Open house to be held at Cedar Creek Watershed

Interested in knowing the nitrate levels coming out of your tile lines? Mark your calendars to attend the open house hosted by the Cedar Creek Partnership and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach on Sept. 2, from 9 to 11 a.m. to learn more and receive a free retaiN testing kit that you can use to test the nitrogen in tile water leaving your farm.

The retaiN kits include strips for testing the level of nitrogen in the water and a booklet with information on how nitrogen is lost, instructions on using the strips to test for nitrogen and on farm solutions for retaining nitrogen.

The open house will be held at the Pekin Community School with support from the Pekin FFA Chapter. Stop by the open house for coffee and doughnuts, see a demonstration on how to use the kits, hear from farmers who have used the kits, and pick up a kit to use on your farm.

?There is no cost to obtain a kit,? said Lanessa Baker, Cedar Creek Watershed Coordinator, ?but we hope to engage farmers to being committed to sample their nitrate levels weekly or biweekly throughout the growing season.? The kits were developed through a partnership of the Conservation Districts of Iowa and Iowa State University Extension and Outreach with funding from the Iowa State Soil Conservation Committee.

The purpose of the project is not to collect data from farmers, but rather offer a simple way to test for nitrate, answer questions on what the numbers mean, and provide resources on managing nitrate levels.

The Pekin Community School is located at 1062 Birch Avenue in Packwood. Find us on the east end of the FFA plots, which are located north of the school. We will be at the east end of the plots by the grass strip along the highway.

For additional information on the open house or obtaining a retain kit, please contact Lanessa Baker, Cedar Creek Watershed Coordinator at 641-682-0752 or Rebecca Vittetoe, ISU Extension Field Agronomist at 319-653-4811.

Visit www.retainiowa.org for more information on these kits, which are part of the project, retaiN.