Cover
Crops and Soil Health Forum to Take Place This Winter at Hundreds of
Locations Nationwide
You are invited to
attend a free, live broadcast of the National
Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health and discuss how
to build soil health, improve yields, curb erosion, manage pests and
build resilience in your farming system. On Feb. 18, locations in every
state across the country will host Cover Crops and Soil Health Forums
where farmers will have the opportunity to learn from one another while
exploring local and national perspectives on cover crops.
Facilitated
discussions on local issues pertaining to cover crops will follow a
live-streamed broadcast of opening sessions from the national
conference, including a dialogue with Secretary of Agriculture Tom
Vilsack (invited) and Howard G. Buffett, plus a panel discussion with
expert farmers. Because the national conference attendance is limited,
the local forums represent a way to include farmers, educators and
researchers across the country in the emerging conversation about the
use and benefits of cover crops.
"This will be a
great opportunity for farmers interested in cover crops and soil health
to meet up with like-minded individuals from their local area to
discuss both local and national issues related to cover crops,"
said Dr. Rob Myers, conference chairman and Regional Director of
Extension Programs, North Central Region SARE. "We hope that
farmers will come prepared with questions and ideas that they can feed
back to USDA about programs and assistance needed for cover crops and
soil health."
Attendees of the
local forums will also have the opportunity to contribute ideas and
comments on cover crops and soil health back to the leadership group at
the national conference. These comments will be collected by staff at
the local sites as part of the local discussion process.
The Cover Crops and Soil Health
Forums will be held on Feb. 18 at over 200 Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Extension offices nationwide,
and is being organized in conjunction with the National Conference on Cover
Crops and Soil Health in Omaha, Neb. Both the national
conference and the local forums are jointly funded by SARE and the
Howard G. Buffett Foundation, with planning support from NRCS, the
Midwest Cover Crops Council and the Soil and Water Conservation
Society. The Omaha conference is invitation only; the local forums are
open to the public.
North Central SARE
funded a national survey of farmers who have grown cover crops, and
found that during the 2012 drought, corn and soybean fields that had
been cover cropped yielded 9.6 percent to 14.3 percent better than
fields that had not been cover cropped. And with an estimated 1.5
million to 2 million acres of cover crops planted in 2012, the practice
is increasingly recognized as key to sustainability, productivity and
profitability.
Please RSVP to ensure adequate seating and to get specific
details about the forum as programs will vary by location. Live
streaming from the national conference will begin at forum locations at
9 am Central Standard Time, except at Pacific Standard Time locations,
where the broadcast will begin at 10 am Pacific Standard Time.
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