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Golden Hills Project Coordinator Shaun Ahern recently finished the test plot portions of the Midwest Cover Crop Council’s Cover Crops Essentials course. The test plots consisted of two different cover crop mixes he created that each had two 3 feet x 3 feet test plots. The first mix consisted of red clover, sorghum sudangrass, and buckwheat. The second mix included crimson clover, oats, and mustard. He chose these mixes to see how the combination of different functional groups led to the mixes’ performance. For the first plot of each, all three species were broadcast seeded at a 100% seeding rate. For the second plot of each, the two colver species were broadcast seeded at a 100% seeding rate while all others were seeded at a 50% seeding rate. He finished up by taking biomass samples and measuring other ecosystem services indicators. The graphics below include a table of the measurements for 7 ecosystem service indicators and a spider plot of their axis scores to visualize how each mixture performed among those indicators.    Photos below include the test plots before samples were removed, including each of the species present, and the amount of each sample after they were removed. The total biomass collected of each species is as follows:
 oats  buckwheat  sorghum sudangrass  crimson clover  red clover  all four test plots  collected samples of all species that emerged These test plots allowed Shaun to get hands-on experience with cover crop research. Overall, the Cover Crops Essentials course allowed him to gain a better understanding of all the various factors to consider and that come into play with designing cover crop mixtures, planting, establishing, managing, and terminating cover crops. This should be helpful to Golden Hills staff with future projects that involve cover crops. Cover crops are an important in-field conservation and soil health practice that can provide a multitude of benefits, including the ecosystem service indicators in the graphics above and other benefits such as nitrogen scavenging, pest predation, and possible forage for livestock.
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Cottonwood Hill Farms in McClelland, owned & operated by John & Gina Springhower, recently opened an on-farm store in McClelland. Customers must purchase a membership to shop at Cottonwood Hill Market. Memberships are $50 for one year, and annual renewals are only $25 every year thereafter. The market has a freezer stocked with their beef, pork and chicken, all raised with no antibiotics or vaccines. Their beef is 100% grass-fed and the chickens are free range, organic and soy-free. They also have soy-free eggs, rendered pork lard, and rendered beef tallow. Soaps, body washes and lotions made by a neighbor with natural ingredients are also available. Cottonwood Hill Market Hours: Mon: Closed Tues: 11am - 1pm Wed: 11am - 1pm Thurs: Closed Fri: 5pm - 7pm Sat: 11am - 1pm Sund: 11am - 1pm Learn more by visiting their website, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.       photo from Cottonwood Hill Farms Facebook page. Golden Hills is excited to announce that Charlie Schilling has been hired as our new Trails Coordinator! Charlie will primarily be developing recreational trails in Pottawattamie County, in partnership with Pottawattamie County Trails Association and Pottawattamie Conservation. Charlie is energized to be the first-ever Trails Coordinator for Golden Hills. He has had past success bringing people, stakeholders and organizations together for a common cause and for the good of the overall community while leading some high-profile public projects. He also produces Tour de Nebraska, one of the premier bicycle tours in the Midwest. Charlie has fostered many industry, professional and personal relationships that have been established based on earned trust over three decades. This standard will continue while building relationships and trails throughout western Iowa. Join us in welcoming Charlie to the team!  |
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