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Midwest Cover Crops Council to soon celebrate its 20th anniversary
cover crops
A cover crop of winter wheat was planted after soybean harvest last fall. There are a variety of cover crops that will be looked at on the April 6 field day north of Juda.

DUBUQUE — The Midwest Cover Crops Council’s annual meeting and cover crop conference will be held in Dubuque, Iowa in February 2026. Join them in celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Midwest Cover Crops Council, whose mission is to empower a network of producers, landowners, researchers, industry professionals, agencies, Extension specialists, and government stakeholders to increase cover crop adoption.

The Midwest Cover Crops Council’s annual meeting will take place on Feb. 10, and will be followed by a day of cover crop education on Feb. 11 at the Grand River Center in Dubuque.

Producers, students, scientists, and industry partners will come together to discuss current cover crop topics and their significance to agriculture and conservation. A range of topics entered around the management and utilization of cover crops will be presented by regional university, farmer, and government experts. Around 300 researchers, educators, and farmers from around the region are expected to attend. This is an opportunity to learn more about integrating cover crops on the farm. 

The cover crop conference features breakout sessions focusing on cover crops in row crop systems, cover crops used for livestock forage and grazing resources, and conservation-related topics.

Row crop breakout sessions include:

Cover crop species selection and establishment (Dr. Mark Licht, Iowa State U.)

●  Pythium and allelopathy (Dr. Alison Robertson, Iowa State U.)

●  Cover crops and nutrients ahead of corn (Dr. Matt Ruark, UW-Madison, and Dr. Shalamar Armstrong, Purdue U.)

●  Planter setup for planting green (Dr. Brian Luck, UW-Madison)

Forage and grazing breakout sessions include:

●  Mixtures vs. monocultures (Dr. Kim Cassida, Michigan State U.)

●  Cover crop grazing quality (Denise Schwab, Iowa State U.)

●  Quality, quantity, and forage timing (Dr. Brad Heins, U. of Minnesota)

●  Planting alfalfa into green cereal rye (Dr. Marta Kohmann, UW-Madison)

Conservation breakout sessions include: 

●  How to talk to your landlord or tenant about conservation (Landon Baumgartner and Josh Bendorf, UW Extension)

●  A decade of monitoring and conservation practices in the Black Hawk Lake watershed (Dr. Michelle Soupir, Iowa State U.)

●  Wind erosion and conservation practices (Zack Smith, Iowa farmer)

●  Increased working days with conservation practices (Dr. Stefan Gailans, Practical Farmers of Iowa)

Registration costs $110 per day if registered before Jan. 10, and $125 after. Learn more and register online at https://www.midwestcovercrops.org/meetings/.

Students and professionals are invited to participate in the poster session at the Midwest Cover Crops Council annual meeting on Feb. 10. The poster registration deadline is Jan. 20.

Only students are eligible for prizes by entering the poster competition. Students may submit an academic research poster on cover crops or continuous living cover. Learn more about the poster session at www.midwestcovercrops.org/meetings/.