FINAL REMINDER
Free Webinar
Offered by National Center for Appropriate Technology
Innovative No-Till: Using Multi-Species Cover Crops to Improve Soil Health
Thursday, December 16th, 2010
1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time
No-till farming is an increasingly popular way to manage farmland. Instead of plowing a field after the crop is harvested, farmers leave the stubble on the ground and plant the new crop directly into the remaining residue. The benefits of no-till
include reduced soil erosion and improved soil biology. However, one disadvantage of no-till is the reliance on purchased inputs such as herbicides and synthetic fertilizers.
Innovative farmers throughout the grain belt are experimenting with more sustainable no-till techniques. One such technique is including the use of multi-species cover crops to add nutrients to the soil, stimulate the soil biology, reduce input costs, and
provide forage for livestock. To explore this innovation, the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA), and USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) are jointly presenting a special webinar on Thursday, December 16th.
This free webinar will feature four case studies of grain farmers in central North Dakota who are successfully using mixes of up to 14 species of cover crops in a single “cocktail” mixture. The presentation will address how these cocktails are used to improve
soil health, increase biological diversity, and benefit the bottom line in no-till grain operations.
The main presenter for the webinar is Jay Fuhrer, District Conservationist with USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) in Bismarck, North Dakota. Fuhrer will present four on-farm case studies from North Dakota that illustrate how farmers use cover
crop “cocktails” to enhance crop production and livestock forage in no-till grain operations. Susan Tallman, a Certified Crop Adviser with the National Center for Appropriate Technology, will introduce Fuhrer and help answer questions from listeners at the
end of the webinar.
Please share this announcement with others in your organization, and then join us on December 16th for this informative free webinar. Click on the link below to register.
Innovative No-Till Webinar registration:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/723651554
CORRECTION: A prior press release incorrectly stated that this webinar will discuss how cover crops are plowed back into the ground. This is not accurate. Because these cover crops are used in a no-till system, none of the
cover crops are ever plowed. Rather, they are terminated by grazing, forage removal, harvesting, or other non-soil disturbing methods. Our apologies for this inaccuracy.
We will not sell or share your information. Period.
Vicki Morrone
C. S. Mott Group for Sustainable Food Systems
Outreach Specialist for Organic Vegetable and Field Crops
303 Natural Resources
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-353-3542/517-282-3557 (cell)
517-353-3834 (Fax)