We have a vision of a profitable agriculture that safeguards the resources that make productive agriculture possible. That is

Why We Do

perennial
solutions

Cover Crops to keep soil covered, protecting it from wind and water erosion
Agroforestry for long-lived, high-dollar crops
Biofuel for low-input, high-return use of marginal land
Livestock to graze perennial forages
Perennial Grains so that someday, harvesting a good crop of grain doesn't mean tilling and planting every year.


No Silver Bullet

. . . that's why we use . . .

Silver Buckshot

"Silver buckshot" is a phrase used by Linda Meschke of Rural Advantage.

It means we don't work on just one solution or just one facet of agriculture. The challenges and opportunities faced by agriculture are deep and complex, and one approach alone won't do.

Green Lands Blue Waters collaborators work on production, marketing, transportation, agronomy, plant breeding, economics, soil and water research, and social acceptance of perennial agricultural systems.

News

New Water Quality Practice from Leopold Center

Jan. 17, 2011
The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University documented reduced nitrate outflow from tile drainage due to the use of a new conservation practice called a "saturated buffer." The practice involves diverting drainage water from a tile system to a riparian buffer area. Read more

Cover Crop Use in Market Vegetable Production

Dec. 15, 2011
The Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison released this case study of cover cropping on the Jen-Ehr Family Farm, a vegetable production operation near Madison. Paul Erhardt discusses cover crop strategies, benefits, and management over 10 years on his farm.Read the case study

News Archive


Agriculture in the central part of the United States is tremendously productive.

Bushels per acre of corn, soybeans, wheat -- hundredweights of potatoes -- crates of tomatoes and cucumbers -- beef, hogs, poultry --

The Mississippi River Basin does it all, and better than anywhere else in the world.

The farmers are skilled and hard-working stewards of the land.

They face challenges.

There are extremes of weather. Floods. Drought. Excessive Heat.

There are volatile commodity prices and rising input costs. Land. Seed. Crop Protection. Fertilizer. Fuel.

For all these reasons universities, researchers, private industry, and non-profit organizations are coming together into the Green Lands Blue Waters network ...

...because we care about Agriculture.


Get Involved