Register.

The Midwest Cover Crops Council’s annual meeting and covercrop conference will be held in Dubuque, Iowa in February 2026. Join us incelebrating the 20th anniversary of the Midwest Cover Crops Council, whosemission is to empower a network of producers, landowners, researchers, industryprofessionals, agencies, Extension specialists, and government stakeholders toincrease cover crop adoption.

The Midwest Cover Crops Council’s annual meeting will takeplace on Tuesday, February 10th, and will be followed by a day of cover cropeducation on February 11th at the Grand River Center in Dubuque, Iowa.Producers, students, scientists, and industry partners will come together todiscuss current cover crop topics and their significance to agriculture andconservation.

A range of topics centered around the management andutilization of cover crops will be presented by regional university, farmer,and government experts. Around 300 researchers, educators, and farmers fromaround the region are expected to attend. This is an excellent opportunity tolearn more about integrating cover crops on the farm.

The cover crop conference features breakout sessionsfocusing on cover crops in row crop systems, cover crops used for livestockforage and grazing resources, and conservation-related topics.

Row crop breakout sessions include:

• Cover crop species selection and establishment (Dr. MarkLicht, Iowa State University)
• Pythium and allelopathy (Dr. Alison Robertson, Iowa StateUniversity)
• Cover crops and nutrients ahead of corn (Dr. Matt Ruark,University of Wisconsin, and Dr. Shalamar Armstrong, Purdue University)
• Planter setup for planting green (Dr. Brian Luck, Universityof Wisconsin)

Forage and Grazing breakout sessions include:

• Mixtures vs. monocultures (Dr. Kim Cassida, Michigan StateUniversity)
• Cover crop grazing quality (Denise Schwab, Iowa StateUniversity)
• Quality, quantity, and forage timing (Dr. Brad Heins,University of Minnesota)
• Planting alfalfa into green cereal rye (Dr. Marta Kohmann,University of Wisconsin)

Conservation breakout sessions include:

• How to talk to your landlord or tenant about conservation(Landon Baumgartner and Josh Bendorf, University of Wisconsin Extension)
• A decade of monitoring conservation practices in the BlackHawk Lake watershed (Dr. Michelle Soupir, Iowa State University)
• Wind erosion and conservation practices (Zack Smith, Iowafarmer)
• Increased working days with conservation practices (Dr.Stefan Gailans, Practical Farmers of Iowa)

Students and professionals are invited to participate in theposter session at the Midwest Cover Crops Council annual meeting on February10. The poster registration deadline is January 20, 2026. Only students areeligible for prizes by entering the poster competition. Students may submit anacademic research poster on cover crops or continuous living cover. Learn moreabout the poster session at www.midwestcovercrops.org/meetings/.

Registration costs $110 per day if registeredbefore January 10th, and $125 per day for registrations after January 10th.Learn more and register online at https://www.midwestcovercrops.org/meetings/