Transforming Drainage: Retaining Water for Increased Resiliency

Drainage is a critical element of agricultural production on poorly drained soils, but challenges related to nitrogen and phosphorus losses from drained lands are causing producers to implement new strategies for managing nutrients. Practices that enhance denitrification such as bioreactors and saturated buffers, and practices that increase storage in the landscape such as controlled drainage and treatment wetlands can reduce nutrient losses. Drainage water recycling is a new practice that stores water in a pond and recycles it back onto crops during summer dry periods. A regional project (http://transformingdrainage.org) is advancing research and outreach on these drainage storage practices across the Corn Belt, and this presentation will review recent research on potential ways to improve both water quality and crop yields.