The study so far has taken place on a farm near Sioux City, but researchers are finding that the results may be useful to farmers in other areas.  

“The research got started because some of (Matt) Schuiteman's land is close to wells Sioux Center relies on for drinking water, and nitrate levels were rising,” the article reads.

The Sioux Center research project examined five alternative cropping systems "on a 40-acre tract of Schuiteman's land, above a bank of shallow wells that provide more than 50 percent of the drinking water for Sioux Center, pop. 7,210," reads the original Sioux City Journal article by Dave Dreeszen.

Schuiteman said he’s been using cover crops now for four or five years, telling the news agency that what he’s learned has been effective at keeping nitrates out of the water.

The research was helped by a $90,000 grant and evaluated alternatives such as growing corn two summers in a row with a winter rye cover crop in between or rotating corn with alfalfa, red clover, oats, wheat and soybeans. Farmers plant cover crops between growing seasons in an effort to limit erosion and replenish nutrients in the ground.

In all, the project brought together local landowners, officials from the city of Sioux Center, the Sioux County Soil and Water Conservation District, state and federal service providers and professors from nearby Dordt College, according to a news release by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

This unique partnership looked at five alternative cropping systems and how nitrogen moves through the soil over time. It was funded by the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ Source Water Protection Program for Targeted Community Water Supplies. Findings were presented at a March 20 public meeting attended by more than 50 people.  FG

—Summarized by FG staff from cited sources