This study is designed to answer many important questions related to soil health and soybean production. Our experience through our daily interaction with farmers suggests significant information gaps regarding:

1. The impact of a system approach on soybean productivity and soil sustainability compared to the current (i.e., conventional tillage) management practices.
2. Potential input saving in terms of reducing input cost and improvement in soil health.
3. System approach contribution to the improvements of nutrient use efficiency and reduction of nutrient loss and improvement of water quality.

Outreach and Education
The proposed research site in central Iowa will be utilized for outreach and education programs for central Iowa farmers. The outreach and education programs component of this project will include, but not limited to the following:

1. Field days at the research site(s) to present some of the findings and explain the practices, equipment, etc.
2. Additional field demonstrations, depending on funding availability to expand the project’s demonstration component to several sites to increase the rate of adoption of the management practices and benefits of the proposed system. (Please see additional notes in the budget justification section regarding the addition of more sites)
2. Workshops for presenting results and data collected during the growing season(s).
3. Newsletters, articles, and news releases to address the elements of the system that include cover crops and no-till/strip-till.
4. Presentations and publications in local and national proceedings, journals, and conferences.

Potential outcomes related to this study can include:
1. Improved economic returns due to the reduction in input costs related to fuel and labor.
2. Agronomic benefits and profitability associated with the proposed system.
3. Improvement in soil health and ultimately improving water quality.

Update:
This project was established in the fall of 2017 to determine the agronomic, soil health, water quality and economic benefits of integrating cover crop and tillage systems (not-till and chisel plow) in soybean production. The preliminary findings of this work demonstrated the short-term benefits of cover crop and NT in improving soil health as measured by the improvement of aggregate stability, water infiltration, and reduction in nitrate leaching under cover crop as compared to none cover crop treatments. The initial indicators of this systems’ approach shows the potential value of cover crop in reducing moisture content and improvement in soil temperature for early soybean germination as indicated by increase in soil temperate by 3-4 oF.

The seeding of cover crop before and after soybean crop in the Des Moines Lobe area is
encouraging giving the unique cold and wet soil conditions early in the spring. The integration of cover crop in the short-term as well as in the long-term is a good management practice for soil health and productivity, coupled with no-till. Although we are not reporting soybean yield at this time as we are waiting for the soybean harvest, a long-term study showed that soybean yield and economic return is much greater with no-till as compared to conventional tillage. We will provide more details and additional information at the end of the growing season after data analyses to show the potential agronomic, economic, soil heath, and water quality benefits of incorporating cover crops in a systems’ approach to soybean production in central Iowa

View uploaded report

Project Results:
This project was established in the fall of 2017 to determine the agronomic, soil health, water quality and economic benefits of integrating cover crop and tillage systems (not-till and chisel plow) in soybean production. The preliminary findings of this work demonstrated the short-term benefits of cover crop and NT in improving soil health as measured by the improvement of aggregate stability, water infiltration, and reduction in nitrate leaching under cover crop as compared to none cover crop treatments. The initial indicators of this systems’ approach shows the potential value of cover crop in reducing moisture content and improvement in soil temperature for early soybean germination as indicated by increase in soil temperate by 3-4 oF. The seeding of cover crop before and after soybean crop in the Des Moines Lobe area is encouraging giving the unique cold and wet soil conditions early in the spring. The integration of cover crop in the short-term as well as in the long-term is a good management practice for soil health and productivity, coupled with no-till. Although we are not reporting soybean yield at this time as we are waiting for the soybean harvest, a long-term study showed that soybean yield and economic return is much greater with no-till as compared to conventional tillage. We will provide more details and additional information at the end of the growing season after data analyses to show the potential agronomic, economic, soil heath, and water quality benefits of incorporating cover crops in a systems’ approach to soybean production in central Iowa.