Organic Management Strategies

Organic Management Strategies for Flourishing Fields and Nutritious Crops

Tuesday, Sept. 9
10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Location

1684 260th St.
Garwin, IA 50632

Hosts

Daniel & Emily Sheetz and Family, Barred Owl Organics

Daniel and Emily Sheetz farm with their four kids and Emily’s parents, Alan and JoAnn Kouba, on 800 acres in Tama County, Iowa. They have been certified organic on a growing number of acres since 2010, and grow corn, soybeans, small grains and hay. Each year, the family experiments with adding cover crops and changing rotations. Aiming to support healthy people and animals, their main focus is on growing food-grade crops and planting prairie strips to support pollinators.

Join them to see clear hilum, a type of high-protein, food-grade soybean. You’ll also see a diverse cover crop mix, along with Daniel and Emily’s favorite weeding equipment. Finally, they’ll offer tips for transitioning to organic and share their plans to support pollinators using prairie strips with help from Natural Resources Conservation Service programs.

Meal

A meal will follow the field day (sponsored by Mad Capital).

See & Discuss

Growing and marketing clear hilum soybeans
The benefits of using a tine weeder, weed zapper (no demos due to safety concerns!), GPS technology and other equipment to effectively manage weeds
A multi-species cover crop mix planted following small-grain harvest
Management practices for organic transition
Plans and programs for establishing pollinator habitat with prairie strips

Speaker

Michele Crumrine – Tama County NRCS

Location Notes

If coming from the west, take U.S. 30 to U.S. 63 going north in Toledo to avoid low-maintenance roads. The field day location is about 1 mile west of U.S. 63 on 260th Street.

Farm Info

Instagram

Organic Management Strategies