Farmers explored a range of conservation practices, from drainage water recycling and oxbow restoration to strip-till and cover crops during a choose-your-own-adventure field tour designed to bring real-world solutions to life across western Iowa last week.

I studied agronomy at Iowa State after growing up on a diverse farm, and while I was there, decided to double major in horticulture, which turned out to be the greatest thing I’ve accidentally done. 

“We’ve been doing high-yield plots for about 6 years now,” Mark Schleisman says. “Every year, we try something new and learn what we can do across all our acres. Some things work and some don’t.”

"Soybeans planted into heavy corn residue looked really tough during the spring and summer. While they do every year, 2025 seemed especially pronounced. Why? And is there anything we can do about it?" Read more in this latest piece from independent agronomist Joe Ailts.

"While too small to see with the naked eye, microbial good guys establish a highly complex underground network of spider-web-like filaments that connect plant root tips with areas of the soil profile that the roots cannot reach," says independent agronomist and farmer Joe Ailts.

This Week's Lineup:

• B.S.’ing About Biologicals
• Two Strip-Tillers Ready to Rock with Early Soybeans
• Why I Fell in Love with Strip-Till
• Strip-Tiller Experiments with Twin-Row 60-Inch Corn
• Tips for Getting Started with AI on Your Farm

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