March 29 Soil Health Workshop Focuses on Benefits of Cover Crops

Writer(s): 
Photo: Thinkstock

XENIA, Ohio – Farmers who want to improve their soil’s health and cut input costs all while benefiting Ohio’s water quality may want to consider adding cover crops to their fields.

Additional benefits for growers to add cover crops such as oilseed radish, cereal rye, Austrian winter pea and crimson clover include reducing soil erosion and nutrient losses, according to Alan Sundermeier, an Ohio State University Extension educator.

Farmers who want to learn more about cover crops, including how to decide which is best for their soils, can attend the Cover Crop Soil Health Workshop, March 29 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Greene County Fairgrounds, Buckeye Room, 100 Fairgrounds Road, in Xenia.

The workshop is offered by the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the Greene Soil and Water Conservation District. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of the college.

The workshop discussion will also focus on how the use of cover crops can have a positive impact on improving the state’s watersheds, said Jim Hoorman, regional soil health specialist with the Northeast Region NRCS-Soil Health Division, Ohio and Michigan.

Topics for the daylong event include:

  • ECO Farming: Ecological Farming Practices
  • Soil Ecology and Nutrient Recycling
  • Biology of Soil Compaction
  • Soil Demonstrations
  • Economics of Cover Crops
  • Keeping Nutrients Out of Surface Water
  • Using the Cover Crop Selector Tool
  • Raising Homegrown Nitrogen
  • Managing Grasses and Brassica in Your Crop Rotation
  • Open Discussion: Using Cover Crops in a Crop Rotation

The registration cost for the workshop is $35 and includes lunch and handouts.

For more information or to register, contact the Greene SWCD at 937-372-4478

Writer(s): 
Tracy Turner
614-688-1067
For more information, contact: 

Alan Sundermeier
419-354-9050
sundermeier.5@osu.edu
 

Jim Hoorman
419-422-5438, ext. 143
James.Hoorman@oh.usda.gov