Two ongoing studies are measuring how much soil is being blown across different fields, and how much nutrients lost with wind erosion might cost farmers. Overall, preliminary data indicates that management makes a difference: leaving residue on a field or planting cover crops, and less aggressive tillage, can slow down soil movement.

In the past month, dust storms have been making headlines across the western United States. Blowing soil has created driving hazards due to low visibility, and accumulated wind-blown silt even forced boat ramp closures near Fort Pierre. The good news is that land can be managed to minimize erosion.

Drought has been prevalent in the northern and western portions of the Corn Belt in recent growing seasons, while southern parts of the Midwest have seen flooding. Cover crops impact both wet and dry soils in the spring.

Nitrate leaching is a major concern in coarse-textured agricultural soils because it can cause economic losses for farmers and contaminate groundwater. While some nitrate leaching may be inevitable when growing corn on sandy soils, there are several management strategies that can be implemented to limit nitrate loss. Here are some key takeaways from a recent five-year study looking at three major factors impacting nitrate leaching: drainage, nitrogen availability, and cropping system.

Cover crops were almost as effective as restored prairie at reducing nitrate concentrations in tile-drained water, according to recent research at Iowa State University.This was one of the key findings from a study led by Marshall McDaniel, associate professor of agronomy at Iowa State. The project was designed to better understand how the quantity and quality of tile drainage water impacts in-stream potential for nutrient enrichment, leading to growth of algae and depletion of vital oxygen in aquatic ecosystems.