Woodland management and water quality workshop to be held Feb. 18

Iowa Learning Farms, in partnership with Iowa State University, will host a woodland management and water quality workshop on Tuesday, Feb. 18, from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Briggs Woods Conference Center near Webster City. Farmers and landowners are welcome to attend the free workshop and have a complimentary meal.

Hosted by Billy Beck, ISU Extension and Outreach forestry specialist, and Michelle Soupir, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State, the workshop will cover how woodland management and woodchip bioreactors can work together to reduce nitrate and improve water quality. Through an innovative research and demonstration project supported by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the team is exploring how traditionally low-value timber species perform in woodchip bioreactors in an effort to meet both landowner woodland management and statewide water quality goals.

The event will be held at the Briggs Wood Conference Center, Van Diest Supply Company Meeting Room, 2501 Briggs Woods Trail, Webster City, and is free and open to farmers and landowners, though reservations are required to ensure adequate space and food. Attendees will enjoy a complimentary meal and be entered in a drawing for ISU Prairie Strips honey. For reasonable accommodations and to RSVP, please contact Liz Ripley at 515-294-5429 or ilf@iastate.edu.  

This event is supported by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant award 2024-68016-42660. Iowa Learning Farms field days and workshops are supported by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. For more information about Iowa Learning Farms, visit www.iowalearningfarms.org.

PHOTO: Silver waters abstract picture on a lake. (Adobe Stock │ #128666336 – Jenn’s Photography)