Turning unproductive acres into profitable solutions

June 12, 2025 | Kriss Nelson

The Iowa Soybean Association’s (ISA) Research Center for Farming Innovation has announced a series of meetings showcasing the association’s research and conservation efforts.

Through its Innovation to Profit events, the team will provide a firsthand look at how farmers have turned unprofitable, unproductive areas of the farm into ones that return benefits to the farm.

“We hope farmers take away from these events how conservation works within a working farm,” says Brandon Iddings, ISA senior conservation services manager. “The ISA research agronomists will be available, providing in-season crop updates and ISA conservation agronomists to talk about cover crops and in-field conservation management.”

Turkey River Watershed Innovation to Profit

The first Innovation to Profit field day will take place on June 24, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Bouska Sisters Farm, 1438 County Road V64 in Fort Atkinson.

The tour will highlight pollinator strips, wetlands, cover crops and cost-share opportunities, showing how to integrate conservation into a farm’s unproductive acres.

“The landowners used precision agriculture to identify unproductive areas of their fields, and rather than losing money on land that isn’t productive, they are exploring conservation practices that can deliver environmental and economic benefits,” Iddings says.

Attendees will also learn about relay cropping with cereal rye.

Register Here 

For more information, contact Kennady Henry, ISA producer services coordinator, at 515-491-3539 or khenry@iasoybeans.com.

Farm to River Innovation to Profit

The second Innovation to Profit Summer Field Day will be hosted by Dave and Kathy Law at 33291 110th St., Lohrville on July 8 from 9 a.m. to noon. The event site is located half a mile east of the farm.

This field day highlights how conservation can be implemented on a farm’s unused land, emphasizing solutions for wetlands, less productive areas and in-field problems during a wetland and native prairie walk.

An optional tour of oxbows, saturated buffers and woodchip bioreactors will be held after lunch.  

“This area remained consistently wet and was low-lying ground that had been farmed for years, despite not always producing,” says Iddings. “The project highlights the benefits of taking unproductive, unprofitable land out of row crop production and converting it into a valuable conservation practice.”

The field day will also include a seasonal crop update by Mikaela Connelly, ISA research agronomist, covering diseases, pests and fungicide trials.

Register Here

For more information, contact Paige Whitney, ISA producer services coordinator, at 712-371-9901 or pwhitney@iasoybeans.com.

Certified Crop Advisors (CCA) credits are available.

Written by Kriss Nelson.

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