2020 Sustainable Farming Field Day

Field Day 2020: Rural + Urban Partnership

The City of Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa Corn Growers Association, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the Dubuque Soil and Water Conservation District held a Dubuque County Farmer Field Day on Tuesday, Aug. 18, from 12 – 3 p.m. at Miller Family Farm located at 30332 Goose Hill Rd. in Cascade, Iowa. The purpose of the event was to highlight the City of Dubuque's work with upstream farmers to improve water quality.

At the event, Dubuque Mayor Roy D. Buol and Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Water Quality Resource Coordinator Adam Schneiders spoke about the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Exchange, a first-of-its-kind agreement that allows municipalities to work with farmers to reduce nutrient loads and improve water quality.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig discussed how the State of Iowa is addressing water quality and Dubuque County Board of Supervisors Chairperson Dave Baker shared information about the newly formed Dubuque County Watershed Program.

Dubuque County farmer Eric Miller provided an equipment and field tour and shared why soil health has become a focus on their farm. Specifically, Miller talked about the benefits of planting corn in 60-inch row widths for interseeding cover crops.

"Keeping a living root in the ground 365 days a year has proven to boost soil health while still maintaining high yields; ultimately, saving money on input costs as we continue to focus on return on investment,” stated Miller. “Mother nature always wins and I've found it's much easier to work with her than against her." 

Field Day Livestream Recording

Event sponsored by:

City logo RGB web
Iowa Corn Logo
USDA NRCS Logo
DBQ County Logo
dubuque soil and water conservation logo
dnr logo

This material is based upon work supported by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under number NR186114XXXXC008.