We are so close to reaching our 2023 member survey response goal and you can help us get there! More than 900 PFI members have already taken the survey – which we only send once every three years – but we need your help to reach our goal of 1,200 responses.

If you're a current PFI member, please fill out the survey and lend your voice to this chorus of members who are helping us understand our diverse membership, steering our priorities and keeping us proudly member-led.

You'll find a custom survey link in an email we sent on March 29. Please check the inbox of the email address connected to your PFI membership, or reply to this Practical News email if you need us to send your survey link again.

Win some swag! We know you're busy and filling out surveys isn't always high on your to-do list. To sweeten the deal, and as a thank-you, we'll send PFI swag to 50 random new respondents once we we reach our response goal.

Iowa's hot and humid summers bring many challenges to fall cauliflower production. But choosing early-maturing varieties may give growers the upper hand.

Last season, our PFI cooperators put five different varieties to the test.

Read our latest research report to see which variety produced larger heads and higher marketable weights among most cooperator farms.

Looking for cover crop services but unsure where to begin?

Our Find Cover Crops app and website can help you easily locate cover crop seed, services and suppliers in your area.

Download the free app in the App Store or Google Play Store, or click here to access it in your web browser.

But research has shown that letting rye grow for longer in the spring can help control weeds and boost other benefits of cover crops. 

Read how three farmers tested this approach on their farms in our Summer 2020 magazine article.

Solveig Orngard joins the PFI team as a field crops education coordinator.

In this role, she works with the farmer-led education and field crops departments to engage farmers and coordinate educational programs, both virtual and in the field.

Growing up in Boone County, Iowa, she developed a deep-rooted connection with the land that brought her back to her home state. Read more about Solveig.

Are you looking for experience growing flowers, raising organic row crops or managing cattle and hogs?

Apply to one of 15 Labor4Learning jobs across Iowa and get paid, on-the-job training with experienced farmers this summer!

You'll receive personal guidance in the business and production skills you need to run a successful farm.

April 15: Livestock on the Land – Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival

May 6: PFI Social – Devine-Johnson Family Farm

April 29: PFI Social – Whiterock Conservancy

Coming in May: Field Day Season Stay tuned as we announce 40+ farmer-led field days.

Jack Boyer of Reinbeck, IA, was featured in the Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman: Conservation practices paying off in NE Iowa

Chase & Jessica Weller of Sharpsburg, IA, were featured in the Iowa Farm Bureau Spokesman: Weller embraces learning and leading by example

Mike Bollinger of Decorah, IA, was featured on the podcast "Rhymes With Decorah:" Rhymes With... Mike Bollinger - SSE Executive Director

Ben Hoksch of Ames, IA, was featured on the "Donna Lonna Kitchen Podcast:" 051: Heritage Pork & Early Tastes of Spring

Jenny & Eric Quiner of Des Moines, IA, were featured in the Des Moines Register: Dogpatch Urban Gardens set to open new garden center with 400 new plant varieties on Saturday

Mary Wiedenhoeft of Ames, IA, was mentioned on the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences website: Wiedenhoeft named interim chair of Iowa State’s Department of Agronomy

J. Arbuckle of Ames, IA, was mentioned on the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences website: Arbuckle, O’Neal will share sustainable agriculture chair position at Iowa State University

LaVon Griffieon of Ankeny, IA, Linda Wattonville of Alleman, IA, and Aaron Lehman of Polk City, IA, were featured in the Des Moines Register: These family farms fear Des Moines suburbs will gobble them up. Should they be protected?

Sally Worley, PFI's executive director, was featured twice by Food Tank:

PFI was mentioned in The Farmer's Exchange: Cynthia Hayes Scholarship Opens

Have you been featured in the media? If you're a PFI member, tell us when and where to find a link to the article, and we'll feature you in a future issue of Practical News.

Contact: tamsyn.jones@practicalfarmers.org

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