RIDGEWAY, Iowa — How can we put a dollar value on soil health? That will be the topic of discussion during a “Soil Health Economics: Learn the Value of Low-Input, Soil-Building Farm Systems” workshop on Tuesday, March 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Ridgeway Community Center (690 County Street). Sign-in for this Land Stewardship Project (LSP) event begins at 8:30 a.m.; pre-registration is required and the charge is $25 per person (financial assistance available upon request), which includes lunch by Estelle’s Eatery. For details and to register, see https://bit.ly/LSPRidgeway. For more information, contact LSP’s Alex Romano at aromano@landstewardshipproject.org. The snow date is Thursday, March 21.

Putting a dollar value on soil health practices like reduced tillage, no-till, cover crops, and managed grazing of livestock is an ongoing challenge for farms in transition. The good news is regional farmers are finding innovative and practical ways to determine the financial benefit of these practices by focusing on return on investment (ROI). Given that improving soil health is a long-term investment, this workshop will, through a farmer-to-farmer discussion, address how farmers reconcile the extra expense in the short-term with long-term gains. Featured presenters include farmers Gary Zimmer, Jerome Fulsaas and Josh Nelson.

The “Soil Health Economics: Learn the Value of Low-Input, Soil-Building Farm Systems” workshop is co-sponsored by the Winneshiek Soil and Water Conservation District, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Savanna Institute.

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The Land Stewardship Project (LSP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering an ethic of stewardship for farmland, promoting sustainable agriculture and developing healthy communities in the food and farming system. LSP has offices in the Minnesota communities of Montevideo, Lewiston and South Minneapolis.