Prairie On Farms Field Day (Dike, IA)
Event Details
Dike, IA 50624
Contact Name: Ashley Kittle
Email: ashley.kittle@uni.edu
Phone: 319-273-3828
Website: https://www.tallgrassprairiecenter.org/prairie-farms/events
Event Description
The Tallgrass Prairie Center at the University of Northern Iowa and the Iowa State University STRIPS project and will host a field day on Thursday, September 21st. The field day near Dike will be held from 4:30 – 6:30 and is free and open to the public. A complimentary meal is included.
Topics of the field day will include the installation of prairie strips and a saturated buffer at the J.H. Roadman Memorial Park near Dike. The Tallgrass Prairie Center staff will discuss proper seed mix design techniques and proper prairie establishment and management techniques. Researchers from the Iowa State STRIPS team and saturated buffer team will discuss project results and discuss the water quality benefits these conservation practices provide.
The STRIPS project, Science-based Trials of Rowcrops Integrated with Prairie Strips, focuses on planting a small percentage of a field into strips of perennial prairie plants to reduce soil erosion, water runoff, and to create habitat for pollinators. A saturated buffer diverts a portion of the drainage water into lateral drainage tile installed along the buffer, increasing the shallow groundwater level and providing nutrient removal.
The field day site will be at the J. H. Roadman Memorial Park, located 1.5 miles west of Dike on County Road D-19 (160th St.). The park is located on the north side of the road.
The workshop is free and open to the public, but reservations are preferred for meal planning purposes by September 13th. Contact Ashley Kittle, Prairie on Farms Program Manager at ashley.kittle@uni.edu or 319-273-3828.
For more information about the Tallgrass Prairie Center, visit https://www.tallgrassprairiecenter.org/
For more information about the STRIPS program, visit https://www.nrem.iastate.edu/research/STRIPs/
