Digester Cover Crops
A Story from the LandNovel Research Project Unites Corn, Soy and Livestock Producers
In collaboration with the Iowa Smart Agriculture (IASA) initiative, supported by Solutions from the Land and Iowa State University (ISU), researchers and farmer leaders are exploring the feasibility of using cover crops, which help retain carbon in the soil, as a feedstock for anaerobic digestion, which produces renewable natural gas that can be used to fire generators and produce electrical power. This novel project connects two subsectors of agriculture; corn and soy producers who are seeking solutions to erosion, nutrient leaching and soil health challenges, with livestock producers looking for value added ways to manage manure; in a quest for win-win-win outcomes that benefits producers and the planet. IASA is participating with ISU providing farmer input into the research and spearheading farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing.
IASA is partnering with the Consortium for Cultivating Human And Naturally reGenerative Enterprises, or C-CHANGE, to catalyze new science and engineering breakthroughs to deliver abundant, affordable and safe food to 10 billion people without compromising the Earth’s supportive capacity in the long term.
SfL Pathways: integrated solutions to SDGs, multi-stakeholder collaboration, landscape scale, market-based mechanisms that can boost ecosystem services, soil health, infrastructure
Addressing SDGs: affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, sustainable cities and communities, climate action, life on land
Our Vision
An Agricultural Renaissance, led by innovative and entrepreneurial farmers, ranchers and foresters constructing sustainable, profitable and resilient systems that lay the foundation for a world of abundance on many scales capable of producing nutritious food, feed, fiber, clean energy, healthy ecosystems, quality livelihoods, and strong rural economies.
