Balancing Biomass Production and Crop Yields

Sep 15, 2025

The Iowa Learning Farms (ILF) conservation webinar taking place Sep. 17, at noon CDT will feature Sabrina Ruis, Ph.D., research soil scientist, USDA-ARS National Laboratory for Agriculture and the Environment. Ruis investigates how different soil management practices (cover crops, tillage, organic farming, soil amendments) impact soil health indicators.

In the webinar, “Managing Cover Crops to Achieve High Biomass and Improve Soil Health Indicators,” Ruis will discuss the importance of cover crops in contributing to soil health and the production of biomass. She will also dive into the details of how this important soil management tool must be balanced through the adoption of best management practices to ensure the maximum soil benefits and crop yields can be achieved.

Source : usda.gov

Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.