New Soil Health Seminar Center at 2015 Empire Farm Days
USDA NRCS Plant Materials Specialist Paul Salon spearheaded development of the new Soil Health Seminar Center for the August 11-13, 2015 Empire Farm Days in Seneca Falls, NY. The Center will feature two speakers and a farmer panel each day plus cover plot

USDA NRCS Plant Materials Specialist Paul Salon spearheaded development of the new Soil Health Seminar Center for the August 11-13, 2015 Empire Farm Days in Seneca Falls, NY. The Center will feature two speakers and a farmer panel each day plus cover plot demonstrations, a rainfall simulator, interseeder, and more.

The New York State Interagency Working Group for Soil Health will host two speakers and a panel of farmers daily starting at 9:30am at the new Soil Health Seminar Center at Lot 922 at Empire Farm Days, August 11-13, 2015, at Rodman Lott and Son Farms in Seneca Falls, NY. The trio of 45-minute sessions will cover a variety of soil health practices including cover cropping, reduced tillage, and nutrient management.

The schedule of Soil Health Center programs at Empire Farm Days is:

Tuesday, August 11
 9:30 Cover Crop Mixes: Selection, Adaptation and Value with Dave Wilson of King’s AgriSeeds

10:30 Cover Crops, Worms and Soil Health with Dr. William F. Brinton, founder and president of Woods End Soil Laboratory, Mt. Vernon, Maine

11:30 Soil Health and Cover Crop Planning and Implementation Farmer Panel

12:15 Soil Health Center Luncheon sponsored by King’s AgriSeeds

Wednesday, August 12
 9:30 Practical Implementation and Adaptation of Cover Crops and Reduced Tillage with Adam Robertson, Seedway

10:30 Soil Management Practices and Soil Health: Tillage Effects on Conventional and Organic Farming with Dr. William F. Brinton, founder and president of Woods End Soil Laboratory, Mt. Vernon, Maine

11:30 Soil Health and Reduced Tillage Farmer Panel

12:15 Soil Health Center Luncheon sponsored by King’s AgriSeeds

Thursday, August 13
9:30 Fall and Spring Accumulation of N and C by Various Cover Crops with Karl Czymmek, Cornell University PRO-DAIRY, Cornell Nutrient Management Spear Program

10:30 Precision Nitrogen, Adapt-N and GreenSeeker® technology with Western New York Crop Management Association Manager Dave DeGolyer

11:30 Soil Health and Nutrient Management Farmer Panel

12:15 Soil Health Center Luncheon sponsored by King’s AgriSeeds

Field demonstrations associated with the Soil Health Seminar Center include cover crop plots established by Seedway and King’s AgriSeeds.

In addition, the USDA NRCS Big Flats Plant Materials Center in cooperation with Rodman Lott and Son Farms will have an innovative companion seeding of Dutch white clover and dwarf perennial ryegrass in soybeans using herbicides to stunt the cover crops until canopy closure.

A rainfall simulator and the Penn State University-designed interseeder are part of the new Center exhibits. Cornell Soil Health Program personnel will be at the Center to answer questions about soil health testing and management.

‘This new Soil Health Center at Empire Farm Days will be a great new resource for farmers interested in how they can improve their soil to enhance crop production, water quality, and resilience to extreme weather events,’ says USDA NRCS Plant Materials Specialist Paul Salon.

‘The new Soil Health Center is one more way Empire Farm Days can offer the latest information, equipment and techniques all in one location to help farmers and agribusinesses not be left behind by the fast-changing agricultural environment,’ says Empire Farm Days Manager Melanie Wickham.

Empire Farm Days is a 300-acre event with educational seminars, field demonstrations, agricultural and outdoors information and vendor booths, equipment displays, live animals, and rural life exhibits. Parking is $10 per vehicle. Learn more at empirefarmdays.com.