The Conservation in Action Tour on August 20 and 21, organized by the Conservation Technology Information Center (CTIC), will give participants a chance to dig deep into a wide range of conservation farming practices, including constructed systems such as wood chip bioreactors, saturated buffers, sediment control basins and others.

           

The tour begins and ends in Des Moines. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig will welcome the group at an opening social on the evening of August 20 hosted by John Deere at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in downtown Des Moines.

 

           

Among the highlights of the tour on August 21 will be a visit to an in-progress, on-farm installation of a wood chip bioreactor near Nevada, Iowa. With insight from Keegan Kult of the Ag Drainage Management Coalition and Sean McMahon of the Iowa Agricultural Water Alliance, the stop is sure to uncover deep insight into these ingenious nitrogen-capturing systems.

           

Later in the day-long tour, the group will visit the Iowa Land Improvement Contractors Association (LICA) Farm near Melbourne, Iowa. The 80-acre field is a demonstration site for every constructed conservation practice cited in Iowa's Nutrient Reduction Strategy, according to Tim Recker, past president of Iowa LICA. LICA members will be stationed around the farm to dig into the details of how each system is constructed and how it functions to protect water quality.

           

 

Online registration takes just moments at https://www.ctic.org/cia_tour/registration. The $175 registration fee includes transportation, stops and all meals. A limited number of rooms are available at the Embassy Suites Downtown in Des Moines at a special Conservation in Action Tour rate of $129 per night for August 20 and 21.

 

For more information on the Conservation in Action Tour, visit CTIC's website or call CTIC at (765) 494-9555.