Saturated buffers– do they really work!? How are researchers working with the boots on the ground to figure things out? Or is it all just a big guessing game? Guest host Trey Allis catches up with Dr. Matt Helmers and Charlie Schafer to answer these questions and more in this episode of the The Water Table Podcast on the road at the Iowa LICA Farm.
Episode Topics:
00:00 Intro
00:32 Coming up on The Water Table…
00:52 Welcome Matt and Charlie
04:00 Saturated buffers – what the heck are they?
06:00 What led to the invention…
07:30 It’s about economics and weather
08:30 Partnerships; they’re the jam.
10:15 Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t
11:30 Rural economic development
14:20 Going down the drain
15:00 Growing interest from contractors
15:40 Saturated buffers explained
16:50 Show me the money
17:50 Let’s get ‘er done
19:00 Don’t be stupid; make a plan!
22:00 But is it effective?
23:30 Transforming drainage
26:30 What’s next
30:00 We’re here to help
31:00 The last word
Related content:
Iowa Learning Farms
Conservation Drainage Network
Industry Best Practice: Saturated Buffer
How 5 Million Dollars, 39 Test Sites and 29 Bright Minds are Transforming Drainage
More episodes with Charlie Schafer & Dr. Matt Helmers:
#1: A Case for Water Management
#13: Advocacy and Water Management Practices
About the guests:
Charlie Schafer is the president and owner of Agri Drain Corporation, which he founded with his brothers in 1976. He has served on multiple boards associated with water management and is currently the Vice Chair for the National Land Improvement Contractors of America (LICA) Board and the Chairman of the Board for the Agriculture Drainage Management Coalition (ADMC). Charlie is also the founder and CEO of Ecosystem Services Exchange (ESE). He was inducted into the International Drainage Hall of Fame in 2022.
Dr. Matt Helmers is the Director of the Iowa Nutrient Research Center, the Dean’s Professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and a Professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering at Iowa State University, where he has been on the faculty since 2003. Dr. Helmers’ research areas include studies on the impact of nutrient management, cropping practices, drainage design and management, and strategic placement of buffer systems on nutrient export from agricultural landscapes.
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