For more information, contact:
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CCSI Contacts:
Hans Kok, Coordinator
Dan Towery, Assistant Coordinator
Barry Fisher, NRCS State Soil Health Specialist
Lisa Holscher, Soil Health Program Manager
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CCSI Partners:
Soil cover
Corn stubble in cover crops
Strip-till
No-till beans
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Connecting cover crops & increased profitability focus of Aug. 30 workshop
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Indianapolis -- As you improve soil health, do you increase profitability? Farmers from across central Indiana are invited to hear experts in sustainable agriculture provide their answers to that question on August 30 at the Soil Health Workshop in West Lafayette.
Barry Fisher, Indiana NRCS State Soil
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Barry Fisher
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Health Specialist and Dr. Hans Kok, from the Conservation Cropping Systems Initiative, start the day with the topic "Improve Soil Health - Increase Profitability." Fisher also will discuss the "Timing of Cover Crop Termination."
"Fertilizer Requirements Following a Cover Crop" is an important topic that many farmers have questions about. Betsy Bower, Agronomist, CCA, and Jeff Nagel, Agronomist, CCA, Ceres Solutions, will be on hand to deliver this presentation at 10:10 a.m.
 David R. Montgomery is the author of The Rocks Don't Lie: A Geologist Investigates Noah's Flood (2012), Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations (2007), and King of Fish: The Thousand-Year Run of Salmon (2003). Dr. Montgomery's presentation on "Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations" begins at 11 a.m.*
In his book Montgomery says "we are
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Montgomery
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running out of dirt, and it's no laughing matter." He sees "the recent rise of no-till farming as the hope for a new agricultural revolution that might help us avoid the fate of previous civilizations."
"In our operation, we strive to use Best Management Practices (BMPs) to create a system that is productive, economical and sustainable," said Rodney Rulon, one of the 12 CCSI farmers. "We know there is a cost to degrading our soil but until reading David Montgomery's book and hearing him talk about the effects agriculture has had on civilizations through history, we never really understood how extreme this cost could be. The connection between how we treat the land and our ability to feed future generations is something every farmer should hear."
Paul Marcellino will cover Private Applicator Recertification Program (PARP) recertification; Bruce and Mark Waibel, Solid Rock Farms, will demonstrate planter set-up; Christian Krupke, Purdue University Department of Entomology, will talk about insect identification and management; and Dr. Eileen Kladivko, Purdue University Department of Agronomy, brings the day full circle with a presentation on "testing biological aspects of soil health."
Registration is $15 and includes lunch. The day begins at 8 a.m. (EDT). The Beck Center is located at 4540 U.S. 52, West Lafayette. Certified Crop Adviser (CCA), Continuing Certification Hour (CCH) and Private Applicator Recertification Program (PARP) credits have been requested.
Register online or call any of the sponsoring SWCDs to register. If paying by check, make checks payable to the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts (IASWCD).
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* Dr. Montgomery's presentation is sponsored by GYPSOIL, Ron Chamberlain and Michael Musselman, Independent Ag Consultant
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