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NC Iowa Agronomy Connection NewsletterFebruary 10, 2015 | Volume 2 Issue 2

There is never a lack of things to do in the winter, andthat is especially true for Iowa farmers. Planning forcrop year 2015, marketing crops, attending yourannual training (see lists below), caring for livestockduring brutal temperatures, the list goes on and on.One thing to add to your "to-do" list is to considerupdating yields and reallocating base acres. Thedeadline to do this is February 27th and rememberFSA offices ask that you don't wait until the lastmoment. Those offices are also closed on Monday,February 16, in observation of President's Day.

Prepping for the Growing Season in theMiddle of WinterSoil ConditionsGive some thought to your fields that may haveexperienced wind erosion this winter. Are there areasin the field that would benefit by leaving the cropresidue? Would the field or even part of the fieldbenefit from a cover crop? See the article on winderosion impacts in Iowa.

Once the snow cover is gone it is a good time to alsoevaluate rill and gully erosion in the field that hasoccurred since last fall. Spring rains tend to causethese areas to show up more strongly, but often wecan determine these areas before spring planting.

Angie Rieck-HinzExtension Field Agronomist

Office: 515-532-3453Cell: 515-231-2830

Email: amrieck@iastate.eduTwitter: @nciacrops

ServingCalhoun, Cerro Gordo,

Franklin, Hamilton, Hardin,Humboldt, Webster,

Worth and Wright Counties.

Would a grassed-waterway be beneficial in reducingthe formation of those deep rills or gullies that showup every year?

EventsPrivate Pesticide Applicator Training Feb. 19, 9:30 a.m., at the Lion's CommunityCenter in Kamrar. Feb, 20, 9:30 a.m., at the Heartland Museum inClarion. Feb. 24, 7:00 p.m, at the Bethel UnitedMethodist Church in Manly Feb. 26, 1:30 p.m., at the Windsor Theater inHampton. March 10, 7:00 p.m., at FC Co-op inFarnhamville.

March 12, 7:00 p.m., at Hamilton Auditorium,Ellsworth Community College, Iowa Falls

March 26, 7:00 p.m, at Memorial Hall in EagleGrove. Confinement Site Manure Applicator Training Feb. 11, 1:30 p.m., Webster County ExtensionOffice in Fort Dodge. Feb. 12, 1:30 p.m., Hamilton County ExtensionOffice in Webster City. Feb. 24, 1:30 p.m. Cerro Gordo ExtensionOffice in Mason City. Feb. 26, 9:30 a.m, Hampton State Bank inHampton.

Other Events

March 2-3, 2015 Iowa State Center, ISUIowa Water Conference

March 7, 2015 Scheman Building, ISUISU Field Crop Scout School

Soil, Water and Wind Congratulationsto Greg McClenahanwho submitted anentry to name thisnewsletter space forwater quality andconservation articles.Thanks to everyonewho submitted ideas.

Our article this weekwill focus on winderosion. We oftenthink of erosion causedby water, but soilmovement and losscan also occur by windwhen soils are leftunprotected during thewinter and early springmonths. We had oneof those significantwind events in Januarywhen we had no snowcover and strongwinds. This leaves uswith soil in our roadditches, in our windowsills, and in our fencelines- all just anuisance right? Well,not really, thismechanism of lossimpacts our nutrientsupply and organicmatter levels for cropproduction. It alsoimpacts our watersources.

The USDA NRCS2010 NationalResources Inventoryestimated wind erosionin Iowa for 2010 to be0.45 tons/acre onaverage. That numbermight not seem likemuch, but on an 80acre field that ispotentially 36 tons ofsoil that has beenmoved offsite(recognizing somewindblown soil will

March 12, 2015, Duncan Ballroom, Duncan, IANorth Central Iowa Research Association andISU Northern Research Farm Annual Meeting.Persons who plan to attend are encouraged topre-register by calling either the HancockCounty Extension Office at 641-923-2856 or theWright County Extension Office at 515-532-3453. This year's research highlights will includenitrogen management, the use of unmannedaerial vehicles (UAVs) and a grain marketoutlook. In addition, information about currentresearch activities at the farm will be shared.Registration starts at 9 a.m., the meeting startsat 9:30 and concludes at 2 p.m.

redeposit in the field).

A report from theUniversity ofMinnesota, ReduceWind Erosion for LongTermProductivity, indicatesthat flat, wideopen areas of NW andNC Iowa can average1-3 tons/acre loss ofsoil due to winderosion. This reportalso reports the lossof total N, total P, andtotal K in lbs/acre dueto wind erosion. Lossof these nutrientsmeans more dollarsfrom your pocket toreplace them for cropproduction.

Please see theIntegrated CropManagement articlewritten by Mahdi Al-Kaisi, dated January27, 2015, WindErosion in Iowa as tothe method of soilerosion by windforces.

Thanks to RichardSchultz for the use ofthe photo.

Copyright © 2014 Iowa State University

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach programs are available to all without regard to race, color, age,religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, orstatus as a U.S. veteran. Inquiries can be directed to the Director of Equal Opportunity and Compliance, 3280Beardshear Hall, (515) 294-7612.

Cooperative Extension Service, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, and the United StatesDepartment of Agriculture cooperating.

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