Iowa has over 28 million acres of land devoted to agricultural crops; of those, around 13 million acres are devoted to corn and another 10 million acres to soybeans. Many of the ag fields surrounding the Greenway rotate through these two crops (crop duopoly? dual cropopoly?) year after year.
The fields due north of the wetlands, though, are different. For the past few years they have been planted in alfalfa, a crop that fixes nitrogen in the soil and requires fewer inputs like fertilizer and pesticides than other common crops. Its purple flowers are also beneficial for bees and other pollinators (though pollination does involve bonking the bee on the head); in fact, alfalfa is considered an insectary plant, attracting and harboring a variety of beneficial insects including ladybeetles and parasitic wasps. Green fields of alfalfa may also provide cover and foraging places for a variety of birds.
The fields were cut recently, but will regrow again. As a perennial, alfalfa can be harvested 3 or 4 times each summer, regrowing from the root each time; its deep roots help prevent soil erosion. Once harvested, the alfalfa is dried and baled, ultimately destined to feed cows, horses, and other animals.
The land on which the alfalfa grows is owned by Resilient Sustainable Future for Iowa City (RSFIC), a local foundation dedicated to empowering and building community solutions and supporting the neighborhoods where we live and work. Though originally intended to be part of an ambitious development project, these 47 acres planted in alfalfa remain one small but important demonstration of how decisionmakers can build care for our natural world into the foundation of every action.
