Underground trenches filled with woodchips, called bioreactors, are gaining traction as viable edge-of-field tools to remove nitrogen (N) from the water that drains from agricultural fields. A new study from Iowa State University looked at how woodchip degradation affected the performance and lifespan of these bioreactors.

Although Trey Hill has been farming around 10,000 acres in Rock Hall, Md., his whole life, he’s quick to mention that he’s more a student than a teacher. It’s this instinct that leads him to perpetually tweak his nitrogen (N) management and cover-crop program, forever in search of more conservative and efficient techniques for the fourth generation family-run Harborview Farms.

Incorporating cover crops into a rotation can be thought of as a way to mimic perennial systems where nitrogen is rarely lost, says South Dakota State University Extension.