Iowa State University joins Kane-DuPage Soil & Water Conservation District to host Prairie Strips Field Day
Join the Kane County Farm Bureau, Kane-DuPage County Soil and Water Conservation District and the Iowa State University STRIPS team for a Prairie Strips Field Day in St. Charles beginning 9 a.m. on Thursday, July 25. Registration deadline is July 15.
Prairie strips, or CP 43, is a practice in the Conservation Reserve Program that protects soil and water while providing habitat for wildlife through the integration of native perennial plants into strategic locations within corn and soybean fields.
Presenter Tim Youngquist, Iowa State ag specialist, will highlight conservation benefits and the history of STRIPS, Science-based Trials of Row Crops Integrated with Prairie Strips.
Field day topics include prairie strip design, pollinators, roots and vegetation, soil retention, and water quality. The Farm Service Agency also will be on hand to answer additional questions, along with a Kane County Forest Preserve Naturalist.
The event will begin at the Kane County Farm Bureau with coffee and a brief welcome. The group will travel 2 miles to Prairie Green Preserve, 698 N. Peck Road in Geneva, for the field visit, then wrap up back at the Kane County Farmers Bureau with presentations and light refreshments.
Please dress for the weather, including long pants and closed-toe shoes in the field.
It will be 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday, July 25. Doors open at 8:30 a.m. at the Kane County Farmers Bureau, 2N710 Randall Road, St. Charles.
The group will meet near the Geneva Community Gardens parking lot to begin the field portion of the event. Parking is limited at the Geneva Community Gardens parking lot, so they encourage groups to carpool from the Kane County Farm Bureau to Prairie Green Preserve.
Registration is free but space is limited; please register online by July 15 via tinyurl.com/45bv2vtt