Oct. 12 presentation features Iowa State University Postdoctoral Researcher, Laura Alt discussing antimicrobial resistance in agroecosystems and potential impact on public health

Ames, Iowa – The Iowa Learning Farms (ILF) conservation webinar taking place Oct. 12 at noon CDT will feature Laura Alt, postdoctoral researcher at Iowa State University. Alt’s PhD research focused on characterizing and quantifying the effect that prairie strips may have on the fate and transport of pollutants moving with surface runoff and drainage water in agricultural watersheds. She is currently conducting research on the impact of agricultural management practices on microbes in the environment.

Iowa Learning Farms is an Iowa State University Extension and Outreach conservation and water quality education program.

In the webinar, “From Rump to Runoff: The Transport of Antimicrobial Resistance in Agricultural Ecosystems,” Alt will discuss the characteristics of antimicrobial resistance as a pollutant, its relationship with agricultural production and methods researchers utilize to track antimicrobial resistance within the broader environment. She will highlight the results of three research projects which investigated the role prairie strips play in reducing the movement of antimicrobial resistant contaminants within agroecosystems. In addition, Alt will discuss the relationship between the movement of such contaminants and how they can affect public health.

“The transport of antimicrobial resistant contaminants into food and water chains is one of the world’s most urgent public health issues that links the health of humans, animals and the environment,” said Alt. “Conservation practices such as prairie strips are proving to be viable tools to address these issues by intercepting and degrading manure-associated antibiotic resistance contaminants, thereby inhibiting loss to waterways with a relatively low risk for accumulation of these contaminants in the prairie strip soils.”

Participants in Iowa Learning Farms Conservation Webinars are encouraged to ask questions of the presenters. People from all backgrounds and areas of interest are encouraged to join.

Webinar Access Instructions

To participate in the live webinar, shortly before noon CDT Oct. 12:

Click this URL, or type this web address into your internet browser: https://iastate.zoom.us/j/364284172

Or, go to https://iastate.zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID: 364 284 172

Or, join from a dial-in phone line:

Dial: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 876 9923

Meeting ID: 364 284 172

The webinar will also be recorded and archived on the ILF website, so that it can be watched at any time. Archived webinars are available at: https://www.iowalearningfarms.org/webinars

A Certified Crop Adviser board-approved continuing education unit (CEU) has been applied for. Those who participate in the live webinar are eligible. Information about how to apply to receive the credit will be provided at the end of the live webinar.

Upcoming Webinars in the Series:

10/19: Prashant Jha, Iowa State University

10/26: Matt Nowatzke, Iowa State University

11/2: Adam Schnieders, Iowa Department of Natural Resources

11/9: John McMaine, South Dakota State University