Ames, Iowa — Iowa State University is getting a more than half a million dollar grant from the USDA to support research focused on planting two crops in the same field, like soybeans and winter wheat. It’s called relay intercropping and researchers are assessing how it impacts soil health and water quality in the area. US Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack says large commercial operations are doing well financially and the goal is to find ways to help small and mid-sized farms stay afloat.
The ISU project will incorporate winter wheat or rye in corn and soybean fields on three university research farms and six other independent farms.
The Iowa Soybean and Iowa Corn Growers Associations will get nearly $900 thousand from the USDA to conduct trials of how conservation practices and crop genetics impact yields.
Vilsack made his comments Thursday afternoon during a news conference in Ames.
Intercropping is common in some states that border Iowa, and elsewhere around the United States.
