Healthy soil is the key to productive, sustainable agriculture. By working with the land, you can not only reduce erosion, maximize water infiltration, and improve nutrient cycling, but you can also save money on inputs. 

 

Learn more about the role of soil health and programs to help offset the cost of implementation at this lunch and learn event by University of Illinois Extension. Register to join us on Thurs, March 9 from 11 am to 1 pm at Raelyn’s Pub & Eatery in Geneseo, IL where you'll meet and talk with soil health specialist Dr. Stacy Zuber; Henry County farmer Brian Corkill; NLR expert Rachel Curry; and PCM specialist Lou Liva. Lunch will be served and discussion will follow their presentations which include. 

Soil Health—the Journey and the Benefits | Stacy Zuber, Illinois Soil Health Specialist

There are two keys to building soil health: protecting the soil structure and feeding the living organisms within the soil who drive the soil processes and functions. Those processes and functions provide myriad benefits that make our soils more resilient while remaining highly productive. In this talk, we’ll discuss those benefits along with the changes occurring in your soils as you adopt and implement soil health principles.

 

Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy on Soil Health | Rachel Curry, University of Illinois Extension Watershed Outreach Associate

Illinois is one of the twelve states tasked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to create a nutrient reduction plan to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus leaving the state and ending up in the Gulf of Mexico. One way to reduce nutrient loss from an agricultural field is to adopt conservation practices. Several of these in-field conservation practices also support soil health while retaining nutrients.

 

On-Farm Soil Health | Brian Corkill, Henry County Farmer

It is one thing to hear about conservation practice adoption and benefits, but it is another to see the benefits on your land. Hear from a local farmer who has adopted multiple conservation practices and how those practices have impacted his fields.

 

Soil Health Programs with PCM | Lou Liva, Precision Conservation Management
Conservation can be costly, but there are many opportunities for assistance through different cost-share opportunities. Precision Conservation Management (PCM) assists farmers in assessing the profitability and costs of in-field conservation practices while maximizing cost share opportunities.