‘Soil Health Economics’ Workshop March 19 in Ridgeway, Iowa
RIDGEWAY, Iowa — How can we put a dollar value on soil health? That will be the topic of discussion during a “Soil Health Economics…
Are you farming in southeastern Minnesota and need help getting started in your soil health journey? LSP has put together a directory of technical assistance providers in southeastern Minnesota that can provide funding for cover crop establishment, as well as equipment rentals, testing services, and more. Check it out here.
Check out our LSP’s web calendar for the latest field Days, workshops and pasture walks.
Check out LSP’s new series of videos featuring farmers who are utilizing various methods to build soil health profitably.
Check out LSP’s ongoing Ear Dirt podcast series for conversations on cover cropping, no-till, managed rotational grazing, fungi, and just about anything else that builds soil health.
Through the publication, Bridge to Soil Health Program’s Peer-to-Peer Learning Groups: The Strategy & Construction of Regional Farmer Soil Hubs, LSP is sharing our experience constructing and implementing the Regional Soil Hubs through our Bridge to Soil Health initiative. We hope that other agricultural groups, including farmer-led groups, might want to borrow or adapt some of the approaches we’ve used.
If you have an idea you’d like to have featured in a video, blog, podcast, or field day, contact us.
LSP’s Soil Health, Water & Climate Change: A Pocket Guide to What You Need to Know, is available as a pdf document or as a mobile-friendly app.
In October 2020, a special LSP report was published: “Building the Bridge to Soil Health: The Power of Organizing Farmer-to-Farmer Engagement.” It describes the organization’s experience with launching the Bridge to Soil Health initiative. The report is available here.
RIDGEWAY, Iowa — How can we put a dollar value on soil health? That will be the topic of discussion during a “Soil Health Economics…
Soil, cows, ecology, economics: to milk producer Derek Schmitz, they are all linked, and that feeds his optimism even as tough times cast a shadow over dairy…
Matt and Seth Tentis of White Barn Acres are creating a soil-smart farm using a mix of livestock, continuous living cover, and experimentation — with…
Come to this LSP farmer-to-farmer workshop to learn more about how to apply economics in a way that improves the financial and soil health of your farm. Preregistration required; to register, click here. The snow date is Thursday, March 21. For more information, contact LSP’s Alex Romano at aromano@landstewardshipproject.org. More information is also available on this flier.
Putting a dollar value on soil health practices and gains is an ongoing challenge for farms in transition. One of the challenges is that the improvement of soil health is a long-term process. According to Iowa State University Extension, soil health economics can be viewed in two ways: 1) the impact of a low-input farm system that drives operating costs down (labor, fuel, machinery, chemicals, etc.); and 2) its effect on improving soil structure, water-holding capacity, biology, and nutrient cycling.
The good news is farmers in the region are finding innovative and practical ways of determining the value of soil-building practices such as reduced tillage, no-till, cover cropping, and managed grazing of livestock by focusing on return on investment (ROI). Join us on March 19 for a great farmer-to-farmer discussion.
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 and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.
In this class, John Knisley of Alternative Roots Farm will teach you how to propagate your own apple trees. He will discuss the time-tested techniques of fruit tree grafting including grafting tools, timing, proper scions and rootstocks. Attendees will practice what they learn by “Whip & Tongue” grafting different varieties of apple trees using modern day rootstocks.
Each participant will take home three newly grafted apple trees to be planted on your own property. Additional rootstocks available for purchase at class. All materials and tools will be provided for the workshop. You can bring your own grafting knife if you prefer. A variety of apple tree scions will be brought to the workshop for grafting
Optional: Bring scions of your favorite old apple tree if you would like to graft these at the class. Knisley will send out tips for this as the class approaches, as you don’t want to do this too much ahead of time.
This is an opportunity to learn about what the concerns are impacting the ecological health of the Minnesota River. The discussion will focus on priorities for the 2024 legislative session, why water matters to you, and what you can do to get involved in being a voice for our water in Minnesota.
Speakers include Carrie Jennings (research and policy director – Freshwater Society), Carly Griffith (water program director – MCEA), Rylee Hince (executive director – Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance), Karuna Ojanen (Minnesota Well Owners Organization) and Peg Furshong (director of programs – CURE).
Register here.
This event is hosted by CURE, the Lake Pepin Legacy Alliance, and MCEA, and supported by the Freshwater Society and the Minnesota River Drainage Collaborative. For more information call 320-269-2984.
Join Clean River Partners for a free lunch and workshop to learn what “carbon intensity score” means, how the soil health principles reduce your carbon intensity score, and how you can be ready to sell low-carbon grain for a premium. Panels of ethanol and biofuel industry representatives and Minnesota Soil Health Coalition farmers will discuss this fast-approaching opportunity for agriculture. Attend this workshop and get your farm’s baseline carbon intensity score for free.
The key audience for this American Farmland Trust/Argonne National Lab workshop is farmers and landowners in the central Minnesota region who have poultry, row crop, and pasture operations of varying scale. Due to the ag production present in this region as well as land suitability for perennial bioenergy crops, this workshop curriculum is focused on native prairie mixes and switchgrass for its environmental benefits and end use potential.
For more information, contact American Farmland Trust’s Marlee Giacometti at mgiacometti@farmland.org or 815-267-1326.