Agricultural News
No-Till on the Plains to Host Soil Health Field Day
Mon, 11 Jul 2016 14:27:04 CDT
Improving soil health through continuous no-till cropping systems is the focus of a field day on Thursday, July 28, in Leedey, Okla. The event is hosted by No-till on the Plains. Producers, crop consultants, media and public are invited to attend.
The event begins at 8:30 a.m. at the Leedey Community Center, 100 N. Main. A field tour will follow at the Jimmy Emmons farm, examining field plots, long-term no-till fields and pollinator field borders, as well as a discussion of soils and soil communities in a soil pit. Lunch will be provided at the Leedey Community Center. Afternoon presentations will feature producers and soil health experts, concluding with a question and answer session.
Registration is $30 per person for non-members, $15 for members. Pre-register at notill.org by July 26. Limited space is available for walk-ins, with meals not guaranteed.
Featured speakers include Greg Scott, professional soil scientist from Tyron, Okla., will discuss soil quality, soil structure and the positive impacts of continuous no-till on soil health. He also will answer questions on continuous no-till and cover crops.
No-till producer Alan Mindemann, Apache, Okla., will share his experience converting fields previously under conventional tillage to no-till, as well as using forages with livestock and cover crops without livestock.
Keith Berns, no-till producer and owner of Green Cover Seed, Bladen, Neb., will share the keys to healthy soils and how the production and consumption of carbon in the soil is similar to the financial economies across the world.
Visit notill.org or call 785-210-4549 for more information. Pre-registration online is encouraged.
This high-quality education event is funded through a grant from USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service and Oklahoma State University Extension with support from Texas A&M Agrilife, the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts and the Oklahoma Conservation Commission. Sponsors include Green Cover Seed, Farmers Business Network, CHS Cover Crop Seed Resources and Farm Credit of Western Oklahoma.
No-till farming systems offer several advantages to producers willing to implement the system. Fewer trips across fields without tillage passes will reduce fuel costs. Increasing crops in rotations breaks weed and insect pest cycles. Increased crop residue and root systems will increase soil organic matter and microbiological activity, thereby increasing the productiveness and fertility of the soil. Implemented in a site-specific systems approach, no-till will, over time, outperform conventional tillage.
To meet its mission, No-till on the Plains hosts field events, provides a networking opportunity for producers and the annual Winter Conference for producers to gain valuable no-till information.
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