Washington County Extension hosts inaugural Women in Ag Farm Crawl

CRAWFORDSVILLE — The Washington County ISU Extension Office and the Washington County Women in Agriculture Advisory Board held a new event Saturday that took women on a tour of farms and local businesses.

The first-ever Women in Ag Farm Crawl was designed as a networking and learning opportunity for women. It included four stops in the greater Washington County area, each one showing a different side of agriculture. The stops were Hilltop Dairy east of Wayland, where the ladies got to sample some of its dairy products; Geode Forestry in northern Henry County, where the group learned about Iowa’s forest and timber industry; the ISU Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm near Crawfordsville; and lastly the Revasser Winery, which included a wine tasting.

During the stop at the ISU Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm, farm superintendent Cody Schneider told the group about the experiments Iowa State University researchers conduct at the farm. He said the farm is 274 acres, and on that land the researchers conduct 47 experiments every year. Most projects cover an acre of ground, though some of the larger ones cover 5-10 acres. One of the larger ones is a 40-acre project studying tile drainage.

“Water quality is a hot topic now, and one of the things we’re studying is how to minimize nutrient loss downstream from corn and soybean production,” Schneider said. “For our tile drainage project, we’re looking at ways to improve yields and limit the nitrates that go through the tile.”

Saturday’s event gave Schneider an opportunity to advertise the grand opening of the new building at the research farm, which is set for Sept. 8. Construction on the building began in the spring, and contractors are putting the finishing touches on it. Schneider said he hopes it will bring even more people to the farm.

“This is an ideal location because we’re right in the middle of three counties,” Schneider said, noting that the farm is right on the Washington-Louisa county line, and is just north of Henry County. “This is also going to benefit the town of Crawfordsville.”

The ISU Southeast Research and Demonstration Farm was started in 1987, and is one of 13 such farms ISU runs throughout the state. This particular farm conducts research covering a 21-county region and involves 30 project leaders, mostly from ISU. Schneider said research projects cover every aspect of farming from weed control, insect management, seed productivity, and more. Though it focuses on corn and soybeans, the farm also studies raspberries and nut trees, and has a five-acre plot dedicated to organic farming.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com