The USRCF Soil Health Educators have been full steam ahead as the end of the year approaches!
November Events
In early November, Jessica Kelton enjoyed engaging with attendees at the Southern Region Small Farms Conference in Mobile, Alabama. This conference brought together Black growers in Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi to discuss topics including heir property, agricultural risk management strategies, the Small Farms Program, and more. During a break-out session, Kelton presented SHI’s Recommended Measurements for Scaling Soil Health Assessment.
A few days later, Jared Conner attended the North Carolina Soil Health Coalition’s second annual meeting at Union Grove Farm in Hillsborough, North Carolina. He was able to network with other attendees and watch as NRCS Midatlantic Soil Health Specialist Nathan Lowder demonstrated a rainfall simulator and aggregate stability columns. The meeting also featured a keynote address from Grant and Dawn Breitkreutz, farmers from Minnesota.
In mid-November, Emily Ball attended the Southern Soil Health Conference in Jonesboro, Arkansas, hosted by the Arkansas Soil Health Alliance. She presented a general overview of SHI’s work, including partial budget analyses on cotton farms in Arkansas. Ball enjoyed how interested attendees were in measuring change in soil health on their farms. Speakers from across the country shared their experiences adopting soil health management systems.
December Events
Recently, Emily Ball and Jessica Kelton attended the Mississippi Row Crop Short Course in Starkville, Mississippi, hosted by Mississippi State University Extension. Key themes of the short course included drone usage, irrigation efficiency, and insect control. Ball and Kelton appreciated the opportunity to network with industry and Extension personnel.
Jessica Kelton also hosted USRCF’s last field day of 2024 at the Wiregrass Research Station in Headland, Alabama. Read more here.