Northwest Iowa farmers will get a close-up look at data-driven agriculture on Monday, when a Sioux Rapids grower opens his fields to the public for a hands-on look at how numbers are reshaping modern crop management.
Will Jones farms just under 3,000 acres of row crops outside Sioux Rapids, and he’s built his entire operation around gathering and interpreting field data. According to Practical Farmers of Iowa, Jones is now in his third year of planting corn after corn on about 90 percent of his acres — a decision he makes using carbon scores from his soil.
Jones samples soil by pulling cores from zones across his fields, and he supplements that with tissue sampling to see what’s happening inside the plants during the growing season. That information helps him adjust fertilizer plans, evaluate crop stress and make in-season management decisions. He’s experimented with a range of cover crops over the years — triticale, rye, turnips and radishes — and now plants winter camelina as his sole cover crop.
At the field day, attendees will visit fields in Jones’ corn‑on‑corn rotation, look at how winter camelina fits into that system, and see the strip‑till equipment he uses, including Dawn Pluribus and Unverferth Zone‑Builder tools. They’ll also review real data from Jones’ soil and tissue sampling and hear how those numbers have shaped his decisions on fertility, rotation and soil health. A meal will follow the event.
Practical Farmers of Iowa says its field days are designed to help farmers learn directly from one another through demonstrations and open conversation — something Jones hopes will encourage more growers to explore data as a decision-making tool.
The field day is from 10 a.m. to noon Monday at Silo City, located at 4430 U.S. Highway 71 near Sioux Rapids. The event is free and open to the public. Attendees can RSVP online at practicalfarmers.org or by calling Practical Farmers of Iowa at 515‑232‑5661.
