Iowans
  • Dennis Lundy - Adair County Farmer Promotes Soil Health through No-Till Alfalfa
  • Matt Schuiteman - Sioux County, Iowa
  • Dave Wise - Winneshiek County, Iowa
  • Frank Moore - Northeast Iowa
  • Ed Ulch - Johnson County, Iowa
  • Steve Berger - Washington County, Iowa

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