Agricultural News
Farmers Gather to Kick the Dirt at Whirlwind No-Till Expo in Leedy, OK
Fri, 29 Jul 2016 12:22:31 CDT
More than 130 farmers and members of the soil conscious community gathered in Leedy, Oklahoma to attend the Whirlwind No-Till Expo, hosted by Jimmy Emmons and sponsored by No-Till on the Plains. RON Farm Director Ron Hays, caught up with their executive director, Steve Swaffar, at the one day No Till Expo and talked with him about the increasing interest in Soil Health and all that entails.
"The people that come to our conference are those that are concerned about soil health, they want to make that a priority on their farm," Swaffar said. "We try to showcase in the field what we teach people about in the cold part of the year."
The expo featured a morning tour of Mr. Emmons' no-till farm which highlighted several innovations including his long-term no-till fields, pollinator field borders and his soil pit. Several presentations were also made on some of the cutting edge no-till related topics such as cover crops, soil health practices and the economy of soils or carbonomics, which you can learn more about all these topics by visiting www.notill.org.
Swaffar says that no-till is by no means a new concept. He explained it was a very common practice that farmers' grandfathers and great-grandfathers regularly used and that people are now having to relearn what was once known. He claims no-till practices not only provide natural weed control and wildlife habitat, but farmers can also expect to enjoy more profitability with their crops, producing better yields from healthier soil.
No-till farming is a global community says Swaffar, who believes it is the mission of the organization to serve all levels of no-till farmers from beginners to veterans and bring in new ideas to help farmers restore their soil back to the way it was first used in farming.
"There's nothing better for a farmer to go out and see where it is being done and how it's being done and kick the dirt a little bit and ask questions," Swaffar said.
Listen to Steve Swaffar talking with Ron Hays at the No-Till on the Plains event by clicking on the LISTEN BAR below.
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